VZCZCXRO8734
PP RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM RUEHJO RUEHNH
DE RUEHPF #2084/01 3310824
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 270824Z NOV 06
FM AMEMBASSY PHNOM PENH
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 7638
INFO RUCNASE/ASEAN MEMBER COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHXI/LABOR COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHDC PRIORITY
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PHNOM PENH 002084 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP/MLS, DRL/IL, EB/TPP/ABT 
STATE PLEASE PASS TO USTR FOR DAVID BISBEE 
COMMERCE FOR ITA/OTEXA 
LABOR FOR ILAB 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ELAB ECON KTEX CB
SUBJECT: RIVAL UNIONS ORDER GENERAL STRIKE, END TO 
NEGOTIATIONS 
 
REF: PHNOM PENH 1928 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary.  Pro-government union federation leader 
Chuon Mom Thol has told members of his federation to stop 
participating in bilateral negotiations with garment factory 
owners.  The directive comes after several pro-government 
unions joined with independent and pro-opposition unions in 
continuing to negotiate even after a tripartite body set the 
monthly minimum wage at USD 50.  Pro-opposition union leader 
Chea Mony has called for a general strike to start in 
December unless garment factory owners return to the 
negotiating table, something factory owners say they will do 
only if they are able to negotiate non-wage issues like 
illegal strikes and union violence.  Meanwhile, Chea Mony has 
privately said that he is likely to resign if the general 
strike is unsuccessful.  End Summary. 
 
Unions Told to Stop Negotiating with Factory Owners 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
 
¶2.  (SBU) Chuon Mom Thol, the pro-government union federation 
leader, ordered members of his federation to stop 
participating in bilateral negotiations with the Garment 
Manufacturers Association of Cambodia (GMAC).  On October 21, 
he sent a text message to union leaders within the Cambodian 
Confederation of Trade Unions, a pro-government and often 
pro-management group, telling them to withdraw from 
negotiations due to the Labor Advisory Committee's October 19 
decision to increase the minimum wage.  CCTU union leaders 
had mixed reactions to the directive.  Those who had been 
loyally following Chuon Mom Thol seemed to think that 
additional negotiations would yield little anyway, while 
union leaders who had been operating more independently in 
the negotiations told LES Labor Assistant they had no choice 
but to follow instructions. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) International Labor Organization Chief Technical 
Advisor John Ritchotte also relayed reports that Oum Mean, a 
Secretary of State at the Ministry of Labor, had phoned 
 
SIPDIS 
several pro-government unions who had participated in 
bilateral negotiations October 20 and told them not to 
participate in further negotiations.  The embassy was able to 
confirm one of these calls -- to Nuon Chantha, one of the 
elected negotiators representing the IFC.  According to Nuon 
Chantha, the Secretary of State warned that if he did not 
withdraw from the negotiations, unspecified action would be 
taken against him. 
 
FTU President Calls for General Strike in December 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
¶4.  (SBU) On Nov. 3, Chea Mony, president of the 
pro-opposition Free Trade Union (FTU), issued a call for a 
general strike in December unless GMAC resumes bilateral 
negotiations with interested unions.  While Chea Mony has not 
publicly set a date for the strike to begin, he told us 
privately on Nov. 21 that the strike would begin on December 
18--a date GMAC had already reported to us as the rumored 
start date.  For their part, GMAC says that they are willing 
to continue negotiating, but that they are unwilling to talk 
about the FTU's main demand--a USD 5 increase in the recently 
set monthly minimum wage--and instead want a chance to focus 
on their concerns, namely illegal strikes and union violence. 
 Moreover, GMAC is frustrated by the competing voices within 
the union movement, and wants a clear sense of who is truly 
representing the workers.  GMAC reports that some unions have 
privately asked for a USD 1 per month increase, an effort 
GMAC sees as a union attempt to save face. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Chea Mony predicted that up to 100,000 workers 
might join in the general strike, but gave conflicting 
answers as to which other unions would participate.  He said 
at one point that he did not know if any other unions would 
join with a FTU-led strike, but later claimed that several 
pro-government unions as well as his typical pro-opposition 
and independent partners would participate.  (Comment:  This 
change seemed to be an attempt to project confidence rather 
than the result of new commitments from other unions.  End 
Comment.) 
 
Possible Resignation, Office Closure 
------------------------------------ 
 
 
PHNOM PENH 00002084  002 OF 002 
 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Chea Mony also warned that the FTU would lose their 
current office location, as the landlord refused to renew the 
lease.  Rather than directly mentioning concerns about FTU's 
political activities, the landlord cited spiritual worries 
relating to the bodies of two slain union leaders which were 
brought to the office following their assassinations in 2004. 
 While Chea Mony notified the embassy of this problem several 
weeks ago, he did not respond to offers for GSO 
recommendations of realtors who would be willing to work with 
the FTU. 
 
¶7.  (SBU) On November 24, Chea Mony told Labor Officer that 
he was likely to resign if the general strike effort wasn't 
successful.  He described himself as "ashamed" and compared 
himself and GMAC to "tigers at an impasse."  Chea Mony noted 
that in Europe and the United States, when leaders can't 
achieve their goals, they resign, and said he was doing the 
same.  He said that he had already fulfilled his duty to the 
workers, and would be willing to work in an advisory capacity 
after his resignation. 
 
¶8.  (SBU) The FTU President offered mixed views of what might 
happen to the FTU after his departure.  At one point he noted 
that Vice President Sam Srey Mom would become Acting 
President and Cambodian Independent Teachers Association 
President Rong Chhun was likely to be elected president, but 
later speculated that the FTU might collapse.  In addition to 
the lack of a strong leader and difficulty in finding a new 
office, Chea Mony revealed that the union is having financial 
problems.  Increased labor disputes have created the need for 
additional staff, and existing staff members are clamoring 
for higher wages that the union cannot afford. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶9.  (SBU) Within just a few weeks, the pendulum has swung 
from a remarkable show of cooperation among Cambodia's 
traditionally fractious unions to a dramatic re-assertion of 
fraying alliances.  Pro-government union leader Chuon Mom 
Thol has been losing standing among both the international 
labor community and other labor leaders; the level of union 
support for him is also questionable.  His eagerness to end 
bilateral negotiations and ask for government intervention 
has convinced many that his labor activities are largely a 
pretense for maintaining his status as a CPP insider. 
 
¶10.  (SBU) Comment continued.  Meanwhile, Chea Mony seems 
bent on his now familiar pattern of aggressive threats and 
persistent fatalism.  His calls for a general strike are 
fairly vague and uncoordinated now, but similar calls in May 
escalated in June and led to bilateral negotiations with GMAC 
and a USD 5 per month increase in the minimum wage.  This 
assertive stance is juxtaposed against his resolute inaction 
with regard to practical matters, such as finding a new FTU 
headquarters location.  While Mony's leadership clearly has 
its flaws, his resignation would likely lead to a quiescent 
union under Acting President Sam Srey Mom, or the reduction 
of an effective Rong Chhun-Chea Mony labor coalition to a 
single leader -- which would likely be Rong Chhun.  End 
Comment. 
MUSSOMELI