• Society

NagaWorld Strikers Break Ranks

• By Teng Yalirozy
• May 26, 2022 6:12 PM

Nearly 200 take settlement payouts

PHNOM PENH –  More than half of the striking NagaWorld employees have agreed to severance pay, ending their contract with the company, while the rest are holding out for reinstatement and union freedoms.

A total of 192  workers have agreed to the settlement, with the other 181 workers fighting on.

The Labor Ministry, which announced the settlement on May 25, will review the severance payments with the company representative following guidelines set out by Interior Minister Sar Kheng.

The National Employment Agency (NEA) is helping the former NagaWorld workers to find other job opportunities, the ministry said.

Chhim Sithar, president of Labor Rights Supported by Union of Khmer Employees of NagaWorld, said the workers have the right to continue with or leave the union and accept the compensation offered by the company.

She said she understands that the financial pressure and the livelihood crisis have been the major barriers for the strikers to maintain their stance in seeking justice and union freedom.

However, the important people in the union and the active members will keep demanding the reinstatement of the remaining workers, Sithar said.

“The dispute has been pressing on for almost one year, and the laid-off workers have lost their salary since June last year,” she said. “They still faced livelihood difficulty even when they were paid, let alone that now they don’t have a job.”

Sithar said that more than 100 workers were seeking reinstatement but the company refuses to rehire them. The only reason is that the company wants to remove the unionists and dissolve the union in their place, she said.

“In the past, the company denied reinstating the workers due to the huge number of them. So, now what is the reason not to reinstate them?” Sithar said.

The labor dispute started in April 2021, when 1,329 workers, many of whom were union members, were laid-off. NagaCorp, NagaWorld’s mother company, recorded $102 million in net profits for 2020.

Vann Rina, a laid-off worker, said she will not accept the severance pay on contract termination and will keep striking until their demands are met.

The workers demand reinstatement of laid-off employees who want to be rehired, compensation for laid-off workers, reasonable contract termination compensation  and seniority compensation.

However, the reinstatement of the laid-off workers is the core demand of the employees who have been striking through thick and thin.

“As union members, we were fired with no justice and I cannot accept it,” Vann Rina said. “So, I want reinstatement. It’s wrong that we are sacked because the employers don’t like us.”

Rina said workers have lost hope and started to accept the compensation to solve the livelihood issues. “That is what the casino company always wants to happen,” she said, adding that she is not disappointed with her fellow strikers’ decision as they need to feed their families.

Khun Tharo, program manager at the Centre for Alliance of Labour and Human Rights (CENTRAL), said that the intervention from the Ministry of Interior should center on the core demand, reinstatement of the remaining workers.

Importantly, the solution should be accepted by all relevant parties, he said. The strike would end if the ministry and the company responded to the demand and stop pressure on the unionists.

“To stop the strike, the company must rehire them. There must be a union in the company,” Tharo said. “It should be the time to address the main problem.”

He added that financial pressure and the prolongedly unsolved labor dispute forced the strikers to lose hope for the next negotiation and the future as many negotiations ended in stalemate.

“We still keep demanding reinstatement because it’s the matter of union freedom,” said Chhim Sithar. The remaining strikers will maintain their stance and not lose hope until the casino agrees to reinstate the workers, she said.

Vann Rina said that although fewer people remain with the union, she still joins gatherings and protests for the reinstatement and proper compensation, despite continuous violence and harassment.

“I feel like the laws cannot protect us anymore,” she said. “Even if only 4-5 people remain, we won’t accept the severance pay.”

Rina asked the government to protect its citizens rather than take sides with the company that exploits and persecutes the workers. “It only causes pain,” she said.

NagaWorld workers have been striking since Dec. 18 last year. They demand that the company employees, mostly union members, return to work and that the company respects women's rights as well as other workers' benefits.

Eleven of their activists and union leaders were arrested on charges of inciting serious social unrest and violation of measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19. They all have been released.