Chhim Sithar

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Chhim Sithar
ឈឹម ស៊ីថរ
Chhim Sithar speaking at an event commemorating the 31st anniversary of the Paris Peace Agreements (2023)
President of the Labor Rights Supported Union of Khmer Employees of Naga World
Assumed office
2014
Preceded byChhun Sokha (ឈុន សុខា)
Vice President of the Labour Rights Supported Union of Khmer Employees of NagaWorld (LRSU)
In office
2012 - 2014
Preceded byNou Sab (នូ ស៊ាប)
Succeeded byChhun Sokha (ឈុន សុខា)
Personal details
Born25 December 1987
Koh Roka Commune, Peam Chor District, Prey Veng Province, Cambodia
OccupationCasino worker, trade unionist

Chhim Sithar (born 25 December 1987) is a Cambodian trade union leader and the current President[1] of the Labor Rights Supported Union (LRSU) of Khmer Employees of NagaWorld.[2] She has been imprisoned at Correctional Centre 2, a women's prison in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, since November 2022 and is currently serving a two-year sentence for incitement in connection to a labour strike she led at NagaWorld in 2021 and 2022.

Biography[edit]

Early life and career[edit]

Sithar was born on 25 December 1987 in Koh Roka Commune, Peam Chor District, Prey Veng province, the second of six children. She earned a bachelor's degree in economic informatics.[3] She began working at NagaWorld in 2007 before becoming active within LRSU in 2009.[4][5] She was first elected Vice-President of LRSU in 2012 and subsequently President in 2014, replacing Chhun Sokha who became Vice-President.[6]

In September 2019, she was suspended by NagaWorld after questioning the company's decision to ban a t-shirt calling for higher wages for employees.[7] In December 2019, LRSU members voted to strike in response to the suspension. Despite a court ruling that the strike was illegal, LRSU proceeded in early January 2020. After two days of strike action, the company agreed to raise wages and reinstate Sithar.[8][9]

2021-22 NagaWorld dispute and imprisonment[edit]

In mid-2021, NagaWorld announced a planned mass layoff of more than 1,300 workers from the casino, including Sithar.[10] Sithar alleged that the company had targeted union members with the firings, stating that the union was close to reaching its goal of 4000 members, or half of the casino's employees, at which point the union would be allowed to engage in collective bargaining under Cambodian law.[11]

On 18 December 2021, LRSU members at NagaWorld went on strike despite a court injunction released that morning declaring the strike illegal.[12] The strike continued on relatively peacefully for the subsequent two weeks, until nine LRSU members were arrested on the evening of 31 December.[13] Three days later, on 3 January 2022, fourteen LRSU members were arrested protesting the detainment of those arrested several days earlier, with police reportedly searching for Sithar.[14] The next day, she was violently arrested by plainclothes policemen outside the Australian Embassy[15][16][17] and was charged with "incitement to commit a felony." She was subsequently held in pretrial detention for 74 days, being released on bail in March.[18]

In April 2022, she was re-elected as President of LRSU. In June 2022, the Ministry of Labor and Vocational Training announced that it would not recognize the union's registration, claiming that Sithar was no longer an employee of NagaWorld and could therefore no longer hold an elected position in the union.[19]

In late November 2022, Sithar attended the World Congress of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) in Melbourne, Australia. Upon her return to Cambodia, she was arrested for violation of her bail conditions for traveling overseas without the court's permission.[20] Amnesty International condemned the arrest, stating that neither she nor her lawyer were informed of the bail conditions and that she was "being detained solely for her work defending workers’ rights."[21] The United States Department of State also called for her release.[22] Julian Hill, an Australian Member of Parliament in the House of Representatives, described the reasons for Sithar's arrest as "nonsense" and called on the Cambodian government to release her[23], with the-then Australian Ambassador to Cambodia, Pablo Kang, raising "the questionable basis" of Sithar's arrest with Koeut Rith, the Cambodian Minister of Justice.

