Cambodia
27.06.03
Urgent Interventions
Cambodia: Repression of workers
Case KHM 270603.ESCR
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Concern
Labour rights/Use of force
The International Secretariat of OMCT requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in Cambodia.
Brief description of the situation
The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC), a member of the OMCT network, of the police killing of a factory worker when they opened fire into a peaceful demonstration of workers seeking enforcement of labour rights, in Chack Ang-Re From in the southern part of Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
According to the information received, on June 13, 2003, a group of up to 1000 workers of the Terratex Knitting and Garment Factory, Ltd. were demonstrating peacefully for a fifth day outside the factory seeking reinstatement of a union leader who had been fired. It is reported that this union leader played a key role in supporting the factory workers’ request for time off, the removal of a senior manager considered to be corrupt and better working conditions, including a reduction in forced overtime work and an increase of their monthly salary from USD 30 to USD 45.
It is reported that the demonstration was initially policed by approximately 30 local officers who were later reinforced by about 200 Intervention Police who blocked the demonstrators from marching to the city centre and attempted to disperse the crowd. According to the information received, this resulted in a clash between the police, using batons and guns, and the workers, who were armed with stones. Officers with assault rifles reportedly fired shots into the air and at the ground, while factory workers reportedly retaliated by throwing stones, some of them attacking the factory and trying to set it alight.
According to the information received, the violence resulted in the deaths of a factory worker, Mr. Mao Vuthey (30 years old), known at the factory as Yim Ry. It is reported that the police shot Mao Vuthey, while the reported cause of Mao Vuthey's death varies from a bullet in his spine, to a gun blast to his chest. It is also reported that a municipal police officer, Sok Sovanara (42 years old), died of head injuries sustained during the confrontation. It is reported that 26 people were injured, 18 of them being police officers. In the aftermath of the confrontation, a kilometre-long stretch of road was reportedly strewn with spent AK-47 shells and abandoned sandals, as the workers fled from the gunfire. It is reported that 34 demonstrators were arrested for their alleged participation in the protest.
According to the information received, on June 14 2003, a march by the workers at the Terratex factory to mourn the death of their colleague resulted in further violence and arrests. It is reported that the police fired into the air to disperse the workers, and 500 police armed with AK-47s and electric batons battled with about 250 workers, who again threw rocks.
Background information
According to the information received, on June 11, striking workers marched to the Commerce Ministry and on June 12, workers demonstrated outside the Meanchey District Facility and then brought their case to the Ministry of Labour. It is reported that the workers accused managers of abusing labour law and engaging in anti-union discrimination. The workers reportedly planned to seek assistance from the Commerce Ministry to reinstate fired workers and attain fair salaries and overtime pay. According to the information received, Morm Nhim, president of the Independent Federation Textile Union of Cambodia, the factory management was unwilling to negotiate to find a solution to workers’ complaints.
It is reported that Terratex is one of 10 large garment factories in the south of Phnom Penh, most of which are foreign-owned. The garment industry is Cambodia's main source of foreign revenue, with about 200,000 people working in more than 200 factories. Garment factories produced around US$1.1 billion in exports in 2001, which is about 77 percent of the country's total; most of the clothes go to the US to be sold by Nike, Adidas and Gap. Terratex reportedly produced clothing for the Gap.
Action requested
Please write to the authorities in Cambodia urging them to:
i. take all necessary measures to guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of the workers of Terratex;
ii. guarantee an immediate investigation into the circumstances of these events and the death of Mr. Mao Vuthey, in order to identify those responsible, bring them before a civil competent and impartial tribunal and apply the penal and/or administrative sanctions provided by law;
iii. guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with national laws and international human rights standards.
Please write to Gap, Inc. urging them to:
i. Guarantee that its partner Terratex abide by internationally recognised human rights and labour rights;
ii. Abide by its own Code of Conduct guaranteeing the rights of workers to “to join associations of their own choosing”, requiring employers no to “interfere with workers who wish to lawfully and peacefully associate, organize or bargain collectively” and stipulating that if a factory violates these rules Gap, Inc. “may either terminate its business relationship or require the factory to implement a corrective action plan.”
Addresses
Prime Minister Hun Sen, Office of the Council of Ministers, Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Fax: (855) 23-426-054
Paul Pressler, President and Chief Executive Officer, Gap, Inc., Two Folsom Street
San Francisco, CA 94105
Geneva, June 27, 2003
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Concern
Labour rights/Use of force
The International Secretariat of OMCT requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in Cambodia.
