Five more flee labour firm, group reports

Mom Kunthear and Khuon Leakhana

Phnom Penh Post

LABOUR advocates say five more workers have fled from a recruitment firm’s training centre this month after they were denied permission to leave the facility.

The new report comes on the heels of multiple cases of alleged abuse forwarded to rights workers, who in response have raised fresh concerns regarding the country’s rapidly expanding labour export industry.

Huy Pichsovann, a labour programme officer at the Community Legal Education Centre, said CLEC staffers interviewed five women yesterday who said they fled the Phnom Penh training centre run by PMP Company on August 16.

“I met the workers and asked why they fled the company, and they said because the company detained them without having freedom, not enough food to eat and they were forced to sleep among too many workers,” Huy Pichsovann said.

He said that CLEC investigators would ask for an explanation from the company.

Phat Samol, PMP’s executive director, yesterday contradicted the women’s claims.

“Those five workers escaped because they didn’t want to work in Malaysia,” he said.

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