PHNOM PENH - The Cambodian government used the COVID-19 pandemic to block the right to strike in the garment industry, jail union activists and restrict union formation, according to a new report from the Human Rights Watch NGO.
Entitled 'Only Instant Noodle Unions Survive', the report urges the European Union, United States and other trade partners to use their leverage to increase pressure on Cambodia to comply with labour rights obligations.
The 97-page report claims the Cambodian government and some employers used legal and administrative tactics during the COVID-19 pandemic to weaken Cambodia’s independent union movement and violate workers’ rights.
