All 11 union leaders and activists at the NagaWorld Casino hotel have been released from jail on bail, as international pressure continues to mount on the government of Cambodia to respect workers’ rights to organize and collectively bargain. With the criminal charges still hanging over the 11 union leaders and activists and with no progress on the reinstatement of the 365 terminated workers or with collective bargaining rights, the IUF has filed a complaint against the government of Cambodia with the International Labour Organisation’s Committee on Freedom of Association (CFA) detailing numerous violations of workers’ fundamental rights.
- The IUF’s ILO complaint arrives as the ILO prepares a direct contacts mission (DCM) to Cambodia next week and calls on the Cambodian government to address violations of ILO Conventions Nos 87 and 98, to unconditionally withdraw all outstanding charges against the trade union leaders and activists and to grant LRSU full recognition
- In a blatant effort to prevent recognition of IUF affiliate LRSU, NagaWorld management and the Cambodian government have conspired to fast-track certification of a new fake union in order to avoid negotiating with the legitimate representative of the workers
- LRSU continues to call for negotiations on reinstatement of 365 unfairly terminated members and good faith collective bargaining negotiations
IUF Asia/Pacific Regional Secretary Hidayat Greenfield stated, “LRSU has once again made it clear that it seeks good faith negotiations with NagaWorld to secure the reinstatement of the unfairly terminated union members and for those opting to accept redundancy, to receive their full legal entitlement to separation pay. At the same time, the international community must make it clear that all charges against the arrested union leaders must be dropped and comprehensive legal reforms must protect trade union rights and prevent criminalization of trade union activities.”
