Ocean Sky International Ltd

Internal restructuring: ILO violation 87, 98 : A campaign of systematic violence against the FTUWKC union at the Bright Sky factory was met with silence by Cambodian police and government authorities, who did little to investigate the very serious injuries inflicted on union leaders. The close relationship between factory management and an established union in the factory - the Cambodia Union Federation (CUF), which maintains strong links with the Minister of Interior and other senior government officials – raised suspicions among workers that management orchestrated the campaign. On at least one occasion, CUF members were identified by victims of the violence as one of their attackers. On the morning of 3 May, as Chi Simun, the President of the FTUWKC union, was walking home after the night shift, he was attacked about 30 metres from the factory by seven persons who seriously beat him on the head and shoulders with iron pipes and sticks. Because of the injuries he suffered, including an injured right eye and a wound on his head that required 15 stitches, he was unable to return to work until 12 May. Chi Simun recognised some of his attackers, and submitted their names and information to local police, but no investigation or other action was taken. On 22 May, as Chi Simun was leaving his workplace after the night shift ended at 5.00 am, he saw a gang of about 20 thugs waiting outside the factory for him. He did not dare go out of the factory, and remained inside the factory compound until 7.00 am when the sun came up and the gang dispersed. Also in May, union activist Yeng Vann Yuth was ambushed by a group of thugs, and was badly beaten. On 8 June, the FTUKWC union treasurer, Lem Semret, was attacked by six men outside the factory and beaten by a gang of thugs. Factory management called in the police to crack down on a rally led by the FTUWKC in front of the factory on 16 October. The police fired bullets in the air and swung batons to disperse the union protesters. As the workers were fleeing this onslaught, a 24-year old woman worker named Muth Savy was shot by the police in the back, and had to be rushed to the hospital. Numerous other workers were injured when they were hit by police batons and rifle butts. The Deputy President of the union, Em Chhay Tieng, was punched in the face by a policeman and had to be taken to the hospital. Following the protests, police arrested and temporarily detained 16 union members. Soon after these incidents, the Bright Sky management announced that it was shutting down its night shift, thereby throwing out of work over 1500 workers. Almost all the FTUWKC workers in the factory worked on the night shift, so this firing effectively decimated both the union’s leadership and rank and file members in the factory. When FTUWKC members from Bright Sky sought jobs at other factories, they were informed that Bright Sky had distributed names and photos of the FTUWKC leaders and activists to all other factories, effectively black-listing them.: Cambodia