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NagaWorld union leader released from prison, vows to lead ongoing strike
September 16, 2024
Article Body Text<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A prominent union leader who has led a high-profile strike at a Phnom Penh hotel and casino was released from prison on Monday and promised to continue leading workers who are demanding better wages and working conditions. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“It is a mistake for those who think that putting people in the prison can stop workers from protesting,” Chhim Sithar told Radio Free Asia. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Most people fear being in prison. I fear it too,” she said. “But for me and my union team, we are more afraid of losing our rights.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The dispute at the NagaWorld Hotel and Entertainment Complex, one of the world’s most profitable gambling centers, began in 2021 when the company laid off more than 1,300 employees, about half of them union members.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The strike has drawn a violent crackdown from police </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">and continues to this day. Cambodian authorities have claimed that the strike is illegal and the product of alleged foreign donations.</span></p> <figure><img alt="20240916-CHHIM-SITHAR-CAMBODIA-LABOR-RIGHTS-002.jpg" class="image-richtext image-inline" src="https://www.rfa.org/english/news/cambodia/nagaworld-union-leader-released-prison-09162024160711.html/20240916-chhim-sithar-cambodia-labor-rights-002.jpg/@@images/dea70440-851e-4436-827a-738d5fe470d6.jpeg" title="20240916-CHHIM-SITHAR-CAMBODIA-LABOR-RIGHTS-002.jpg"/> <figcaption>Chhim Sithar, right, a union leader being freed from prison after serving time for her part in a strike against the country’s biggest casino, speaks to her supporters at a club on the outskirts of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Sept. 16, 2024.(Heng Sinith/AP)<br/><br/></figcaption> </figure> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Workers demanding better wages and working conditions have the legal right in Cambodia to organize and strike, Chhim Sithar said on Monday</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Chhim Sithar received a two-year sentence in May 2023 after she was convicted of “inciting social chaos” for her role in the dispute. She received credit for time served before her trial.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Police initially detained her in December 2021. She was arrested again in November 2022 after returning to Cambodia from a labor conference in Australia for violating bail conditions that authorities said restricted her from leaving the country.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Her arrest was condemned by NagaWorld strikers, civil society officials and the U.S. State Department. Her defense lawyer argued at her trial that she was never properly informed of any travel restrictions. </span></p> <p><b>‘They fear the public’s attention’</b></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Prison authorities transported Chhim Sithar to her Phnom Penh home before dawn on Monday from Prey Sar Prison, which is located on the outskirts of the city. Over the weekend, NagaWorld strikers had announced plans to gather at the prison to greet her after her release.</span></p> <figure><img alt="20240916-CHHIM-SITHAR-CAMBODIA-LABOR-RIGHTS-004.JPEG" class="image-richtext image-inline" src="https://www.rfa.org/english/news/cambodia/nagaworld-union-leader-released-prison-09162024160711.html/20240916-chhim-sithar-cambodia-labor-rights-004.jpeg/@@images/567d182b-2dc8-401f-a10b-da73e8e2d744.jpeg" title="20240916-CHHIM-SITHAR-CAMBODIA-LABOR-RIGHTS-004.JPEG"/> <figcaption>Chhim Sithor and supporters. (Citizen photo)<br/><br/></figcaption> </figure> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Officials apparently wanted to prevent a demonstration at the prison, said Ou Tep Phallin, president of the Federation of Food and Service Workers of Cambodia, one of the unions involved in the strike.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“They fear the public’s attention,” she said. “I see this as a fear of union workers’ assembly.”</span></p> <hr/> <p><b>RELATED STORIES</b></p> <p><a href="https://www.rfa.org/english/news/cambodia/union-leader-release-statements-05062024155407.html"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Cambodia rejects UN spokesman’s call for release of union leader</span></a></p> <p><a href="https://www.rfa.org/english/news/cambodia/cambodia-casino-05252023224043.html"><span style="font-weight: 400;">NagaWorld casino union leader sentenced to 2 years in prison</span></a></p> <p><a href="https://www.rfa.org/english/news/cambodia/chhimsithorverdict-12282022164424.html"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Cambodian court upholds verdict keeping NagaWorld union leader in jail</span></a></p> <hr/> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Chhim Sithar is the leader of the Labor Rights Supported Union of Khmer Employees. At her sentencing, the Phnom Penh Municipal Court also sentenced eight other union members to shorter prison sentences, which were then suspended.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">At the time, Amnesty International said that the union members “were prosecuted solely for exercising their basic rights to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">NagaWorld is owned by a Hong Kong-based company believed to have connections to family members of Senate President Hun Sen.</span></p> <p><b><i>Translated by Sum Sok Ry. Edited by Matt Reed.</i></b></p>
Content TypeText
LanguageEnglish
NewsML Media TopicsArts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
Subtitles / Dubbing AvailableNo
Rights(Heng Sinith/AP)
NetworkVOA
Embargo DateSeptember 16, 2024 16:46 EDT
BylineBy RFA Khmer
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English
