{"id":39771,"date":"2018-11-28T11:40:44","date_gmt":"2018-11-28T04:40:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pressocm.gov.kh\/?p=39771"},"modified":"2018-12-02T09:07:55","modified_gmt":"2018-12-02T02:07:55","slug":"selected-comments-samdech-techo-hun-sen-at-the-meeting-with-workers-employees-in-the-district-of-kandal-stoeung-unofficial-translation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pressocm.gov.kh\/en\/archives\/39771","title":{"rendered":"Selected Comments Samdech Techo Hun Sen at the Meeting with Workers\/Employees in the District of Kandal Stoeung [Unofficial Translation]"},"content":{"rendered":"

CNV:\u00a0

Today I am taking this chance to express my warm welcome for nieces and nephews who are workers\/employees and leaders who have come to join me on this occasion. I thank the factories management for providing time for workers\/employees to meet me and to have an afternoon off because they started early morning today to come to see me. I resume my tour and meeting with workers\/employees after I had to take a break because of my duties inside the country and abroad.\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Localize Factories to Within Reach of People<\/strong><\/p>\n

I am asking or understanding from workers\/employees with whom I have yet to meet in Kandal, Takeo, Kompong Speu and other provinces. In 24 hours from this time of meeting with you, on 29 November, I will depart again to Nepal and will return on 2 December. I am asking for your understanding again because some of you have been waiting for a year or so to have the meeting. We started this tour of meeting in August 2017 and it is now November 2018. I have many more to meet [\u2026] today we are meeting workers and factories employees in Kandal Stoeung where many factories have located. Their locations have been easy access to workers outside the capital of Phnom Penh. It is one of the Royal Government\u2019s policies to localize factories to within reach of our people after localizing schools to community [\u2026]<\/p>\n

Meeting Workers \u2013 A Target Action of Prime Minister<\/strong><\/p>\n

That we have now pursued our policy for industrial development for the period of 2015-25 and on, we are not neglecting our concern and care for farmers. Some of you may have heard or known about my presence in the district of Siem Reap of Kandal Stoeung district to transplant rice. I led a group of staff from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to help people transplanting rice. In 1991, at the time we had flood from heavy rain in Prek Thnaot River, I came through here on a motorbike. It was all at the time that Cambodia was promoting its agricultural development. The time for industrial development has now come. It is nothing new to share with you in our meetings for 2017-18. I met workers every year but with a smaller number of you. Now I embark on meeting every one of you and I have made meeting you a target actions of Prime Minister [\u2026]<\/p>\n

Bi-Monthly Pay Day<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Minister of Labor and Vocational Training has just mentioned in his report the ten point actions to continue to pay attention on. Where are they coming from? They are coming from the Prime Minister\u2019s tours and meetings to identify problems. We have issued based on those facts policies and regulations to resolve problems. When I first started the meetings and tours, our workers were paid 150 USD\/month. We then made efforts to find by all means way to increase salary of our workers. It has brought us to this current basic salary of 170 USD\/month. In just a month time, our workers will receive a new basic salary of 182 USD\/month and you also will be paid on a bimonthly basis [\u2026]<\/p>\n

RGC Loses Incomes to Increase Pay for Workers<\/strong><\/p>\n

In order for you to have higher pay, the Royal Government has made every calculation and discussed with involved and concerned parties. We must find a way in which investors will keep their profits and workers continue to have job and better pay. It has been two years now that we have made concession for the benefit of our workers pay rise. In order for you to get paid 170USD\/month, the Royal Government has to let go 40 million USD from reduction of its tax incomes and commissions [\u2026] and payment for healthcare of workers [\u2026] from 2018 onward, the factories will take responsibility to cover 100% cost for healthcare for workers, which literally means between 8,000 Riel to 13,000 Riel\/month.<\/p>\n

For 2019, the factories would go up in pay rise to 177 USD\/month. It was not closer to what the Prime Minister wanted. The Royal Government wanted the pay rise to be over 180 USD\/month in its gradual effort to reach 240 USD or 250 USD at another stage. On this note, the Royal Government let go another 80 million USD from its coffer on electrical cost compensation. Factories demand that if the Royal Government wished them to increase pay to 182 USD\/month, the Royal Government had had to lower the price of electricity to so and so. We then had to deduct the money from the amount that we earmarked for building transmission lines to villages\/communes. We had decided to set the fund for workers\u2019 pay [\u2026] since our final objective is to increase workers\u2019 basic salary [\u2026]<\/p>\n

More Infrastructures to Attract Investments and Markets Accesses<\/strong><\/p>\n

Construction of roads, ports, airports, electricity and other necessary infrastructures, including also human resource training, will work in effect to attract investments to Cambodia. We have made every possible efforts to make it happen. Our infrastructures are not yet adequate but comparing to what we had when we started, they are now way better. In Kandal Stoeung for instance, there had never been an asphalted road before [\u2026] we do everything we can to attract investment and to also look for markets for exported goods from Cambodia. Our export has increased in size to over 12 billion USD, which is unprecedented in Cambodian history. This is another indication of victory for a country that rises from destruction. We have striven to accomplish many tasks concerned. I am taking this opportune moment to express my sincere thanks and appreciations to your grandparents, parents and now to you for supporting the leadership of the Cambodian People\u2019s Party, especially for supporting me who stands at the head of the Royal Government for over 30 years to score the country successes stage after stage in agriculture, and now in developing industrial sector, as well as in other sectors [\u2026]<\/p>\n

