Act Now
International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant,
Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers' Associations (IUF)

To Mike Ngai, Chief Operating Officer, NagaWorld Corp Ltd.
Cc Hein Dames, Human Resources Chief Officer
Voleap Hay, Vice President Group Human Resources
Andrew Chan, Head of HR Department
Seiha Dy, Manager of Employee Relations, Group Human Resources

Dear Mr. Mike Ngai,

I write to express my grave concern at the trade union and collective bargaining rights violation by NagaWorld especially the collective dispute concerning the mass termination of over 1,300 workers. Although the case has been brought to reconciliation under the auspices of the Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training in June 2021, NagaWorld has continued to act with impunity including threats as well as the imposition of financial penalties to union members who are determined to protect employment during the pandemic related economic crisis.

In February 2021, the IUF affiliate Labour Rights Supported Union of Khmer Employees of NagaWorld (LRSU), representing 4,000 union members, attempted to raise the issue of improving COVID-19 health and safety protocols, including vaccination for everyone in the enterprise, to protect business operations. Local management failed to recognize the union in collective bargaining. COVID-19 outbreaks followed, then temporary closures in March, and finally, massive job cuts were announced in April.

In the retrenchment process, LRSU has been denied its rights and access to represent members affected by the forced and unilateral redundancy. Members involved in meetings with management to negotiate fair and transparent criteria and mitigation measures to reduce the economic and social impacts were denied union representation.

Termination of three elected union leaders is also proof of serious violations of collective bargaining rights established under international standards, including ILO Conventions No. 87, 98 and 135.

Further, NagaWorld has failed to respect its obligation under the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, with reference but not limited to Article 6 under Item V. on Employment and Industrial Relations on business restructure and mass redundancy:

'…In considering changes in their operations which would have major employment effects, in particular in the case of the closure of an entity involving collective lay-offs or dismissals, provide reasonable notice of such changes to representatives of the workers in their employment and their organisations, and, where appropriate, to the relevant governmental authorities, and co-operate with the worker representatives and appropriate governmental authorities so as to mitigate to the maximum extent practicable adverse effects. In light of the specific circumstances of each case, it would be appropriate if management were able to give such notice prior to the final decision being taken. Other means may also be employed to provide meaningful co-operation to mitigate the effects of such decisions.'

I therefore call on you to act to ensure that NagaWorld fully recognizes and respects LRSU by entering into good faith negotiations with the union and by stopping all activities that threaten LRSU members.

Yours sincerely,

If you wish to send your own message and not use this text, please open your email client and paste these addresses into the To field:
mikengai@nagaworld.com
heindames@nagaworld.com
hayvoleap@nagaworld.com
andrewchan@nagaworld.com
dyseiha@nagaworld.com

Enter the number 1169 here:

Thank you