Cambodian union leader Chhim Sithar jailed
Chhim Sithar is a union leader in Cambodia who has been fighting for workers’ rights for many years. She is the President of the Labor Rights Supported Union (LRSU) of Khmer Employees of NagaWorld casino, where she has worked since 2007. In May this year, Chhim Sithar and eight other trade unionists were convicted on charges of “incitement to commit a felony or disturb social security”. She was sentenced to two years in jail. Chhim Sithar and her fellow trade unionists have been persecuted unjustly for exercising their right to freedom of association, freedom of expression and for peaceful assembly.
Casino workers on strike
In April 2021, union leaders and workers began a series of strikes at NagaWorld Casino after the company laid off 1329 workers. Chen Lip Keong, a Malaysian billionaire and businessman, is the founder of NagaWorld’s parent company, NagaCorp, and is both the CEO and controlling shareholder of the casino. NagaWorld holds the casino license to operate in Cambodia’s capital, Phnom Penh. The license is valid to 2065 with a guaranteed monopoly until 2035. The strike actions by workers at NagaWorld have been ongoing and continue to the present day.
Pandemic used to crackdown on trade unions
Union-busting has long-plagued Cambodia’s labour relations history and in recent years, the Cambodian government has used the COVID-19 pandemic as an excuse to increase its crackdown on unions. NagaWorld is just one example of how authorities in Cambodia arbitrarily designate strike action as illegal while using social distancing and other public health measures to forcibly remove and detain striking workers for COVID-19 testing.
On 3 January 2022, the bogus charge of “incitement to commit a felony” was used against Chhim Sithar over a strike that called for the reinstatement of dismissed NagaWorld workers. She was held for 74 days in pretrial detention and then released on bail with charges pending in March 2022.
Director of Human Rights Watch, Phil Robertson, says “From the very start of the casino workers’ strike, the Cambodian government has sided with NagaWorld management to persecute Chhim Sithar and the union’s leaders and crush the strike”.
Chhim Sithar’s visit to Australia leads to re-arrest
In November 2022, Chhim Sithar participated in the World Congress of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) in Melbourne, as a guest of the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU). During her time in Australia, she met with the Cambodian community and held meetings with MPs interested in hearing about the concerning situation in Cambodia.
Chhim Sithar was re-arrested at Phnom Penh airport on 26 November 2022 upon her return from Australia. Authorities alleged that she had violated her bail conditions by travelling overseas, but Sithar and her lawyer refuted this as she had travelled to Thailand in September and October without consequence and they were never informed of such conditions.
“Even when I am not in prison, I cannot freely exercise my right to be a union leader. I cannot give up because of the threat of prison. I have to stand up for workers’ rights.” Chhim Sithar
United to fight for Chhim Sithar
The ACTU is working together with Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch to call upon Cambodian authorities to immediately drop the charges against Chhim Sithar and unconditionally release her and her fellow union members who have been detained in their staunch defence of workers’ rights.
The charges against Sithar are a clear attempt to silence her and to intimidate other union leaders in Cambodia. They are also a violation of Cambodia’s obligations under international human rights law. The imprisonment of a union leader also undermines workers’ rights to organise, bargain collectively and take industrial action.