The CNRP, in its bid to have Prime Minister Hun Sen step down after 28 years in power and the July 2013 elections the CNRP claims to have won, has put a temporary halt to the daily marches through Phnom Penh it held with tens of thousand of supporters for the last 15 days. But the unions, in their struggle to have a wage rise of 80$, keep on demonstrating in front of the Ministry of Labour. The negotiations there failed in absence of representatives of the factory owners, and some 4000 workers decided to march to the Council of Ministers where they were blocked in a standoff with the riot police which lasted for 4 hours. On the Eastern side of Russian boulevard, a smaller crowd was equally blocked by riot police from making a junction with the factory workers.
The other 2013 elections photographs are HERE.
An e-book for the iPad about the garment sector in Cambodia, called ‘A Fine Thread’ will be released soon in the ‘Mono’ collection published by ‘4Rivers’. See HERE.
The attendance to the 15th march by the opposition CNRP in as much days through the streets of Phnom Penh to demand that Prime Minister Hun Sen step down following the July 2013 elections in Cambodia, was superior to the record breaking march of one week ago (see HERE).
A voice that strong cannot be ignored. For sure there must be, there will be, a reaction, a clear sign from the authorities any time soon. Everybody is waiting…
In chronological order some of the day’s events:
The other 2013 elections photographs are HERE.
It’s been 14 days the opposition CNRP marches in the streets of Phnom Penh to oust Prime Minister from power. It was supposed to last 8 days only. But as the CNRP stated ‘We are flexible’, and as fear of the authorities seems to have disappeared, there is no reason not to go on. Tomorrow sunday the record attendance of last week may well be broken.
Posted Saturday Dec 28, 2013, in
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The roadblock in front of the Ministry of Labour was kept all through the day by workers striking for a salary rise.
Another roadblock, in front of the Special Economic Zone in Kambol, some 19 km outside of Phnom Penh, was set up by striking workers after they were pushed back by riot police when trying to enter the SEZ. The SEZ was sealed off with a double layer of containers and fences with barbed wire.
The other 2013 elections photographs are HERE.
More and more factory workers seem to join the protest. ‘Hun Sen must go’ is heard less than ‘We want 160$’.
A group of a couple of thousand workers on their way to Freedom Place blocked Russian Boulevard at the Ministry of Labour to demand a salary rise of 80$.
At the Special Economic Zone of Kambol there were heavy clashes between workers and riot police.
The other 2013 elections photographs are HERE.
The 8-day protest by the opposition CNRP with daily marches through the streets of Phnom Penh to demand Prime Minister Hun Sen resign following the July 2013 elections the CNRP claims to have won, seem to roll on now that an unfortunate announcement by the government of a salary rise of 15 $ instead of an expected 80$ has sent the garment factory workers in a strike. And the protests might last for some more time as the GMAC (Garment Manufacturors Association of Cambodia) has advised its members to send back the workers home for the coming week for security reasons.
The other 2013 elections photographs are HERE.
The announcement by the government of a 15$ salary rise instead of an expected 80$ triggered a chain reaction of strikes in several garment factories. The CNRP happily surfs on that wave of discontent to push ahead with its wish, shared with a fair amount of Cambodians, to see Prime Minister Hun Sen, in power for the last 28 years, step down.
A motorcade to Chroy Changvar left Freedom Place, where many striking workers had gathered, around 4:00PM
The other 2013 elections photographs are HERE.
The announcement by the government of a 15$ rise, bringing the salaries of factory workers to 95$ instead of the expected 160$, has stirred a fair amount of discontent amongst the workers, inciting many to start striking. The 400,000 workers being in fact the only potentially coherent opposition force thanks to the existence of worker’s unions, surely will provide the CNRP with a wave to surf on in its bid to oust Prime Minister Hun Sen from the power he holds for the past 28 years.
Following are some of the protests from this morning, where some 3,000 workers gathered at Freedom Place and another 400 at Chak Angré on road nr 2… Everything on the road between Stung Meanchey and Chaom Chao, lined with hundreds of factories was quiet.
Boeung Kak lake blocking the road in front of the Municipality yet gain seems a bit of a peripheral battle now.
