News

LabourStart, the campaigning website for the international trade union movement, has launched a campaign to end violence against workers in Cambodia.

The campaign is in support of Cambodian garment workers and unions who initiated a general strike seeking an increase in the minimum wage from US$80 per month to US$160.

On January 3, 2014, the government sent military police to attack a demonstration at a factory, and opened fire on the demonstration with AK-47 rifles and killed five workers and seriously injured dozens more. The government has since banned all demonstrations and used military force to clear the streets. At least 39 workers have been detained and are held in unknown locations. Faced with this brutal repression, the unions have called off the strike and workers are returning to work, although they are continuing to press their demands.

You can help! Visit http://www.labourstartcampaigns.net/show_campaign.cgi?c=2129 and show your support of trade unions in Cambodia by asking the government to stop the violence, restore freedom of association and assembly, release the detained workers and drop any charges against them. We also ask the global brands that produce garments - Gap, H&M, Inditex, Adidas, Puma, Walmart, C&A and others - condemn the violence, and only send new orders to Cambodia when workers rights are restored and negotiations on the minimum wage resume.