The Mirror, Vol. 11, No. 496
“A group of Khmer laborers went to work in Thailand, and later they returned to Cambodia, because private companies and the Ministry of Labor and Vocational Training took advantage of them; LICADHO [Cambodian League for the Defense and Promotion of Human Rights] made a timely intervention. The Ministry of Labor and Vocational Training did not comment at all about this. And the Top Manpower company did not agree to recognize its mistakes of taking much profit from the Khmer laborers, causing problems.
“37 of 43 Khmer laborers returned to Phnom Penh in the evening of Wednesday, 12 February 2007, after LICADHO and Forum Asia in Thailand, in cooperation with Thai authorities, intervened to bring the Khmer laborers back to Cambodia through the Poipet border-crossing.
“Ms. Pong Chhivkek [also known as Dr. Kek Galabru], the president of LICADHO, held a press conference in the morning of Thursday, 22 February 2007, and said that when the 43 Khmer laborers arrived in Thailand, the Top Manpower company took their passports away and sent them to work in a rubber factory in Nakhon Si Thammarat Province bordering Malaysia, located over 1,400 kilometers from Bangkok.
“Ms. Pong Chhivkek added that the Top Manpower company promised to provide laborers with Baht 250 [approx. US$7.50] and 3 meals per day, as well as appropriate accommodation, but it was not true, because the 43 laborers were forced to work too much in the rubber factory, working 10 hours per day and getting only Baht 148 per day, so that they had, in addition, to spend money for their food, and they had to stay in unbearable rooms in the factory.
“Ms. Pong Chhivkek told reporters that when the company took the passports from the Khmer laborers, they were concerned about their security and did not dare to walk out of the factory, because they were afraid that Thai police and soldiers might arrest them, with charges of illegally entering Thailand.
“Laborer Sry Sopheap, 32, from Kompong Cham, said that the wage she got was only Baht 148, different from the company’s promise that it would provide Baht 250 per day, but it forced the Khmer laborers to work too much, such as lifting rubber of more than 30 kilogram per piece, and they had to pay for their own food.
“Sry Sopheap added that the Khmer laborers were glad when they returned to Cambodia, and they demanded the Top Manpower company to return them the money paid to the company, and the passports that the company had taken from them when they were fulfilling passport procedures at the Poipet border-crossing to enter Cambodia.
“Another laborer, who spoke under condition of anonymity, said that when the news leaked that the Khmer laborers made a call to complain to the human rights organizations in Cambodia and Thailand and to Thai authorities to search the factory for Khmer laborers, supervisors in the rubber factory used five or six gangsters with Samurai swords hanging from their belts, to threaten the 43 Khmer laborers. When they saw that all Khmer laborers joined forces to counter the attack, those Thai gangsters retreated.
“A representative of Top Manpower said on Thursday, 22 February, that the contract between the company and rubber factory in Thailand was a little bit different from what had been advertised. Thai, Burmese, and Laotian workers, who work as contract workers for 7 to 8 hours per day, get Baht 250 each day.
“However, officials and Top Manpower representatives added that the Khmer laborers had some misunderstandings, because wages are different in each region in Thailand. The wage that the 43 Khmer laborers got in the province was Baht 148 per day, as set by the Thai Ministry of Labor. For food, the rubber factory promised to provide three meals per day, but that was changed into rice for the Khmer laborers.
“After the Khmer laborers crossed the Thai border to enter Cambodia, Top Manpower gave the 37 laborers $10 each for taking a taxi to Phnom Penh, and they arrived at the LICADHO office at 2 a.m. on Thursday, 22 February.
“Ms. Pong Chhivkek confirmed that LICADHO waited to help all laborers, as they had requested following an interview with them. She stated that the government’s Sub-Decree No.57 requires all such private companies to have $100,000 deposited in a bank to pay damages to laborers who work in foreign countries.
“Meanwhile, she appealed to the Ministry of Labor and Vocational Training to help monitor bad companies, to prevent them from attracting Khmer laborers to work in foreign countries. There were many Khmer laborers illegally working in Thailand, and they rely on the Khmer government to help to provide legality to them.
“It caused suspicion, as Minister Vorng Soth, the Minister of Labor, did not express any reaction at all to the issue of the Khmer laborers who were suffering in Thailand. It is suspected that the Ministry of Labor quietly received some part of the money from the labor of Khmer laborers working in Thailand. However, the Ministry of Labor should show that it has made efforts to pay attention to Khmer citizens, and it should not be silent like this, leaving it to a non-government organization to play a role to rescue the Khmer citizens. Even if the ministry did anything inappropriate and colluded with private companies, it should be considerate for Khmer-blood people who are being mistreated in a foreign territory.
