VZCZCXRO5827
PP RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM RUEHJO RUEHNH
DE RUEHPF #1048/01 1530950
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 020950Z JUN 06
FM AMEMBASSY PHNOM PENH
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 6799
INFO RUCNASE/ASEAN MEMBER COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHXI/LABOR COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA PRIORITY 1462
RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHDC PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PHNOM PENH 001048 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP/MLS, DRL/IL 
GENEVA FOR RMA 
DEPT OF LABOR FOR ILAB--JONA LAI 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ELAB ECON KTEX PHUM CB
SUBJECT: PROMISING CAMBODIAN UNION'S DECLINE HIGHLIGHTS 
COMMON UNION FAILINGS 
 
REF: PHNOM PENH 814 
 
¶1.  (SBU) SUMMARY. The Coalition of Cambodian Apparel Workers 
Democratic Union (CCAWDU), which was once one of the 
country's most respected unions, has plummeted in stature 
following the dismissal of former union president Chhorn 
Sokha.  Embassy persuasion has been required on several 
occasions to prevent or reverse unwise and sometimes illegal 
actions.  While the Cambodian labor movement has made 
remarkable progress since its inception ten years ago, 
CCAWDU's dramatic reversal highlights unions' immaturity and 
the vulnerability of Cambodian workers to union leaders who 
are sometimes unscrupulous and often inexperienced.  END 
SUMMARY. 
 
Dynamic Female Leader Pushed Out 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (U) Since its formation in 2000, CCAWDU has been hailed 
as a transparent and well-run union that promoted the 
election of women as union leaders and was free from partisan 
political connections.  In a country where some unions are 
known for accepting bribes, using violence to intimidate 
non-members, and holding frequent illegal strikes, and where 
nearly all garment sector unions have mostly male officers 
leading an overwhelmingly female workforce, CCAWDU was a 
promising breath of fresh air that many labor observers hoped 
was a harbinger of future union developments. 
 
¶3. (SBU) In contrast to this promising start, a CCAWDU 
election defeat and leadership struggle has pushed the 
well-respected female former president Chhorn Sokha out and 
left a less experienced and rash man, Ath Thorn, in her 
place.  Throughout the fall of 2005, Chhorn Sokha and Ath 
Thorn waged battle, trading charges of corruption and 
financial mismanagement.  In February 2006, a CCAWDU 
fact-finding committee dismissed Chhorn Sokha from CCAWDU in 
a move that surprised and angered many international 
observers, who saw her as the victim of Ath Thorn's personal 
ambitions and unfounded allegations. 
 
Flying Dragon Factories:  Widespread Strike Threatened 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) Under Ath Thorn's leadership, CCAWDU has shed the 
transparency and pragmatism that were once its hallmarks.  In 
March, Ath Thorn called the embassy to announce his plans to 
lead 20 workers in a march to the embassy and hold a press 
conference outside the embassy to call attention to an 
on-going labor dispute at the Flying Dragon garment 
factories, which produce garments for mostly US-based buyers. 
 Rather than utilize the long-standing relationship between 
the embassy and CCAWDU to highlight the case and discuss ways 
to resolve the dispute, Ath Thorn failed to even alert the 
embassy to the increasingly serious dispute and instead 
rushed to leverage the embassy's high public profile in a 
dispute that was really between Cambodian workers and Hong 
Kong-based factory owners.  The embassy persuaded Ath Thorn 
to cancel these plans and delivered a sharp rebuke, reminding 
the union that the US Embassy was one of the labor movement's 
strongest supporters in Cambodia and asking to be engaged in 
helping to resolve disputes rather than implicitly being 
blamed for them. 
 
¶5. (SBU) A few days later, CCAWDU tried another tactic, 
threatening to expand their strike from the Flying Dragon 
factories to other factories with a CCAWDU union presence, 
potentially involving 25,000 workers and causing considerable 
alarm among garment factory owners.  Econoff and FSN Labor 
Assistant persuaded CCAWDU to negotiate with management, and 
worked with the Garment Manufacturers Association of Cambodia 
(GMAC) to offer more respected industry leaders to help 
negotiate with Flying Dragon management, in whom the union 
had lost confidence. 
 
Goldfame Factory:  Strikes Held in Defiance of Judicial 
Rulings 
--------------------------------------------- --------------- 
 
¶6.  (SBU) More recently, Embassy learned that 10,000 CCAWDU 
members were striking at the Goldfame garment factory despite 
two rulings from the Arbitration Council and one from 
municipal court declaring the strike to be illegal and 
ordering the strikers to return to work.  Stressing the 
 
PHNOM PENH 00001048  002 OF 002 
 
 
importance of the Arbitration Council as a uniquely 
transparent labor dispute resolution body, Econoff persuaded 
union leadership to return to work on May 18 pending further 
negotiations with factory management.  FSN Labor Assistant 
monitored the opening of business the next day to help 
encourage a smooth return of the workforce.  CCAWDU now 
reports that major areas of contention have been resolved, 
but negotiations continue on smaller matters. 
 
CCAWDU Moves Towards Pro-Opposition Unions 
------------------------------------------ 
 
¶7.  (U) Finally, in another dramatic change, CCAWDU has 
abandoned its formerly nonpartisan stance to ally itself with 
the leading pro-opposition Free Trade Union (FTU) and 
Cambodian Independent Teachers Association (CITA).  These 
organizations have a part-union, part-political agenda, with 
leaders -- particularly Rong Chhun of CITA -- who speak out 
on a variety of social and political issues.  CCAWDU recently 
joined FTU and CITA in a May Day march that proceeded despite 
being denied permission from city officials (reftel) and 
joined their calls for a general strike if the government 
fails to meet their demands of higher wages for teachers and 
garment factory workers, a shorter workweek, and lower 
gasoline prices.  Labor observers have speculated that Ath 
Thorn seems to be seeking guidance from Chea Mony, the leader 
of the FTU. 
 
¶8.  (SBU) COMMENT:  The Cambodian labor movement has made 
remarkable progress since 1997 when the first independent 
unions were established.  Garment and tourism sector unions 
have racked up impressive labor victories, and the labor 
movement is the largest, most powerful, and most indigenous 
part of civil society.  Nonetheless, CCAWDU's swift decline 
serves as a reminder that Cambodia's unions remain adolescent 
organizations facing significant obstacles.  Union leaders 
confront a variety of challenges and temptations, including 
lack of training and experience, fear of losing member 
enthusiasm during protracted negotiations, few accountability 
procedures within unions, constant temptation to trade 
factory bribes for labor peace, and frustration with the 
non-binding nature of arbitral awards.  Cambodia's 
much-touted labor rights generally protect unions from undue 
government interference, but do not always protect workers 
from poor union managers and unscrupulous leaders.  END 
COMMENT. 
STORELLA