No talks at shoe factory worker strike

A union representative in the Kandal province of Cambodia, said there had been no negotiations with management since workers struck Nov. 15 for better pay. "Since we started to strike, there has been no negotiation from the employer with us, but labor officials visited the employer and met only the factory," said Mao Mol, a representative of the Free Trade Union at Global Footwear. Workers are demanding raises of $9 per month from $61 to $70, "like the other nearby factories," Mol said. The Phnom Penh Post reported Tuesday that the union estimates 1,000 workers are on strike, but management at the Global Footwear factory said it was more like 300. The case has been referred to the Arbitration Council, although a factor representative, Phu Chikay, the director of administration, said the workers demands were "over the law," and impossible to meet. The Arbitration Council has told workers to go back to work, but that directive has been ignored, the newspaper said. "If there is no solution for us, we still continue to strike," Mol said.