Thousands of NagaWorld Workers Protest Ongoing Harassment of Union Leader
Published on 9 January 2020
More than 2,000 workers from NagaWorld went on strike and peacefully assembled near the Malaysian-owned casino in central Phnom Penh this morning to protest the indefinite suspension of union leader Chhim Sithar. Workers called for an end to the ongoing harassment of union members and for a living wage for workers, while dozens of police and private security forces looked on.
Chhim Sithar, president of the Labour Rights Supported Union of Khmer Workers at NagaWorld, was suspended with pay in September 2019 while campaigning for a living wage for the thousands of workers employed in the casino complex. In June, nearly 4,000 workers signed a petition demanding a wage increase to cover the rising cost of living in the capital.
Although Sithar joined the strike and met with NagaWorld representatives and local authorities in Chamkarmon District this afternoon, company representatives have failed to reach an agreement with the workers, who said the strike will continue.
The Phnom Penh Municipal Court issued an injunction yesterday declaring the strike illegal and calling on participants to return to work, despite workers being guaranteed the right to strike under Cambodian law as well under International Labour Organization conventions.
Casino operator NagaCorp made a net profit of more than $245 million in the first half of 2019 and has an exclusive license to operate casinos in Cambodia’s capital of Phnom Penh. Founder Chen Lip Keong, a Malaysian tycoon estimated to be worth $6 billion, last year announced a $4 billion ‘Naga 3’ planned to be built on the site of Phnom Penh’s demolished ‘White Building’ public housing complex.
