A Hungry Life: Protests, Violence, Killing, and Prison

Abstract

INTERNATIONAL union rights Page 10 Volume 22 Issue 3 2015 In Cambodia’s garment sector the authorities have cracked down on trade union wages demands with heavy-handed repression FOCUS ❐ SEVERE REPRESSION OF THE RIGHT TO STRIKE F rom their response to protests outside a Puma supplier factory, to that which occurred outside a Nike supplier factory, to their response to a nationwide protest, the employers and the government in Cambodia have chosen violence and court supervision in response to trade union demands for social dialogue . The aftermath was murder, arrest, jail, and injury, as well as death threats. Governor Shot the protestors at Puma Supplier Factory Nine years ago, in June 2003, riot police fired shot into the air to disperse the crowd of protesters and killed FTU’s activist Mr. Yim Ry in front of H&M supplier factory, Terratex Knitting & Garment (Int’l) factory Ltd. Twenty-six people were injured. In February 2012, there was another shooting at Kaoway Sports Ltd factory, located in the Manhattan Special Economic Zones in Bavet city. The gunman in this case was the Governor of this city, Chhouk Bandith. The shooting severely injured three women protestors who worked in a factory supplying products for the giant German sport shoe brand Puma. For three years these workers suffered without any proper compensation or justice either from the global brand, from the factory, from the gunman, or from any other related stakeholders. The gunman , former Governor Chhouk Bandith, was convicted in absentia in 2013, and was sent to jail in early August 2015 after evading justice for three years. Elite Military Heavy Force Crack Down Protest on Wage Demand In May and June 2013, after many days strike in front of factory, unexpected and unprecedented gunfire from heavily armed forces were deployed to crush a rally over wage demands. The military and paramilitary forces, including soldiers from an elite military unit, cracked down violently on an estimated 4000 protestors at a rally in front of the Sabrina Garment Mfg Corp factory, a supplier factory to the giant sporting goods company Nike. Two military helicopters flew over the crowd of protestors. A crackdown to break the protest became chaos: soldiers armed with rifles and shields hit protestors with sticks and batons, water bottles thrown by an unidentified people with a combination of slingshot projectiles and rocks were thrown at the factory gate. It was the most violent incident in the country’s recent history, and those who put down the rally were not the regular police forces. Eight Free Trade Union of Workers of the Kingdom of Cambodia (FTUWKC) representatives were arrested, more than twenty were injured, two pregnant women suffered miscarriages , and sixteen union representatives appeared on charges before the Provincial Court. Eight of the 16 FTUWKC representatives were sent to jail for more than four months on grounds that they allegedly incited violence and damaged property during the strike. 300 active members of FTUWKC were dismissed, which was intended to end FTUWKC’s life at this supplier factory. ILO’s factory monitoring project BFC issued a report few months later that Sabrina Garment Mfg Corp. has been perfect! Murder, Detention, Court Tool on Living Wage Protest In November 2013 a study on minimum livable wages for garment factory workers by the Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training found that between US$157 and $177 was an appropriate level. The following month the tripartite committee on minimum wages set a far different rate at only US$95. This was a root cause and led to storm that brought the principle economy of Cambodia, the garment industry, to a standstill. On 24 December 2013, some workers held a protest in front of the Ministry of Labour. The rest of them nationwide were waiting anxiously for the result. The announcement of just a $95 wage started a disquieting calm that fell over the garment factory districts. On 31 December 2013, an extra US$5 added to new minimum wage unilaterally by the Ministry of Labour [not following the mechanism of minimum wage committee]. The new minimum wage would therefore be US$100 per month. But this offer still fell far short of the long-term demand for...