On 8 April 2014, 200 workers at Banjamat Construction Company went on strike and protested in front of the factory in Kampot province, demanding major pay increases and for fired unionists to be reinstated.
Ty Yann, secretary of the Building and Wood Workers Trade Union Confederation (BWTUC), said workers were protesting against the company’s discrimination against union members.
Banjamat employees and BWTUC leaders, Chhun Pov and Tep Mao, were fired in November 2010, just one month after forming a union. Yann said the remaining employees had feared similar treatment ever since.
“In fact, the court and Arbitration Council ordered K Cement factory to reinstate the workers ... but the company did not agree. It makes other workers fear that the company discriminates against the union,” Yann said.