Brief description of the situation
The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC), a member of the OMCT network, of the police killing of a factory worker when they opened fire into a peaceful demonstration of workers seeking enforcement of labour rights, in Chack Ang-Re From in the southern part of Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
According to the information received, on June 13, 2003, a group of up to 1000 workers of the Terratex Knitting and Garment Factory, Ltd. were demonstrating peacefully for a fifth day outside the factory seeking reinstatement of a union leader who had been fired. It is reported that this union leader played a key role in supporting the factory workers’ request for time off, the removal of a senior manager considered to be corrupt and better working conditions, including a reduction in forced overtime work and an increase of their monthly salary from USD 30 to USD 45.
It is reported that the demonstration was initially policed by approximately 30 local officers who were later reinforced by about 200 Intervention Police who blocked the demonstrators from marching to the city centre and attempted to disperse the crowd. According to the information received, this resulted in a clash between the police, using batons and guns, and the workers, who were armed with stones. Officers with assault rifles reportedly fired shots into the air and at the ground, while factory workers reportedly retaliated by throwing stones, some of them attacking the factory and trying to set it alight.
According to the information received, the violence resulted in the deaths of a factory worker, Mr. Mao Vuthey (30 years old), known at the factory as Yim Ry. It is reported that the police shot Mao Vuthey, while the reported cause of Mao Vuthey's death varies from a bullet in his spine, to a gun blast to his chest. It is also reported that a municipal police officer, Sok Sovanara (42 years old), died of head injuries sustained during the confrontation. It is reported that 26 people were injured, 18 of them being police officers. In the aftermath of the confrontation, a kilometre-long stretch of road was reportedly strewn with spent AK-47 shells and abandoned sandals, as the workers fled from the gunfire. It is reported that 34 demonstrators were arrested for their alleged participation in the protest.
According to the information received, on June 14 2003, a march by the workers at the Terratex factory to mourn the death of their colleague resulted in further violence and arrests. It is reported that the police fired into the air to disperse the workers, and 500 police armed with AK-47s and electric batons battled with about 250 workers, who again threw rocks.
Background information
According to the information received, on June 11, striking workers marched to the Commerce Ministry and on June 12, workers demonstrated outside the Meanchey District Facility and then brought their case to the Ministry of Labour. It is reported that the workers accused managers of abusing labour law and engaging in anti-union discrimination. The workers reportedly planned to seek assistance from the Commerce Ministry to reinstate fired workers and attain fair salaries and overtime pay. According to the information received, Morm Nhim, president of the Independent Federation Textile Union of Cambodia, the factory management was unwilling to negotiate to find a solution to workers’ complaints.
It is reported that Terratex is one of 10 large garment factories in the south of Phnom Penh, most of which are foreign-owned. The garment industry is Cambodia's main source of foreign revenue, with about 200,000 people working in more than 200 factories. Garment factories produced around US$1.1 billion in exports in 2001, which is about 77 percent of the country's total; most of the clothes go to the US to be sold by Nike, Adidas and Gap. Terratex reportedly produced clothing for the Gap.
Action requested
Please write to the authorities in Cambodia urging them to:
i. take all necessary measures to guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of the workers of Terratex;
ii. guarantee an immediate investigation into the circumstances of these events and the death of Mr. Mao Vuthey, in order to identify those responsible, bring them before a civil competent and impartial tribunal and apply the penal and/or administrative sanctions provided by law;
iii. guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with national laws and international human rights standards.
Please write to Gap, Inc. urging them to:
i. Guarantee that its partner Terratex abide by internationally recognised human rights and labour rights;
ii. Abide by its own Code of Conduct guaranteeing the rights of workers to “to join associations of their own choosing”, requiring employers no to “interfere with workers who wish to lawfully and peacefully associate, organize or bargain collectively” and stipulating that if a factory violates these rules Gap, Inc. “may either terminate its business relationship or require the factory to implement a corrective action plan.”
Addresses
Prime Minister Hun Sen, Office of the Council of Ministers, Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Fax: (855) 23-426-054
Paul Pressler, President and Chief Executive Officer, Gap, Inc., Two Folsom Street
San Francisco, CA 94105
Geneva, June 27, 2003
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.