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Cambodia condemns violent garment protests that injure 2 police officers

Xinhua, December 22, 2015 Adjust font size:

Cambodia's Ministry of Labor on Tuesday condemned violent garment protests at two special economic zones (SEZs) in eastern Svay Rieng province's Bavet town that left at least two riot police officers injured.

"The Ministry of Labor and Vocational Training has regrets for this act of violence and strongly condemns a small group of ill-intentioned people who have incited and stayed behind this violence,"said the ministry in a statement.

The violent protests and chaos were targeted to "discourage investors and buyers," the statement added.

The ministry fully supports the authorities in preventing a handful of ill-intentioned people from attempting to sabotage the economy and called on the workers to stay calm, it said.

The statement came after thousands of factory workers at the Manhattan and Tai Seng SEZs in Bavet town have staged protests since last Wednesday to demand a 20-U.S.-dollar rise in the current minimum wage of 128 U.S. dollars, 8 U.S. dollars more than the 140-U.S.-dollar standard promised by the government in October.

Some of the protesters had thrown rocks at factories, causing serious damages to factories'properties.

On Tuesday morning, protesters pelted riot police with stones and injured two police officers, Svay Rieng provincial deputy governor Hou Rattanak said, adding that the latest violence broke out when protesters made their way to other factories to incite other workers to join their protests, but were blocked by police.

He said the authorities fired water cannon to disperse them and did not make any arrests.

The Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia said Monday that some 45 factories with more than 30,000 workers at the two SEZs have suffered serious economic losses due to property damages and production halt.

Garment and footwear sector, the kingdom's largest foreign currency earner, comprises nearly 1,100 factories with some 700,000 workers, according to the government figures.

The sector exported products worth 3.3 billion U.S. dollars in the first half of 2015, accounted for about 80 percent of the country's total exports. Endit