Workers at some garment and footwear units in Cambodia’s  Special Economic Zones have gone on strike. Factories have been stoned, workers threatened and property destroyed.

Now garment manufacturers in Cambodia have urged the government to take action. They fear the strikes will spread to other industrial zones if there are no preventive measures. They have appealed to the Ministry of Labor and local authorities to implement their roles in curbing these strikes immediately in order to ensure security and safety for investors and workers who wish to work.

Thousands of garment and footwear workers at three Special Economic Zones in Bavet City had staged strikes about a week back to demand the $50 US that they claimed that factory owners had promised to give them when they did not join a post-New Year strike, which was organized by eight opposition-aligned trade unions in mid-April.

However, garment manufacturers have denied making such a promise and accused the opposition-aligned trade unions of fabricating this information after they failed to attract workers for their post- New Year strike. Wage disputes in Cambodia’s garment sector rage furiously. The garment and footwear industry, the kingdom's largest foreign exchange earner, comprises 960 factories with about 6,20, 000 workers. The sector earned $5.5 billion in revenues last year.