A strike among NagaWorld staff and former employees saw riot officers deployed to contain the peaceful demonstration that aimed to reinstate employees fired earlier this year and redress workers’ rights abuses

PHNOM PENH--Between 700 and 1,000 staff and former employees of Phnom Penh’s NagaWorld went on strike on Dec. 18 to protest the casino’s targeting union representatives in layoffs.

LRSU demanded that NagaWorld reinstate 365 employees who have so far refused the casino’s termination package and added that severance pay needed to be properly calculated for the 1,329 employees who were laid off in April 2021. LRSU complained at the time that the layoffs targeted union members, long-term employees whose benefits were deemed expensive, along with pregnant and injured staff members.

The strike, which began at 7 a.m., was declared illegal by the Phnom Penh Court of First Instance around 10 a.m. with Judge Ros Piseth who—according to an unofficial court transcript produced by the labor rights group CENTRAL—deemed the strike illegal and threatened current employees of NagaWorld involved in the strike of “serious misconduct” if they did not return to work within 48 hours.

A flurry of meetings between NagaWorld, the Labor Ministry and unionists over the course of Dec. 21 and Dec. 22 have resulted in little fruitful outcomes and the strike looks set to enter a sixth day
PHNOM PENH--General Secretary of the Labor Rights Supported Union of Khmer Employees of NagaWorld (LRSU), Chhim Sokhon confirmed that the strike will continue into a sixth day after meetings between LRSU and the Ministry of Labor over the course of Dec. 21 and Dec. 22 ultimately resulted in little progress.

“Tomorrow, [we] continue to strike normally until there is a solution,” Sokhon confirmed.

LRSU have said that they will continue the strike until the NagaWorld agrees to the union’s nine-point list of demands, which largely focus on the reinstatement of 365 workers and a recalculation of benefits such as seniority pay for the 1,329 workers laid off in April 2021.

But the strike, which was deemed illegal on Dec. 18, has so far seen no real movement from either NagaWorld or the Labor Ministry, although the police presence has decreased significantly since the first day of the strike which saw riot offices, Phnom Penh Gendarmerie and both uniformed and plain clothes Ministry of Interior staff surround the striking workers.

The company issued a brief statement to its investors on Dec. 19, using the word illegal seven times in the concise communique, which stressed the company’s ability to function despite the crowd gathered outside the premises of Naga 1