Advocacy in Cambodia: Increasing Democratic ... - Pact Cambodia

Case Studies
before firing them, though this is rarely, if ever,
done. Stakeholders generally agree that
companies regularly dismiss union leaders
without sufficient grounds. One tactic used by
companies is giving union leaders three-month
contracts and not renewing them when they
expire. However, most fired union leaders do
have valid contracts and are fired without cause,
or on bogus or trivial charges. Often when
unions request that the Ministry re-instate
illegally fired workers, the Ministry stalls until
union leaders accept cash payoffs. An article in
the Cambodia Daily published on January 28,
2002 described an incident in which union
leaders were allegedly offered $200 to leave
their places of employment.
The negative implications for labor
federations of labor leader dismissals become clear
when one realizes that since 1995, between 400
and 500 union leaders have been arbitrarily
dismissed. The tactic is most certainly aimed at
weakening unions, as leaders represent the core
structure of the labor movement. Federations have
lodged complaints with the Ministry of Commerce
and the Ministry of Labor regarding this problem
and are demanding more concrete arguments for
dismissals. Employers argue that when
terminations occur at the end of the workers’
contracts, it is due to a reduction of workforce
caused by reduced demand. Reports that unions
are not complying with strike regulations could
be due in part to the fact that employers prefer to
view union leader dismissals as individual cases –
which are required to go through arbitration –
while unions perceive them as collective problems
that affect more than the individual worker.
Unions thus feel entitled to take collective action.
Advocacy Strategies
Employer/Union Relations and Dispute Resolution
Mechanisms
As this sector matures, employees and unions
alike are beginning to understand the importance
of maintaining a formal system of communication
between them. Improved communication is
reinforced by a government proclamation that
requires employers to appoint a worker-relations
officer to liaise actively with union leaders and
shop stewards 3 , although most factories have yet
to appoint such officers.
The existence of an employer-worker
relations mechanism provides unions with a
channel to resolve small disputes at the enterprise
level. Problems that cannot be resolved at this level
are submitted to arbitration at the Ministry of
Labor. Reaction to complaints, however, tends to
be slow. The Ministry claims to have too few
inspectors, although the unions suggest that it is
Above and right: Garment workers vote for their
community federation.
the will that is lacking and that substantial
industry funds are going to factory inspectors and
labor dispute officers.
Cases that cannot be resolved in arbitration
are referred to the regular court system. Labor
federation representatives believe however, that
companies exert pressure to have particular cases
referred to the courts, as the courts generally rule
on the side of the employer. The March 12, 2002
court ruling that a garment factory in Kompong
Speu acted improperly when it fired union
organizers two years ago is considered to be a
landmark case, which perhaps signals a positive
change in the courts’ level of impartiality.
Strikes, Demonstrations, Work Stoppage
The labor movement represents a different
model of advocacy from the other sectors in this
study in that one of the main strategies of the labor
sector is the use of controlled conflict as a
bargaining tool. Strikes can take the form of
marches, demonstrations outside factories, or
work stoppages, in which workers enter factories
and punch their time cards but refuse to work. All
strategies have become common practice in
Cambodia.
Pro-enterprise supporters argue that
demonstrations are not effective because workers
automatically lose their regular attendance bonus
of $5, paid at the end of each month. A review of
press articles from the past two years indicates
however, that in most cases workers have been
able to win at least some concessions.
For example, during the first union
demonstration in 1996, strikers won an 80%
increase in the base wage (albeit that wage was
still very low), as well as annual leave. However,
as late as 2001, workers from the same union
demonstrated to reduce Saturday working hours
but were unsuccessful because the government did
not intervene. Ways the government could
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