A strike involving hundreds of casino workers – many who have been told their contracts have been terminated – reached an impasse yesterday after NagaWorld officials did not attend a conciliation session at the Arbitration Council, a union leader said.

“The Arbitration Council could not immediately resolve this case because the casino’s representatives were not here,” said Sok Narith, vice-president of the Cambodian Tourism and Service Workers Federation. “The company’s absence means they do not intend to resolve this case and will terminate the jobs of all those they sent the message to.”

Workers say the message – that they had lost their jobs – came in the form of text messages and emails following casino security cracking down on their strike last Tuesday by briefly detaining 19 workers and union leaders.

In a memo sent last week, the company’s human resources department said the workers had been striking illegally and their contracts were therefore “terminated/suspended”.

Hundreds lined the street outside the Phnom Penh casino yesterday morning, resuming their strike that began on June 13.

Narith said workers at the casino, owned by Hong Kong-listed Nagacorp, would continue demanding their minimum wage be increased to $150 per month.

“In 2012, the company made $278 million gross profit. For net profit, it was $113 million. So the demands we’re making are 1.5 per cent of net profit.”

NagaWorld management declined to comment.