Demand to reinstate union leaders and activists and recognize the union

Respect Workers’ Right to Self Organization

Mr Kim Chhean

KC Gecin Enterprises

500 Norodom Boulevard, National Road # 2)

Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Fax: +855 23 360 638

RE: Demand to reinstate union leaders and activists and recognize the union

The Building and Wood Workers International (BWI), representing more than 12 million members from 328 trade union organizations in 130 countries, is well aware of the on-going industrial dispute between your company and the Building and Wood Workers Federation of Cambodia (BWTUC) which is affiliated to us.

Guaranteed both by the Cambodian Constitution and Labor Code as well as the International Conventions 87 (The Right to Self-Organization) and 98 (The Right to Collective Bargaining) which are ratified by the Cambodian government and bound to enforce it, workers had exercised their rights to form union and had duly notified the company management for recognition and initiation of the process towards collective bargaining.

However, instead of recognizing the union for collective bargaining negotiation purposes, your company had resulted in drastic and discriminatory acts by illegally terminating 29 union leaders and activists last 13th August and another 25 union members who participated in a legitimate trade union seminar.

Despite these unfair labor practices the union persisted to bring you to negotiating table through the mediation of officials from Ministry of Labor. Yet, you responded with another discriminatory act by terminating another 10 workers who participated in this collective action last 15th August. You even junked the mediation provided by the Ministry of Labor and solicited the support of security and police personnel to intimate the workers who decided to launch a strike last 16th August.

These are absolutely violation of the Cambodia constitution article 36, Cambodia Labor Law, Chapter XI, Trade union freedom and workers representation in the enterprise, Proclamation (Prakass) No. 305 on representation of professional organization of workers at the enterprise level and on the right to have collective bargaining for collective bargaining agreement at enterprise or establishment level and ILO convention No, 87, 98.

As an affiliate of BWI, we enjoin you to reinstate the dismissed union leaders and members without preconditions, refrain from intimidating the workers on strike, recognize the union as a primary step that would lead to normalcy in the employee-employer relationship towards settle of the industrial disputes through collective bargaining agreement; lest we launch a major international campaign to expose your rogue corporate behavior.

Yours truly,

Name of President/General Secretary

Name of Union