More Than 1,000 Adidas Shoe-Factory Workers Protest, Police Detain Three

[geovalin]

Police briefly arrested three union representatives amid a demonstration of more than 1,000 shoe-factory workers in Kampong Chhnang, saying workers should be only allowed to submit letters, not protest. At least 5,600 workers at Can Sports Shoe, a supplier for Adidas, gave thumbprints supporting a strike about 35 demands that have accumulated over several years, according to workers and labor rights groups.

 

Only a few hundred went into work on Tuesday as more than 1,000 workers gathered outside the factory in Samakki Meanchey district’s Sethei commune and blocked a road, they said. Deputy provincial police chief Ear Bunthoeun said three union leaders had been arrested, but released after they agreed to stop organizing chaos.

 

“If workers want to demand benefits, just let them do it and submit letters. But we can’t allow inciters to provoke demonstrations and work stoppages,” Bunthoeun said. Public order could be disrupted by demonstrations, he said. The workers had blocked National Road 5, which could suffer traffic jams even with short disruptions, he added. Noem Sokhoeun, one of the arrested union leaders, said he had been accused of incitement to commit a felony.

 

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