More than 100 tuk-tuk drivers ended four days of protests outside Aeon Mall in Phnom Penh yesterday after agreeing to join a union that has exclusive rights to operate there.

Kong Sophal, a representative of 115 protesters, said they would join the Cambodia for Confederation Development Association (CCDA) – a union that rose to prominence in 2012 when its members rallied in support of the imprisonment of activist Yorm Bopha.

CCDA has exclusive access to Aeon, and protesters, many of whom say they worked in the area before the mall was built, had complained of having no access to customers.

“We decided to become a member of this association, because they have the licence and contract with the market,” Sophal said.

Sok Thol, AEON’s security chief, said the mall was willing to consider a new union.

But Sophal said that registering one had proved too time-consuming.