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Effect given to the recommendations of the committee and the Governing Body
Effect given to the recommendations of the committee and the Governing Body- 16. The Committee last examined this case (presented in February 2015),
in which the complainant denounced the refusal to register a trade union at a garment
factory, acts of anti-union discrimination following a strike, the use of military force
on striking workers and excessive legislative requirements for the determination and
election of union leadership, at its June 2019 meeting [see 389th Report, paras 25–37].
On that occasion, the Committee requested the Government to provide concrete information
on the results of the fact-finding committees investigating the allegations of killings,
physical violence and arrests of protesting workers and expressed its expectation that
the concerned workers would be fully compensated for any damage suffered. The Committee
also requested the Government to provide information on the outcome of the appeal
proceedings concerning six trade unionists who had led the general strike in December
2013 and who had been sentenced to a suspended two-and-a-half year imprisonment and
ordered to jointly pay 35 million Cambodian riels (US$8,750) as compensation.
- 17. In its communication dated 4 October 2019, the Government indicates
that the six trade union leaders – Ath Thorn, Chea Mony, Yarng Sophorn, Pav Sina, Rong
Chhun and Mam Nhim – who had been sentenced to a suspended two-and-a-half year
imprisonment and ordered to jointly pay compensation appealed the judgment with the
legal support from the Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training (MLVT) and the
Ministry of Justice. On 28 May 2019, the Court of Appeal delivered its ruling and
ordered to drop all charges against the union leaders. The Government affirms that
following the judgment of the Court of Appeal, the unionists enjoy the exercise of their
freedom of association as prescribed by the Law on Trade Union. It adds that the
judgment was based on the evidence and the outcome of the fact-finding committees
investigating the allegations of killings, physical violence and arrests of protesting
workers.
- 18. With regard to allegations of anti-union discrimination, the
Government states that in addition to the existing mechanisms, the Department of Labour
Inspection and the Department of Labour Dispute jointly prepared an administrative
letter to alert employers and employers’ representatives on the strict implementation of
the provisions related to anti-union discrimination, including inappropriate termination
of employment contract. The MLVT is confident that the existing mechanisms and legal
provisions can safeguard and provide an adequate protection against anti-union
discrimination. The Government also reaffirms its commitment to guarantee the exercise
of freedom of association in a climate free from intimidation and violence and requests
the Committee to withdraw this case from the list of pending cases.
- 19. The Committee takes notes of the information provided by the
Government. It welcomes, in particular, the Government's indication that in May 2019,
the Court of Appeal ordered to drop all charges against the six trade union leaders who
had led the general strike in December 2013 and who had been previously sentenced to a
suspended two-and-a-half year imprisonment, and that the union leaders are now freely
exercising their freedom of association rights. The Committee also welcomes the
Government's updated information in relation to the initiatives taken to ensure adequate
protection against acts of anti-union discrimination, as well as its reiterated
commitment to guaranteeing the exercise of freedom of association rights in a climate
free from intimidation and violence. The Committee trusts that these measures will
contribute to creating and maintaining an environment conducive to the development of
harmonious and stable industrial relations.
- 20. While further noting from the information provided by the Government
that the three fact-finding committees, established in the aftermath of the alleged use
of military force on striking workers in January 2014, seem to have investigated the
allegations of killings, physical injury and arrest of protesting workers denounced by
the complainant and that their findings were used in the above judgment of the Court of
Appeal, the Committee regrets to observe that more than six years after the alleged
incidents, the Government does not provide any concrete information as to the actual
findings made by these committees in relation to the complainant's serious allegations
(the killing of five workers, the wounding of more than 40 workers and the arrest of 23
union leaders and striking workers (see 380th Report, October 2016, para. 123)). The
Committee therefore recalls that it is important that investigations into the murders of
trade unionists should yield concrete results in order to determine reliably the facts,
the motives and the persons responsible, in order to apply the appropriate punishments
and to prevent such incidents recurring in the future [see Compilation of decisions of
the Committee on Freedom of Association, sixth edition, 2018, para. 96]. In these
circumstances, the Committee requests the Government once again to provide concrete
information on the results of the fact-finding committees investigating the allegations
of killings, physical violence and arrests of protesting workers, in particular to
indicate whether the responsible persons were identified, the guilty parties punished
and the concerned workers or their families fully compensated for any damage suffered.
The Committee trusts that the Government will be able to provide details in this regard
without delay.
