National Strategy and Policy Development on Enhancing the Collective Bargaining System in Cambodia

National Strategy and Policy Development on Enhancing the Collective Bargaining System in Cambodia

23-25 June 2011, Phnom Penh Hotel, Cambodia

June 23, 2011

By Chea Sophal, Phnom Penh, Cambodia 

The CCTU, CLC, and NACC collaborated with the LO/FTF Council conducted a three-day workshop on National Strategy and Policy Development on Enhancing the Collective  Bargaining System in Cambodia at Phnom Penh Hotel, Cambodia. The workshop will mainly put its focuses on policy development, strategies, and advocacies in order to improve the collective bargaining system and in order to set up and enhance social dialogue between stakeholders in the garment sector through defining collective benefits and peaceful methods of dispute resolutions.

Key messages from opening remarks by key speakers

There are only a few factories that made CBAs with only a few unions.  It takes from one to two years to make any CBA.  CBA helps reduce number of presence of union in each factory since there are some time more unions than one union in each factory.  Some factories have 5, 7 or up 20 trade unions in their factories. CBA will also help build better industrial relations.  We can only initiate CBA in the bigger or medium size factories while it is difficult and hard to make CBA in the factories employing 200 or 300 workers.

Mr. Som Aun, President of NACC

Looking back in the history of Cambodia, it was so difficult for Cambodian trade unions to work in 1998, however, it is very important to have model or standard CBAs so that we can use for setting up CBAs in the future.  From 2008 to 2009, employers were not willing to initiate any CBAs with the trade union.  Since the signature of employers and unions on the Industrial Relations Agreement, it is expected that we will have harmony in the industrial relations.

Mr. Ath Thon, President of CLC

Our working group (CCTU, CLC, and NACC) came up with the standard CBA which makes us easier because we would have a system to resolve any arising conflict and we avoid having strikes based on provisions outlined in the CBAs.  Our trade union movement is still very young with the Cambodian garment industry established just around 10 years comparing to the garment industry set up in other countries. It was difficult to convince the employers to sign the agreement on industrial relations but with the support from ILO, the agreement was signed by the trade unions and employers’ association.

Dr. Vong Sovann, President of CCTU

It is interesting to hear from the three speakers on the CBAs.  The LO/FTF was found as solidarity and development organization; it is not a trade union movement.  For the time being, it is so relevant to the MDG 1: Reduction of poverty and extreme hunger.  It aims at development for better life of workers.  We all have a joint responsibility for our economy.  We cannot blame other people for not feeding us.

Mr. Jens Aarup,

Provisions Relevant to Collective Bargaining Agreements

In his presentation, Mr. Huon Soeur, Deputy Director, Department of Labour Dispute Resolution, pointed out the relevant instruments on CBA such as the Cambodian Labour Law, Chapter 5 on Collective Bargaining, Prakas 287/01, Prakas 305/01, Prakas 313/00, Prakas 286/01, Prakas 99/00, Notice 16/02, Notice 13/04, and Notice 33/04.  The international provisions include ILO Convention 98. 

He pointed out the purposes and the implementation of Convention 98, definition of collective bargaining agreement (CBA), purposes of CBA, validity of CBA, parties in the CBA, implementation of CBA, procedures for requesting CBA, disputes arising from the CBA, and benefits of having CBA.  In total, there are 297 CBAs established from 2003 to 2010. Up to the first quarter of 2011, 35 CBAs reached.  The highest figure in 2009 was involved in the CBA on paying the wages one per month instead of paying two times per month. Out of 297, 272 CBAs were made in the garment sector, 16 in the hotel and tourism sector, 2 in the banking sector, and 7 in other sectors.  The total figure of 297 does not mean that all CBAs are still valid as of today. (See the Figure below).

 

Source: Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training, Department of Labour Dispute Resolution

Key findings on Collective Bargaining Study

Mr. Nuon Veasna, the Independent Researcher, expressed the purposes of the study that focus on the resources of trade unions and the law violations of the rights of trade unions.  The study also aims at measuring the original status and changing status of trade unions.  Furthermore, the study looks at the general overview of trade union movement in Cambodia (history, challenges, and strategies).

The key findings reveal the issues surrounding the collective bargaining and social dialogue, national bargaining, and local bargaining. The local bargaining faced a lot of challenges such as disagreement to have bargaining, no cooperation among trade unions, lack of recognition, and lack of effort, skills and capacity of trade union.   Other issues include concerns of trade unions (violation of workers’ rights, bribery, threat, law suit, contract, and no bargaining); the presence of strike, discrimination of union by employers, and lack of training for union members on negotiation skills.