Cambodia News, Siem Reap: Two trade union leaders were sent warning letters from the Siem Reap provincial labor department yesterday, 10 August 2020; they are accused of violating the union law by organizing protests at Le Meridien Angkor Hotel, which has been embroiled in a labor dispute since three union activist employees were terminated in July.

Touch Kosal, president of the Cambodia Tourism Workers’ Union Federation, said the labor department had sent identical letters to him and Le Meridien Angkor Trade Union President Ly Linda warning them for allegedly organizing illegal strikes and blocking a public road outside the hotel, both of which violate the union law.
“In case you do not change your actions and continue to commit the actions mentioned in this warning letter, your professional organization could be sued and dissolved or face other measures based on the law,” the letter said.

UPDATE
In a separate case in Siem Reap, employees at Le Meridien Angkor Hotel who have been on strike since July demanding the reinstatement of three union representatives are preparing for negotiations with the Arbitration Council, according to a union leader.

Touch Kosal, president of the Cambodia Tourism Workers’ Union Federation, said that after another round of failed negotiations between workers and employees on August 14, a meeting with the Council had been scheduled.

“On August 26 the Arbitration Council has summoned both the employer and employees for a hearing, so we will wait to see the Arbitration Council’s decision, which will be issued on September 9,” he said, adding that workers had agreed to suspend strikes until then.
https://cambojanews.com/siem-reap-cultu ... ver-wages/

The authorities in Cambodia are determined to keep as many of the city dwellers as possible in their place at the bottom.

UPDATE
Union dissolved at shuttered Le Meridien Angkor amid fight for workers’ compensation
29 December 2020 3:03 PM
Khy Sovuthy

The Siem Reap Department of Labor agreed to dissolve a workers’ union at the shuttered Le Meridien Angkor Hotel, raising concerns about correct implementation of the law and whether staff will receive almost half a million dollars they claim in unpaid salaries and bonuses.

Le Meridien announced in November that it would close for at least one year on account of the COVID-19 pandemic and requested permission to dissolve the in-house union, according to Chan Sokhom Chetta, director of the provincial Department of Labor.

The union had been protesting against the termination in July of three staff who had been agitating for minimal pay cuts as the hotel suffered from a dramatic drop in tourist arrivals.

“Please, the director [of the hotel], be advised and implement [dissolution],” Sokhom Chetta said in a letter dated December 25.

The decision was based on Article 28 of the union law, which states that a unionisautomatically dissolved when an establishment closes and when employees have been paid wages and bonuses in full, the letter said.

Sokhom Chetta declined to elaborate on the specifics of the ruling, saying that his decision based on the labor law.

“During the COVID-19 pandemic, if employer and employees agree on payments, then that is fine,” he told CamboJA, adding that complaints received about unfulfilled payments from workers had been forwarded to the Labor Ministry, which would now handle the case.

Management and workers agreed in November to a “mutual separation scheme” and “additional payout” – but workers have since rejected the deal, claiming the hotel “cheated” them and only paid a fraction of what they are owed.

Le Meridien Angkor Hotel management did not respond to requests for comment.
https://cambojanews.com/union-dissolved ... pensation/