A protest over attendance bonuses among workers at a factory in southern Phnom Penh turned violent yesterday morning, after the factory owner’s driver allegedly assaulted a worker.

Eam Sinavuth reportedly punched Tep Vannaroth as he tried to rally other protesting workers to assist a co-worker, who was denied access to the factory after arrived late for a shift.

“He punched me on the edge of my right eye and he tried to grab me, but I escaped,” Vannaroth said yesterday.

The altercation was resolved without legal action after talks overseen by police.

Almost 300 workers at the Kang Da garment factory in Meanchey district started protesting on Tuesday, after management reportedly reneged on a deal struck in August.

According to Huy Sambath, president of the Federation Union for Cambodia Workers, factory management had pledged not to withhold entire $15 monthly attendance bonuses in the event a worker is late or absent for a day. Instead, a proportion of the bonus would be withheld, based on time the worker missed.

The factory’s owners could not be reached for comment yesterday.