The Free Trade Union expects thousands of workers from across the country to join FTU president Chea Mony in paying respects to the late King Father Norodom Sihanouk on Tuesday.

“We will gather and walk quietly to pay respect to the King Father’s spirit,” he said.

“The union leaders at the factories over the country will spread this information to the workers at their factories.”

All workers, whether FTU members or not, will be welcome to join in, Mony said.

To make up for the lost day of work, workers will instead work on October 31, the national holiday that honours the late King Father’s birthday, Mony said.

Workers who had recently been on strike at the Tae Young factory in Kandal province’s Ang Snuol district said they would join the FTU in paying their respects next Tuesday and meanwhile have suspended their strike, intended to begin again yesterday after a Pchum Ben hiatus, out of respect for the late King Father.

“We decided to cancel our plans to strike again [yesterday] because we wanted to respect our former King, and we were worried that police or military police officials would arrest us for striking during this time,” worker representative Un Bunkea said yesterday.

To contact the reporter on this story: Mom Kunthear at [email protected]