"TAFTAC Official Says He “Won’t Accept” Union at His Factory Prior to Union VP Losing Job", 26 June 2023

The deputy chairman of a major garment factory trade association said he will “not accept” a new union at his factory because he prefers a union run by a ruling CPP official.

Soon after, the factory allegedly demanded … that the new union’s vice president Yoeun Yim withdraw from the union or lose his job, according to Yim.

“It not​ fair for me because I was elected as a vice president of the union at the factory and obeyed the labor law and he forced me out to stop the independent union,” Yim said.

Textile, Apparel, Footwear and Travel Goods Association (TAFTAC) deputy chairman Enjoy Ho, who owns the SYSG Garment Company Limited factory in Phnom Penh, had previously warned the president of the Independent Trade Union Federation (INTUFE) that he did not want a new union formed by Yim and other workers at the factory…

“Why did you register the union at my factory?” Ho said. “I have already registered a trade union in my factory…I will not accept this, especially the union representative next door to you is not very cooperative, which makes me feel very bad.”

… The union had notified the factory director about the union’s elected leaders … and then submitted registration documents to the Labor Ministry two days later, documents … show.

Factory management allegedly called each union leader to meet in the factory office, one by one, and ordered them to resign from the union or else face black-listing across the industry, according to INTUFE’s Ry and Yim…