• Politics

NagaWorld Strikers Place Hopes on New Company CEO to Solve Long-Lasting Labor Conflict 

• By Teng Yalirozy
• December 12, 2023 9:50 AM

PHNOM PENH – The passing of NagaCorp Founder Tan Sri Chen Lip Keong, who died on Dec. 8, gives hope to NagaWorld strikers to find a way out of their two-year-long labor conflict with the company. 

After being laid off in April 2021, they keep asking to be rehired, and demand the respect of union rights and the release of the union leader Chhim Sitthar who is serving a two-year jail term after being found guilty of “incitement” for her involvement in the dispute.

Tan Sri Chen Lip Keong, the seventh richest man in Malaysia and CEO of NagaWorld’s mother company NagaCorp, passed away at 75 due to a disease and old age.

“Dr. Chen had established a solid foundation of the group after more than 28 years of steady growth,” said the Company Secretary Lam Yi Lin in a press release dated Dec. 10.

“His many years of entrepreneurial, business and managerial experiences had been instrumental to the group’s success. Under Dr. Chen’s visionary leadership, the group has been achieving remarkable growth and development after years of careful navigation of the business and skillful and strategic management.”

NagaCorp has announced the appointment of Chen Yiy Fon, the son of Chen Lip Keong, as its new CEO from Dec.10.

Striker Seak Panha, who has worked for the casino since 2012 said she hopes that the new leader will have a proactive role in the resolution of the conflict and bring justice to the strikers in Cambodia. Even though she was not laid off in April 2021, she joined the strike to demand the reinstatement of her 365 coworkers who lost their jobs.

“We now strike two days a week only, hoping our demand would be granted one day,” she said. “We have a part-time job to support our lives. The new CEO should take this dispute seriously and help us, the workers, to gain full rights and compensation.”

Khun Tharo, the program manager for the Centre for Alliance of Labour and Human Rights (CENTRAL), paid his condolences to the family. But he’s not particularly confident the new company’s structure will lead to the resolution of the dispute.

“The success of the company is [based on] the contribution of the workers,” he recalled. “We hope that the new CEO, if he shows a will and an interest in it, can end the dispute. The government is also the crucial factor to help with it.”

Workers laid off despite tremendous profits

NagaCorp, which is listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, was founded in 1995 and owns the largest gaming and entertainment resort in the Mekong region. 

Its local subsidiary, NagaWorld, which is located in Phnom Penh city with its two casino-entertainment facilities, obtained a casino license to operate in Cambodia until 2065 and has the exclusive right to operate a casino within a 200-kilometer radius from Phnom Penh until 2045.

While NagaCorp recorded $102 million in net profits in 2020, NagaWorld laid off 1,329 workers in April 2021, many of whom were union members, arguing the COVID-19 pandemic was badly impacting its financial situation.

On Dec. 18, 2021, 373 laid-off workers, mostly female union members, decided to contest the company’s decision, leading to regular, if not daily, strikes. 

A total of 173 of them have since accepted a deal with the company, but 220 workers keep on their fight against the casino, asking the corporation to rehire them and to respect unions’ and women’s rights.

In the wake of the protests, Chhim Sithar, who is the leader of the Labor Rights Supported Union (LRSU), was arrested in January 2022 on incitement charges and placed in pre-trial detention before being released on bail in March.

She was re-arrested in November 2022 for “violating bail conditions on international travel” after she returned from a meeting she attended in Australia. 

She said neither she nor her lawyers had been informed about travel restrictions, and she had traveled to Thailand in September and October without consequences.

Phnom Penh Municipal Court announced its verdict on May 25, 2023, sentencing her to two years in jail for incitement. Having been in pre-trial detention for a year, she had one more year to serve at the time of the verdict.

Even though their leader is behind bars, the labor conflict remains unresolved until today and strikers regularly protest at the foot of the casino in Phnom Penh.

After the International Labour Organization (ILO) urged the Cambodian government to ensure the lawful and peaceful exercise of the right to strike, the government stepped in as a mediator to try to solve the conflict.

As of Dec.11, 2023, the Labor Ministry helped resolve the case of 373 laid-off workers, including 286 who received compensation for the termination of their contract, the ministry spokesperson Katta Orn said to reporters. 

“The Committee for Strike and Demonstration Resolution has helped 27 times but the case is yet to be settled,” he added. “If the strikers want another solution, they can further request the committee for action.”

But Seak Panha, one of the strikers, said the ministry has remained away from the issue, telling to the protesters that they could come to seek resolution from the ministry only after they had reached an agreement with the company.

As for CENTRAL's Khun Tharo, he hopes that the new government will take a closer look at the situation in order to build a reputation, as the case has been seen as a serious violation of labor law.