Cambodian New Year workers are absent from work at their own risk!
Cambodian Daily News: The Ministry of Labor and Vocational Training issued a notice on the 9th emphasizing: “Everything in Cambodia Workers who are absent from work without an excuse during the New Year period must undergo a 14-day quarantine before returning to work.”
The notice states that if a worker is absent from work without an excuse during the Cambodian New Year, the worker must undergo a 14-day quarantine before returning to work. Observed, and without pay during quarantine.
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The notice also stated that if approved by the capital, In the case of workers taking leave during the Cambodian New Year, they must also undergo a 14-day quarantine observation before returning to work. During this period, the employer is responsible for their wages.
The Ministry of Labor pointed out in the notice that this move is based on the decision of the Royal Government to postpone the Cambodian New Year (April 13 to 16, 2020) holidays for civil servants and private units issued by the Royal Government on the 8th of this month, aiming to curb The COVID-19 epidemic spreads.
“Workers and employees in factories, enterprises and institutions must go to work as usual during the Cambodian New Year.” the notice emphasized.
The Ministry of Labor firmly believes that owners of factories, enterprises and institutions and all workers will effectively implement this circular.
Hundreds of factories are shut down and the New Year holiday is canceled
On the morning of April 7, Prime Minister Hun Sen announced at a special press conference held at the Prime Minister’s Office that the Cambodian New Year holiday in April would be cancelled, and Cambodian companies and factories could operate as usual.
Hun Sen said that the government will take measures to cancel the Cambodian New Year holiday and allow Cambodian companies and factories to operate as usual. But he also said that when the epidemic eases, he will make up for the five-day holiday for the people.
Hun Sen also called on Cambodian workers in Thailand not to return home for the time being.
This news has dispelled many people’s concerns to a certain extent, because the Cambodian New Year will have an impact on the spread of the epidemic. It is obvious that canceling the holiday will undoubtedly It is the best way to control the epidemic. But it is bad news for some factories that are barely surviving. Without orders, they originally planned to take advantage of the holidays to take a break, but this decree made their faces full of wrinkles.
At the meeting, Prime Minister Hun Sen also announced another piece of news. So far, more than 100 factories in Cambodia have suspended production due to the epidemic. He emphasized that there are two main reasons for the shutdown of the factory: the first is the lack of raw materials; the second is the cancellation of orders by buyers.
He said that at the suggestion of the Cambodian Garment Manufacturers Association, the government has reissued a document stipulating that during the temporary suspension of production due to the epidemic, workers can receive a salary of US$70, of which US$30 will be paid by the factory. The party pays, and the other US$40 is subsidized by the government.
In just over a month, the number of factories that have applied to suspend operations has increased from more than 20 to hundreds, and there is no sign of “braking” at all, and the number is still increasing. This reflects the difficulties that Cambodia’s manufacturing industry is facing, the sadness of bosses in Cambodia, and the difficulty of workers making ends meet.
Boss in Cambodia: Without orders, it’s difficult to get going
Most factories in Cambodia All raw materials are imported from China, produced locally, and finally exported to Europe and the United States. They are all interlocked, and if there is a problem with any one of them, the entire transaction cannot be completed.
In February, the EU announced the cancellation of some EBA preferential treatment for Cambodia, resulting in higher tariffs on export products. Later, due to the raging epidemic in China, the supply of raw materials was insufficient and the factory was unable to produce. As the epidemic spreads around the world, Europe and the United States have “fallen”. Many buyers have canceled order contracts from March to June, seriously affecting factory operations. The original materials cannot be sold, and there are no new orders, resulting in many The factory was forced to shut down.
As one crisis after another comes, the Cambodian government, in order to protect the interests of hundreds of thousands of workers, stipulates that although the factory is suspended, it must still pay each worker a salary of US$30. .
Assume that your factory has a thousand workers, and the monthly salary needs to be 30,000 US dollars, and it is in In case of cessation of operation, the rent of the factory building is not included. If all these costs are added up, even if the factory is shut down, it will still lose tens of thousands of dollars every month. What’s even more tragic is that we still don’t know when the epidemic will end.
Regarding the difficulties faced by factories, Prime Minister Hun Sen and social organizations such as the Cambodian Garment Manufacturers Association have called on landlords to appropriately lower rents to tide over the difficulties with factories, but only a few are actually willing to implement it.
On April Fool’s Day, April 1, the owner of a garment factory went bankrupt and ran away. The local government liquidated his property because he failed to pay his workers’ wages, and the funds raised from the auction were used for repayment. Workers’ salaries. This may be more than one case, there are many people who are already on the verge of bankruptcy, like a taut string that may break at any time.
Tens of thousands of workers face unemployment and difficulty in survival
Many compatriots have complained about the government’s requirement that factories pay each worker US$30 during the shutdown period. It was believed that the factory could not survive and decided to suspend operations, but still had to pay wages, and these workers did not work. But in fact, this provision is within the scope of Cambodian labor law.
The shutdown of hundreds of factories means that tens of thousands of workers will face unemployment. Most of these workers are relatively poor and come from rural areas in various provinces. Many of them have become parents of several children at a young age and have a heavy burden on their families. Normally, these workers receive a monthly salary of about US$230, which is just enough to live on, with no surplus.
Now the factory has no orders and has chosen to stop work. The workers are forced to lose their jobs and can only get a monthly salary of 70 US dollars. Without deposits, can these 70 US dollars be supported?
Manufacturing is Cambodia’s pillar industry and has certain representativeness. But in addition, the tourism, service, and construction industries have all been hit hard, and a large number of low-level waiters have difficulty surviving. If the economic crisis caused by the epidemic is not effectively alleviated, Cambodia will soon face a “wave of unemployment” and social security and stability will also be threatened. </p
