Labour dispute

STRIKING workers from construction firm KC Gecin Enterprises have been prevented from returning to work, and company officials yesterday said that there was no longer anything for them to do.

Workers have protested in front of the company’s office in Meanchey district since August 13, when 27 workers were allegedly fired for attempting to unionise.

Both sides met at the Ministry of Labour’s Arbitration Council yesterday, where striking workers asked for a decision from the council allowing workers to shelter at the factory. “They have no home to stay in besides the factory,” said Sok Sovandeth, president of the Cambodian National Federation of Building and Wood Workers.

But Ngeth Samol, head of administration at KC Gecin Enterprises, said workers could not stay because there was nothing for them to do. “They are not full-rights workers, so we decided to halt them from working because our company does not have enough work for them,” he said. The Arbitration Council has 15 days from yesterday to make a decision about the workers’ fate.