A UNION head has accused the Quicksew garment factory in Phnom Penh of attempting to ban workers from joining unions and offering additional income for those who do not.

In a letter issued to the Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia on Friday, Free Trade Union of Workers of the Kingdom of Cambodia president Chea Mony accused the company’s director, Lary Kim, of abusing the labour law and interfering in union affairs.

“All these actions are a serious mistake and interfere with unions,” the letter read.

Workers who did not join the union were offered an additional US$5 per month while the company had also been forcing employees to work overtime, the letter claimed. Chea Mony also threatened to urge buyers from the United States and Europe to boycott the company if action wasn’t taken, in the letter.

Ken Loo, secretary general of GMAC, said yesterday he had received the letter and would investigate the case this week.

Nun Noy, chief of Quicksew company administration dismissed the allegations yesterday, calling them “exaggerations”. “They are just exaggerations from a small group that want to defame the factory,” he said.