Jobs Creation and Pay Rise by the Cambodian People\u2019s Party<\/strong><\/p>\n

As you can see that after the elections, workers have benefitted from their pay rise. This has clearly indicated that there is nothing wrong about securing peace and development. Some had said in the past that workers\u2019 salary increase was because they fought for it. Now that they are gone, workers\u2019 salary continues to rise. You may ask yourself why? The Cambodian People\u2019s Party has been the one to create you jobs and to ensure your pay and pay rise. They were all thanks to the leadership of the Cambodian People\u2019s Party and more punctually of Hun Sen [\u2026] we have done it. I thank you so much once again for voting to place your trust in the Cambodian People\u2019s Party and in me. We will go on together. Many of you blessed me just now to live longer. Thank you but we must live longer together. Living longer without you all is aimless [\u2026] your affection expressed to me clearly indicates that you consider me not only a leader but your uncle, grand uncle, father, or a grandfather, even [\u2026]<\/p>\n

Keeping Peace, Political Stability, Security, and Social Order<\/strong><\/p>\n

As we are here together \u2013 workers, factories management and owners, I am revealing to you that what I wanted most is to work together to keep peace, political stability, security, and social order. Without peace and political stability, factories cannot stay on [\u2026] there will be no tourists coming. This year we hope to receive about six million tourist arrivals. It will be a big increase. The other day I had a discussion with VINCI, a French company investing in the development and running airports. The company\u2019s representative told me he also could not have expected such rise by air traffics. VINCI has now supported entirely our project to build new airports for Phnom Penh and for Siem Reap to respond to such rapid increase of traffics by air. After 2025, existing airport capacity will not be able to respond to such demand because it will exceed over 12 million travelers [\u2026] we will have to widen landing and taxi lane for Kong Keng airport to accommodate arrival of about three million travelers to\/from Preah Sihanoukville province [\u2026]<\/p>\n

Dialogue with Understanding \u2013 The Best Option<\/strong><\/p>\n

I must remind you that we need to avoid holding unnecessary strikes and demonstrations. There is no better option than to have dialogue with understanding. The chase out workers or trade union leaders is not an option. It would only create tension and discontent [\u2026] when there is a problem \u2013 small or big, management must immediately resolve them by reconciliation securing interest for both sides. I just had my WhatsApp message here from At Thun concerning my statement the other day. I have delegated the matter to the Ministers of Labor and Vocational Training already. Taking this chance, I am calling on trade unions who have been sued to make a request to the Minister of Labor and Vocation Training in order for him to work with the Minister of Justice to speed up cases relating to leaders of trade unions and related non-governmental organization leaders.<\/p>\n

I have checked it and learnt that some of the case are still under ongoing investigation. As far as I know, thanks to effective works of the Minister of Justice, the courts expedite to finish their investigations. After doing so, the court will come to a conclusion whether or not to open a trial quickly or to file it without processing. If they file it, the case is as good as over. Some trade unions leaders are working under the concern of cases. It is not a good thing. The freedom space for trade unions actions seem to be not full. I am asking the Ministry of Labor and Vocational Training to cooperate with the Ministry of Justice, and the Ministry of Justice to work with courts to bring closures to those cases concerning trade unions leaders who represent workers to a certain number \u2013 big or small. This is one part of our job to guarantee political and workplace rights of trade unions and workers.<\/p>\n

Everyone Abides By the Law<\/strong><\/p>\n

However, what I am asking from you is that everyone must abide by the law. The factories must abide by the law and so do workers\/employees [\u2026] we noticed that sometimes there are conflicts not between factories and trade unions, but between trade unions themselves. In this case, I am calling for expedition of the matter to bring closure to cases in 2018. Let us not have such cases in 2019. At Thun has sent the request but he is not the person representing other cases. I am asking other trade unions leaders with their cases in courts to make official request to the Minister of Labor and Vocational Training to proceed on their problem with concerned institutions [\u2026] to clear their cases as soon as possible [\u2026]<\/p>\n

Two of My Sons Have Been in Monkhood<\/strong><\/p>\n

You have just resumed work two days and today you have one afternoon off. We had a three day water festival holiday to continue on to weekend \u2013 Saturday and Sunday. It was a long holiday [\u2026] let me wish those of the nieces in pregnancies to give birth to lovely and intelligent children. I hope you are all keeping up good health. You may want to have more children while you are still young [\u2026] I am having one son in his monkhood at the pagoda of the head monk Muong Ra. He is now traveling to Bodhgaya, where Buddha attained the enlightenment. Many of my relatives have gone to pay him respect. Among my three sons, two of them have gone through their monkhood. One of them was bestowed monkhood while his grandfather died. This other one will stay in monkhood for one month as a virtue of respect for his parents. My other son is also preparing to go into a brief monkhood when the time comes [\u2026].\/.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Today I am taking this chance to express my warm welcome for nieces and nephews who are workers\/employees and leaders who have come to join me on this occasion.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":39403,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[38,22],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-39771","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-slide-show-english","8":"category-speech"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressocm.gov.kh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39771","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressocm.gov.kh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressocm.gov.kh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressocm.gov.kh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressocm.gov.kh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39771"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/pressocm.gov.kh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39771\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":39772,"href":"https:\/\/pressocm.gov.kh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39771\/revisions\/39772"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressocm.gov.kh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39403"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressocm.gov.kh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39771"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressocm.gov.kh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39771"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressocm.gov.kh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39771"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}