Cambodian police crack down on casino workers after lay-off negotiations with Hong Kong-listed NagaCorp stall
- More than two dozen current and former employees of NagaWorld have been detained amid a strike protesting against mass lay-offs
- NagaCorp laid off 1,329 workers last May, citing Covid; unions want 365 reinstated. Meanwhile, some politicians are labelling the dispute a ‘colour revolution’
Hundreds of workers at NagaWorld, a casino that is part of the sprawling leisure complex in the Cambodian capital owned by NagaCorp Ltd, have been on strike since December 18. They are calling for the reinstatement of 365 employees who were laid off last April and May.
The police first detained 10 people on New Year’s Eve, but with workers continuing to return to the grassy strip of park in front of the company’s Naga 1 building or nearby to strike, after negotiations between the union, company management and authorities stalled, police detained another 17 people on Monday. Nine people, including several detained on New Year’s Eve, were charged on Monday for incitement to endanger social security.
On Tuesday, union leader Chhim Sithar, who was among the 1,329 people laid off last year, was detained by police. A video posted on Twitter showed what appeared to be undercover police pouncing on her and forcefully dragging her towards a white sedan.
“It’s a brutal arrest against such a young brave lady,” Chak Sopheap, executive director of the Cambodian Centre for Human Rights, told Reuters.
NagaCorp has not responded to an emailed request for comment that was sent to several members of the company and its public relations firm. It announced to shareholders on December 19 that business was not impacted by the strike, adding that the company had terminated 1,329 workers in a “mutual separation plan” but 360 of the laid-off employees had rejected the plan.
