Labor
Business group airs union law concerns
Some of the country’s top business leaders laid out their main concerns with a controversial draft union law during a meeting with CPP lawmakers on 18 January, including a stipulation that would let only 10 people form a union at a workplace. The bill, which would ...
PPSEZ workers protest seeking unpaid wages
Negotiations over salaries and severance pay are underway at the Phnom Penh Special Economic Zone, after workers from a Turkish-owned garment factory that ceased production earlier this month staged protests there last week. Weibo Group’s Cambodian branch employed around 1,000 workers in a PPSEZ factory before ...
As ASEAN takes symbolic step toward unity, Vietnam officials want new labor barriers
Now that the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) has officially been launched, with the goal of creating a common regional market where skilled workers can move freely, officials in Vietnam began to fear that many Vietnamese are not ready for the tough competition ahead. Speaking at a ...
CPP, CNRP agree to let strike clause stand
The controversial draft union law clause requiring a 50 per cent plus one vote by members to authorise a strike will stand, lawmakers from both parties said on 14 January, though clarity is still required to define how that quorum should be shaped. The strike clause ...
Hundreds pray for release of unionists
Hundreds of workers from the Agile Sweater factory in Kampong Speu province gathered in front of the provincial court on 13 January, praying for authorities to release five unionists arrested at the factory on 12 January. The workers lit incense sticks as they massed in prayer, ...
Labour agencies mull boycott of Malaysia
A tenfold increase in visa fees has prompted employment agencies to consider boycotting Malaysia, long a favoured destination of Myanmar migrant workers. The threat, which could be backed up by demonstrations, followed an announcement by the Malaysian embassy to raise visa application costs from US$6 ...
Rescues of trafficked migrant workers surge
More than 500 trafficked Cambodian migrant workers were rescued abroad and sent home in 2015, a huge increase compared to 2014 numbers, though largely attributable to a handful of mass repatriations from Indonesia. According to a report by the Foreign Ministry, 573 workers were returned home ...
China-Lao rail workers may reach 100,000
The total number of workers needed for the Laos-China rail project throughout the five years of its construction could reach 100,000 people, Lao Deputy Prime Minister Somsavat Lengsavadhas has said. Keep reading ...
No agreement on Certificate of Identity for workers in Thailand
A bilateral Thai-Myanmar meeting to resolve issues relating to migrant workers in Thailand has ended inconclusively, as the Thai negotiators have referred all matters under discussion to Bangkok for a decision. The 8 and 9 January meeting in Yangon discussed the status of the 3 million ...
Migrant activists abroad call for support from ‘oppression’
A migrant workers’ activist has called for greater support from the Myanmar government for workers overseas who, he said, faced “oppression” from foreign governments. The call came as Malaysian police arrested Myanmar demonstrators outside the Thai embassy in Kuala Lumpur on 7 January. The demonstrators were ...