From Phnom Penh & Expat Forum Group:

'Advice Needed Please.

I have 2 Khmer friends who have been working for a restaurant in Phnom Penh and the boss is refusing to pay their salaries . They worked a full month and come pay day it was the usual , we will pay you tomorrow, pay tomorrow, pay tomorrow.

After 2 weeks of this happening , there was still no sign of any salary forthcoming. So they were forced to stop working as they needed money for food/rent .

The owners are Barang, I’m not in Cambodia right now . But I really want to help my friends , I hate people who exploit the locals as a cheap Labour force , but to outright refuse to pay them is just disgusting !

How would you guys deal with this ? Any help advice appreciated. Thanks in advance

It’s the Exchange restaurant.

I’d definitely tell any khmers you know to steer clear of the place if they are looking for employment.

The food there is really good, I’ve eaten there myself . But definitely won’t be again now I know how they treat their staff.

I’ve been told by 2 other people they are dodgy ever since posting this.'







Some noteworthy comments:





Contact the police .... No barang wants the headache.





If the story is true call the police and file a compliant. Spent some money at the Sangkat the barang will have a hell of a headache lol.





Why Khmer workers didn’t call to Ministry of Labour? Easy case to solve if case is as you wrote!





I have seen some creative ways to get the bad actos pay up . On of my favorite stories goes something like this. Give a few dollars to the garbage truck driver to park his truck in front of the restaurant and wait for the "donation" to move it . Or park on the sidewalk so close to the door that it is impassable . This has some wonderful motivation qualities and shows the barrong who has home court advantage.





Ask them to call to “ABC 107.5 radio”, the radio staff will reach out to authority and might also find new job opportunities for them as well.





The two Khmer's really want their salary's, so they should take it directly to the police , who will then ask these barangs not just the two's salary's to be paid to the employees, but their paid time as well, for making problems with the Khmer. If these Barangs are that stupid, and still refuse to pay, then they will not stay very long in Cambodia, and most likely, before they are deported, pay for their blind bullshit business either way.





Ministry of labor would be better than the police.
Although do they have signed contracts? My guess is probably not!
My advice would be, ask the restaurant for a employment contract, and then wait it out till the end of the month. If no salary then, take it to MoL.





sorry to say but I couldn't make myself believing this story! After 16 years here in the Kindom of Wonder, I only see the local cheated Barang emplyers(not all the Khmer), no the other way around! If there is the rare case that stupid barang biz owner tries to make fool of locals,then the locals always have thousands ways to get the owners pay a huge loss. Khmer are not stupid and especially their polices are super creative to squeeze thr money out of these Barang biz owners here in their Kindom with all the ways and means. So u may be heard another sad but makeup story from yr local friends. However if it is really true,report to the police or just go to have a beer night with some of their smart local friends and then they will get the right hint. Good Luck to everyone,yr local friends and their Barang boss(Ex-boss)





Ministry of labour have special inspectors who handle these situations...
They have legal authority to "fix" the problem.
Police will refer this to them as its a civil case.





I find it very hard to believe the exchange and tom would do that,.I worked for the exchange, they were not like that. Tom was always fare. It would be very sad indeed if it was true.





Your friends should go to the local department of labour office and make a complaint. We're already working on a story about scumbag employers in Cambodia. DM me the details and we'll give the establishment a call.

I stopped reading when he said he’s going to call the police on Kith Meng.

Tom the manager is a good guy and been doing this for decades here I’m sure when I ask he will have good reason for withholding salaries. He’s not new to handling Khmer staff and I would like to hear his version.

Sorry, you are not America’s next top model.

sorry, i do not believe this story as the reasons given by fax are accurate

hv encounter khmer who came to work for 6 months n during the last month only worked 2 days n disappear for whole month, came back next month demanding full month salaries n severance package as according to khmer labour law, showed him the employment contract, punch in work clock record n CCTV recording, fucked off without a single peep

frank lee bent wrote: ↑Sun Sep 23, 2018 7:42 am sorry, i do not believe this story as the reasons given by fax are accurate

You don't believe Exchange withheld salaries or you don't believe they did it without a "good reason"?

In civilized countries, there are virtually no "good reasons" to withhold salaries from wages after they perform the work.

You are assuming they did the work. If they didn’t do the work then that’s good reason for withholding their salaries. I don’t think for a second that The Exchange is run “uncivilized”.

fax wrote: ↑Sun Sep 23, 2018 9:22 am You are assuming they did the work. If they didn’t do the work then that’s good reason for withholding their salaries. I don’t think for a second that The Exchange is run “uncivilized”.

People normally don't lie about having worked at a place for six weeks and not being paid. Unless they are hustlers trying to get their out of country "boyfriend" Kingsley to send them more money by offering a false sob story about unpaid wages.

Here's a bargirl with a necklace that says "Kingsley" does she work at Exchange or tell him that she works there?

PhnomRon wrote: ↑Sun Sep 23, 2018 11:20 am Here's a bargirl with a necklace that says "Kingsley" does she work at Exchange or tell him that she works there?

Is silver earrings and a gold necklace a fashion faux pas?

fax wrote: ↑Sun Sep 23, 2018 5:54 am I stopped reading when he said he’s going to call the police on Kith Meng.

Tom the manager is a good guy and been doing this for decades here I’m sure when I ask he will have good reason for withholding salaries. He’s not new to handling Khmer staff and I would like to hear his version.

Sorry, you are not America’s next top model.

You really need to read the post first before decrying the OP. He did not say he was going to ring the police.......As the Donald would say "Fake News". He posted his question on the Phnom Penh and Expat forum and these were comments from other people who read it. Had you read further, his post included those who thought they should be reported and those who thought the story was wrong. A very balanced post asking for advice not insults.

Right or wrong, who knows?