Strike debate a ‘red herring’ + Threat of ‘mass strike’ looms [Cambodia]

[geovalin]

Kevin Ponniah

Workers undoubtedly have the fundamental right to strike, and any arguments as to whether such rights exist are merely “red herring debates”, the UN special rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association Maina Kiai said yesterday.

Kiai, who today will wrap up his three-day unofficial visit to the Kingdom, made the comments after paying a “courtesy call” on Ouch Borith, secretary of state at the Foreign Affairs Ministry, the main purpose of which was to ask the government to invite him on an official visit to Cambodia, he said.

Speaking outside the foreign ministry, Kiai told reporters that the right to strike has for generations been globally recognised as a fundamental tool of unions and workers, and “cannot, and must not” be taken away from them.

“Under international law … there is a right to assembly and to assemble peacefully for any purpose. Now … assembly can be a protest, assembly can be in a room, assembly can be a strike, it can be a sit-down,” he said.

“So there is absolutely a right to strike, let me make it clear … and I’m sure it’s protected by the ILO conventions. There is no need; it doesn’t make any sense to have a union if it can’t strike. Then what will the unions do apart from picking money from the workers?”

His comments come after the Cambodian Federation of Employers and Business Associations (CAMFEBA) and the Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia (GMAC) accused the International Labour Organization of undermining employers’ credibility and “creating tensions” by rejecting statements made by those associations that no such “fundamental” right exists.

Seperately, Kiai said he had raised strong concerns with the government about the “blanket ban” on public assembly imposed in the aftermath of violent clashes between striking workers and authorities in early January, an approach that he emphasised was not recommended.

“If there is any violence in a protest, the right approach is to find the people that are violent, take them out of the protest and prosecute them. But a protest or a gathering or an assembly or a demonstration is not violent by the fact that some people are violent in there,” he said.

A lifting of the temporary ban was being “considered” by the government, Kiai said he had been told, though no specific date as to when that might happen was given.

He added that he saw no reason why the government would not invite him to make an official visit to the Kingdom.

Government spokesman Phay Siphan said yesterday that the government wished to solve numerous issues – such as that of garment workers’ minimum wage – through discussions, in order to ease tensions, before the ban on assembly could be lifted.

“We wish to have a peaceful atmosphere to solve that issue. We understand that those organised demonstrations, they always challenge with the government. The purpose is not to solve the issue of minimum wage,” he said.

http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/strike-debate-%E2%80%98red-herring%E2%80%99

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Mom Kunthear

Workers from more than 200 garment factories are to take part in industrial action on Monday, but unions yesterday hesitated to call it a mass strike, saying they plan one of those for later next week if their demands aren’t met.

The chances of another mass strike occurring increased last night when a government committee announced after a four-hour meeting that it would not be raising the minimum wage, despite unions demanding at least $160 per month.

“In the meeting today, we did not talk about the amount … but only the technical side – how we can support the LAC [Labour Advisory Committee] determine whether it can accept [the unions’ demands] or not,” Ministry of Labour spokesman Heng Sour said.

Representatives of nine union confederations met earlier at the Community Legal Education Center after some had told the media that another large-scale demonstration was imminent.

Pav Sina, president of the Collective Union of Movement of Workers, said after the meeting that unions had agreed to stand firm on their demands, which included, among other things, a wage increase and the release of 23 unionists and workers imprisoned since violent crackdowns last month.

“Our members from about 200 factories over the country will gather at their factories to demand the government release the 23 workers and six other points on Monday, one day before their Appeal Court bail request,” Sina said. “If the court does not allow the 23 workers to go free, we will announce a second mass strike.”

Other points the unions would keep pushing for included the prosecution of security forces who fatally shot or injured workers on January 3, the lifting of a hastily enforced ban on public gatherings and an end to legal action against unions, Sina added.

A mass strike began in late December over the minimum monthly garment wage, which the government first agreed to lift to $95, including a $5 health bonus, and then to $100.

The strike turned deadly on January 3 when security forces opened fire on strikers in clashes that left four dead and dozens on both sides injured.

Moeun Tola, head of the labour program at CLEC, said it was not exactly clear what unions planned for Monday.

“They’re going to do something on the 10th. But they don’t specify what,” he said, adding that it related to a day of global action calling for the release of the 23, organised by IndustriALL Global Union, UNI Global Union and the International Trade Union Confederation.

“I’m not sure [about the number of workers involved], but it will involve 200 factories. They will let us know later. Maybe some time on Sunday.”

ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY SHANE WORRELL

http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/threat-%E2%80%98mass-strike%E2%80%99-looms