Cambodian unionist jailed over strike tied to NagaWorld

May 25, 2023 Newsdesk Latest News, Rest of Asia, Top of the deck  

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Chhim Sithar, president of a union representing workers from the NagaWorld casino complex in Cambodia’s capital Phnom Penh, has been sentenced by a local court to two years in jail, for what the criminal code calls “incitement to commit a felony or disturb social security”. The sentence was announced on Thursday, reported several international news agencies.

Ms Sithar, leader of the Labor Rights Supported Union of Khmer Employees of NagaWorld, was reportedly convicted in relation to her leading role in a highly-publicised strike that started in December 2021, to demand the reinstatement of workers laid off by the casino resort during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The NagaWorld casino complex is run by Hong Kong-listed NagaCorp Ltd.

Ms Sithar had been first arrested in January 2022. She was later re-arrested in November, reportedly for violating bail conditions, as she left the country to participate in the World Congress of the International Trade Union Confederation, in Australia.

The AFP news agency reported that five other union members from her group were on Thursday given 18-month court monitoring orders. Three other union members received one-year suspended jail sentences.

Several international organisations, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, issued statements on Thursday opposing the sentencing of Ms Sithar and her fellow unionists.

“Instead of respecting workers’ rights to freedom of association, bargain collectively, and strike, the [Cambodian] government has used every repressive trick in the book to intimidate their union,” said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch.

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