“What this civil society organization has done should be taken into consideration by Prime Minister Hun Sen, to abolish the Ministry of Labor or to remove Minister Vorng Soth from office, because it was critical that the head of the ministry pretended not to know anything or to still be uninformed, even when it was known that Mr. Minister Vorng Soth had considerable knowledge. Mr. Prime Minister Hun Sen, the head of the government, must consider this issue, and should abolish the Ministry of Labor by transferring the duties to civil society for cooperation, to solve the issue of laborers working in foreign countries, because the Ministry of Labor only took advantage of the laborers, and when there was a problem, it pretended not to know anything.” Samleng Yuvachun Khmer, Vol.14, #2974, 23.2.2007
Newspapers Appearing on the Newsstand:
Friday, 23 February 2007
Kampuchakbot, Vol.11, #242, 23.2-1.3.2007
Kampuchea Thmey, Vol.6, #1274, 23.2.2007
- Sam Rainsy Party Wants the National Assembly to Increase the Number of Seats to 140 [from 123, as number of voters increased in the meantime to 3 million, but Minister of Information Khieu Kanharith said this is an attempt to gain an advantage]
- If You Want to Find Out the Cause of the Chhay Huor II Hotel’s Owner’s Release, Ask Judge Kong Saet and the Court of Appeals Director
- Samdech Hun Sen: Oil Income Is a Blessing; It Is Not a Curse [some said the gap between the rich and the poor will be wider]
- While the Vietnamese Are Happy During their New Year, People in Svay Rieng Are Short of Fish [some fish importers from Vietnam do not work during the Chinese-Vietnamese New Year]
Koh Santepheap, Vol.40, #5974, 23.2.2007
- Concerns over the Impacts from Nature and Culture; the World Is Getting Warmer; the Population Is Growing, Needs Are Changing [Japanese Economists and Cultural Anthropologists shared concerns at the Cambodia-Japan Cooperation Center in Phnom Penh]
Moneaksekar Khmer, Vol.14, #3093, 23.2.2007
- People Trust More in Sam Rainsy as Their Sufferings Are Getting More Serious [Sam Rainsy always helps and speaks up to protect people from land grabbing, high price of gasoline, and other problems]
- If the Court of Appeals Does Not Do a Good Job, Will Hun Sen Remove Ly Vuoch Leng [this Court of Appeals director doesn’t have a good reputation of making good court decisions, but nothing has ever happened to her]
Rasmei Angkor, Vol.14, #1150, 23.2.2007
- Which Official of the Council of Ministers Is Behind the Illegal Constructions of the Eng Phimex Company in Koh Kong? [they constructed 328 flats without proper technical standards in Smach Meanchey, Koh Kong. A source said that an official at the Council of Ministers is behind the company manager]
Rasmei Kampuchea, Vol.15, #4219, 23.2.2007
- Mr. Chan Sarun [Minister of Agriculture] Encouraged Farmers to Grow Vegetables Without Using Chemical Fertilizers [when he visited Takeo last weekend]
Reach Seima, Vol.2, #156,23.2.2007
- Prime Minister Orders Officials at Low Levels to Report Who Is Grabbing Land? [at press conference at Cambodiana Hotel]
Samleng Yuvachun Khmer, Vol.14, #2974, 23.2.2007
- As LICADHO Does a Good Job for Laborers, It Is Time for the Government to Abolish the Ministry of Labor or to Change the Minister
- Samdech Krom Preah Has Enough Evidence to Show the Responsibility of a Committee over the Sale of the Party Headquarters
- Nuth Sokhom [Minister of Health] Is Trembling while Following Nhek Bun Chhay to Allow the Reopening of the [Chinese/Taiwanese] Ren-Ai Hospital [which had been ordered to be closed recently for not having a proper license and Khmer national doctors]
Samleng Yuvachun Khmer, Vol.14, #2975, 24.2.2007 [advance information]
- Is the Killing of Pao Panha Pich in the Middle of the City in the Early Morning Caused by a Love Triangle? [the actress, 23, was shot at around 6:20 on 23.2.2007, after she parked her car and started walking to an English language school. She was rushed to Calmet Hospital, then to Vietnam. Piseth Pilika was shot dead in 1999, and Touch Sunnich was shot in 2003]
[According to later radio reports, Pao Panha Pich died. One more life lost to violence]
Sralanh Khmer, Vol.3, #336, 23.2.2007
- Sam Rainsy Says Hun Sen Pretends to Criticize the Court of Appeals because the Commune Election Is Getting Closer [Hun Sen warned the director of the Court of Appeals, after the quiet release of the Chhay Huor II Hotel owner, who is alleged to be trafficking humans for sexual exploitation]
- A Member of the Opposition Party, Who Was Affected by a Handgrenade Attack, Still Avoids Home Due to Security Concern [the attack took place on 4 June 2005 but attackers are still at large, therefore the victim still stays away from home]
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