Law on Trade Unions amendment sent to Council of Ministers

Minister of Labour and Vocational Training Ith Sam Heng. Heng Chivoan

Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training spokesman Heng Sour said the Supreme Consultation Council supported its decision to submit the amendment of the Law on Trade Unions to the Council of Ministers.

The proposed amendments affect Articles 3, 17, 20, 21, 27, 28, 29, 54, and 59 of the current law and are mostly related to the rights involved in holding demonstrations.

Discussions on the amendment concluded recently.

The leader of the Cambodian Indigenous Democracy Party Sroy Khet led the Council in a discussion on the amendment with a delegation led by the Minister of Labour and Vocational Training Ith Sam Heng on Wednesday.

Sour told The Post that although some bills had been removed and some others had been accepted, the Council of Ministers supported and welcomed the amendment.

“After discussions and getting the Council’s support, the ministry will propose that the bills be included in the meeting agenda with it [the Council],” Sour said.

The ministry said the amendment is aimed at protecting employers and employees.

According to the ministry, as of the first quarter of this year, there were 4,949 vocational training organisations registered with the ministry.

Among them, there are 4,722 union bases, 189 labour union federations, 29 confederations of trade unions and nine employers’ associations.

Khmer Rise Party (KRP) president and Council member Sok Sovann Vathana Sabung supported the amendment even though none of the suggestions from the council was accepted.

He will continue to monitor the law’s implementation when it is put into effect, he said.

“The drafted bills have many good points and KRP supports the policy. The amendment looks good, but the most important is the implementation of the amended law,” he said.

Coalition of Cambodian Apparel Workers’ Democratic Union president Ath Thorn said although the Labour Ministry accepted some suggestions from the unions, the percentage of suggestions used in the amendment remains limited.

He asked the government and National Assembly to reconsider and include more union suggestions in the amendment.

“Unions called for the amendment of more than 10 Articles in the current law, but the ministry did not accept all our suggestions,” he said.

Contact author: Long Kimmarita

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