By Lauren Crothers
PHNOM PENH
More than 600 garment workers who produce clothes for Adidas and Reebok have been fired from their jobs at the Phnom Penh-based Grand Twins factory after they allegedly failed to show for work on a national holiday, according to a news report.
On Tuesday, The Cambodia Daily quoted Nuon Ny - the president of Trade Union Cambodia Support Workers - as saying that most of the workers laid off Monday had been under the impression they could return to work at the Taiwanese-owned factory after a series of national holidays were over.
Cambodia observed three consecutive days of national holidays starting Wednesday last week to mark the return of the Water Festival, during which boat races were held in Phnom Penh and watched over by King Norodom Sihamoni.
The workers were sacked for allegedly failing to attend work Saturday
On Sunday, Cambodia celebrated its 61st Independence Day, for which a day off work was also granted for many on Monday. The 600 workers had not gone to work on the day between these holidays.
The Daily said Grand Twins - one of two publicly listed companies on the Cambodia Securities Exchange - last month received an injunction from the municipal court against strikes for a $1.25 lunch allowance and $15 per month for travel and accommodation expenses. Although employees returned to work before a deadline passed, they began to strike again November 1 over allegations that the factory had paid off union representatives.
News of Monday’s layoffs came on the eve of a Wednesday vote on the new minimum wage to be set for garment workers around the country, which two unions not aligned with the government had vowed to boycott because their proposal of $140 per month did not make it to the table.
The government and industry representatives have since done an about-face and will allow the unions’ $140 demand to be considered alongside $121 put forth by the government and $110 proposed by industry officials.
Dave Welsh, country director of the United States-based Solidarity Center, a labor rights organization, told the Anadolu Agency on Tuesday that Grand Twins’ injunction was “fundamentally against international labor law.”
In addition, he said, the Water Festival is seen as a significant holiday, for which most workers return to their homes.
“But larger issues are claims by the factory that they are abiding by the law aren’t true."
"They are a publicly listed company and should be held to a higher standard,” he said, adding that Grand Twins routinely deprives workers of job security by issuing only temporary contracts.
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