Inserting himself into a strike at a garment factory in Kampong Cham province, Cambodian Confederation of Unions president Rong Chhun led about 200 demonstrators to protest in front of the provincial labour department.

Thousands purportedly protested in front of the Manhattan garment factory last week, demanding the factory in the province’s Kampong Siem district reinstate three Cambodian Alliance of Trade Unions (CATU) representatives fired last year.

The Arbitration Council last year ruled the factory must rehire the CATU officials, but Manhattan ignored the decision. “The labour department officials did not come out of their office to meet with us,” Chhun said yesterday.

Neither Kampong Cham provincial labour department director Cheng Heang nor Manhattan factory officials could be reached for comment yesterday.