abusesaffiliationarrow-downarrow-leftarrow-rightarrow-upattack-typeburgerchevron-downchevron-leftchevron-rightchevron-upClock iconclosedeletedevelopment-povertydiscriminationdollardownloademailenvironmentexternal-linkfacebookfiltergenderglobegroupshealthC4067174-3DD9-4B9E-AD64-284FDAAE6338@1xinformation-outlineinformationinstagraminvestment-trade-globalisationissueslabourlanguagesShapeCombined Shapeline, chart, up, arrow, graphLinkedInlocationmap-pinminusnewsorganisationotheroverviewpluspreviewArtboard 185profilerefreshIconnewssearchsecurityPathStock downStock steadyStock uptagticktooltiptwitteruniversalityweb

这页面没有简体中文版本,现以English显示

内容有以下的语言版本: English, 日本語

故事

2020年12月2日

Lawsuit against labour union president (re inciting social unrest, Cambodia)

Snapshot: In April 2020, Superl Holdings filed criminal charges against Cambodian local union president Soy Sros, alleging she incited social unrest by alerting the public on Facebook to Superl’s plan to dismiss workers at its factory in Phnom Penh in defiance of government-issued COVID-19 guidance to factory owners. Sros was detained from 3 April to 28 May 2020. On 3 June 2020, following extensive media coverage of the case, Superl Holdings agreed to drop the criminal charges.

Factual Background

Due to falling product demand as a result of Covid-19, a factory on the outskirts of Phnom Penh owned by Superl Holdings dismissed 88 workers. The Hong Kong-based company makes luxury handbags for Michael Kors, Jimmy Choo, Kate Spade, Coach and Versace. The dismissals were contrary to government-issued guidance which advised factory owners to send workers home with reduced pay rather than fire them.

All 88 dismissed workers are members of the Collective Union of Movement of Workers (CUMW). On 31 March 2020, Soy Sros, president of the CUMW local union at Superl Cambodia, tried to meet with the human resources manager about the job losses. When the meeting proved unsuccessful, Sros alerted the public to the firings by posting on Facebook. In her post, she pointed out that the company had defied the government’s recommendations as well as the appeal from the Ministry of Labour. Further, she voiced her intent to ask the factory to retain workers by temporarily suspending them rather than ending their contracts.

In response to her actions, Superl announced it would not fire the workers and instead would only suspend them for one month. A Superl representative demanded Sros retract her Facebook post and sign a document admitting she made a mistake. Sros agreed to delete the post, but refused to admit any wrongdoing.

On 2 April 2020, she was arrested by police officials and charged with posting fake information on social media. She was interrogated by the police for 48 hours before being sent to the Kampong Speu provincial prison. She spent 55 days in pre-trial detention before being released on bail.

Legal Argument

Superl Holdings filed criminal charges against Sros, claiming that she had incited social unrest, defamed the factory and spread ‘fake news’. Additionally, the Cambodian courts charged her with two criminal charges for provocation.

Legal Developments

From 3 April to 28 May 2020, Sros was detained on the grounds of Penal Codes 496 (provocation to commit discrimination) and 494 (existence of provocation). Notably, the grounds for her initial arrest are different from the grounds for her detention – Sros was not charged with violating the “fake news” directive which was the basis for her arrest.

28 May 2020, Sros was released on bail and charged with Penal Code 496 (provocation to discriminate). If convicted, she faces one to three years in prison and fines of up to 6 million riel (USD$1,500).

On 3 June 2020, media coverage and campaigning by Sros’ union – backed by groups including the Clean Clothes Campaign and the Worker Rights Consortium (WRC) – resulted in Superl Holdings agreeing to drop criminal charges.

Latest Legal News

On 13 June 2020, Sros signed an agreement with Superl’s general manager, Chan Dao Zen stating that:

  • Superl’s charges against Soy Sros will be withdrawn
  • She will be reinstated in her position
  • Soy Sros will receive full back pay for time she spent in custody
  • Superl guarantees there will be no retaliation or discrimination against her
  • The parties will work together to improve working conditions in the factory.

Although Sros has since returned to work, the criminal charges filed by the government currently still stand.

News Items

Documents from NGOs

Company Response

时间线

隐私资讯

本网站使用 cookie 和其他网络存储技术。您可以在下方设置您的隐私选项。您所作的更改将立即生效。

有关我们使用网络存储的更多信息,请参阅我们的 数据使用和 Cookie 政策

Strictly necessary storage

ON
OFF

Necessary storage enables core site functionality. This site cannot function without it, so it can only be disabled by changing settings in your browser.

分析 cookie

ON
OFF

您浏览本网页时我们将以Google Analytics收集信息。接受此cookie将有助我们理解您的浏览资讯,并协助我们改善呈现资讯的方法。所有分析资讯都以匿名方式收集,我们并不能用相关资讯得到您的个人信息。谷歌在所有主要浏览器中都提供退出Google Analytics的添加应用程式。

市场营销cookies

ON
OFF

我们从第三方网站获得企业责任资讯,当中包括社交媒体和搜寻引擎。这些cookie协助我们理解相关浏览数据。

您在此网站上的隐私选项

本网站使用cookie和其他网络存储技术来增强您在必要核心功能之外的体验。