Riot Police Clash with Cambodian River Rich Garment Factory Workers on Strike in Phnom Penh
Published on 22 May 2007
On the morning of May 21, 2007 approximately 1000 workers from the River Rich Textile Factory based in Kandal Province's Sa'ang district gathered to stage an ongoing peaceful strike and encountered more than 150 riot police ready to disperse the crowd. The workers had staged the strikes to protest the dismissal of 10 fellow workers who had planned to form a union within the factory. Those 10 workers had been dismissed in November 2006 due to their involvement in a local union and continued to be refused entry back into the factory.
At around 8:30 AM, riot police fully equipped with tear gas, guns, electric batons and shields were dispatched to the factory after its owner made a complaint against the workers for instigating a strike and not coming to work. The workers had previously staged strikes the week before with each strike garnering more numbers however there was no sign of riot police or violence.
While there were minor altercations between the riot police and the workers, the strike was finally broken up at around 1pm. There has since been no resolution.
The River Rich Textile Factory had initially dismissed 30 workers in November 2006, for their participation in labor union elections, however after negotiations an agreement was reached on February 3 2007 to reinstate all 30 workers on April 2, 2007. Although when April came only 20 workers were allowed to return work, apparently due to the remaining 10 workers continued plan to form a union. The factory's continued refusal to reinstate the final 10 workers led to strike action in May 2007.
This is not the first time factory owners have resorted to using riot police to break labor strikes. In 2006, LICADHO documented at least ten cases of labour strikes and protests stopped by authorities. Among these, similar tactics were used in October 2006 to break up a strike at the Bright Sky Factory in Dangkor District, Phnom Penh. During that incident one worker was wounded by police gun fire, a pregnant woman kicked in the stomach lost her baby, and several others were injured in the violence that erupted after 200 riot police tried to disperse the 2000 strong crowd.
LICADHO urges factory owners to respect the Cambodian Labor Laws and the right of garment workers to form labor unions and to go on strike when all peaceful means of resolution have been exhausted.
