The Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training on May 8 told factory owners not to require vaccination as a condition for workers to return to the workplace in the capital's designated yellow zones or Kandal province's Takmao town, where most businesses have been permitted to reopen.

The order, signed by minister Ith Sam Heng, came just hours after Prime Minister Hun Sen told the ministry to work with employers and insist that they not make vaccination compulsory for continued employment, thereby avoiding vaccine rushes and limiting unnecessary exposure to the novel coronavirus.

Sam Heng told workers to inform the ministry immediately if they face any such issue in returning to work, adding that an inspection team would be sent to the workplace to investigate the case.

The minister also told factory owners to pay workers salary for their work during the first two weeks of April by May 14. Payments to workers stranded in red and orange zones should be made through banks, he said.

He called on owners of rental units to show sympathy for workers and delay or waive rent payments.