2023 trial and conviction[edit]

The trial against Sithar and eight other LRSU leaders and activists began on 21 February 2023.[24] On 14 March 2023, Human Rights Watch released a statement calling the charges against her "baseless" and saying that "the Cambodian government has an obligation under international human rights law not only to respect the rights of workers but also to protect these rights from abuse by private actors."[25] A spokesperson for the Ministry of Justice responded to Human Rights Watch by saying that "the accused have already crossed the line of existing labor dispute resolution mechanisms" and that "this case follows standard legal proceedings. Just as in any court case, solid evidence and strong testimony must be presented to discharge the accused."[26]

During the trial, the judge refused to admit recordings the defence wanted to introduce as evidence.[27] A substantial portion of the prosecution case against Sithar rested on a series of voice clips excerpted from online Zoom meetings Sithar held with members leading up to and during the strike. Sithar's defence lawyers had sought to introduce the full recordings of those Zoom meetings into evidence so as to provide context to the clips adduced by the prosecution, however were rebuffed by presiding Judge Soeung Chakriya, who stated the court had "carried out all the procedure independently" and could not "satisfy all parties".[27]

Chhim Sithar whilst imprisoned at Correctional Centre 2 (January 2022)

The trial concluded on 3 May, with Sithar and her co-defendants requesting acquittal and the prosecution framing the NagaWorld strike as an illegal demonstration carried out with malicious criminal intent through the use of foreign-sourced funds.[28] On 25 May, Sithar was convicted of incitement and sentenced to two years' imprisonment.[29][30][31] In response to the conviction, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the Australian Council of Trade Unions issued a joint statement calling for the convictions to immediately quashed and unconditionally release Sithar.[32] Luc Triangle, the Acting General Secretary of the ITUC called on NagaCorp to use its "considerable influence" to persuade the Cambodian government to release Sithar.[33]

On 19 October 2023, the Appeal Court upheld Sithar's conviction.[34] The same month, the International Labor Organization's Committee on Freedom of Association urged "the immediate and unconditional release of Chhim Sithar."[35]

On 3 May 2024, Cambodia's Supreme Court also upheld Sithar's conviction.[36] She remains imprisoned at Correctional Centre 2 in Phnom Penh and is scheduled to be released later in 2024.

Awards and recognition[edit]

On 2 February 2023, Sithar was awarded the Global Human Rights Defender Award by the United States Department of State, the first person from Cambodia to receive the award.[37]

On 19 April 2024, Sithar was awarded the 2024 Per Anger Prize by the Living History Forum, a public agency established under the Swedish Ministry of Culture, for her "tireless and dedicated work to promote democracy and respect for human rights in Cambodia."[38]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Free the NagaWorld Leaders!". 3cr.org.au. 11 April 2023. Retrieved 2023-07-07.
  2. ^ Harper, Andrew (1 May 2020). "In Phnom Penh, NagaWorld lockdown means casino workers are suffering". Southeast Asia Globe. Retrieved 13 December 2022.
  3. ^ "Spotlight on 10 Imprisoned Unionists in Cambodia". Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights. 7 March 2022. Retrieved 13 December 2022.
  4. ^ Thul, Prak Chan (6 January 2022). "Arrested union leader the latest to take up the fight for labour in Cambodia". Reuters. Retrieved 13 December 2022.
  5. ^ Worrell, Shane (19 June 2013). "NagaWorld strike ends with force". The Phnom Penh Post. Retrieved 13 December 2022.
  6. ^ "Woman human rights defender Chhim Sithar detained upon her return to Cambodia". Frontline Defenders. 30 November 2022. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  7. ^ Keeton-Olsen, Danielle (16 December 2019). "The workers organising for a better future in Cambodia". Equal Times. Retrieved 13 December 2022.
  8. ^ Palatino, Mong (12 January 2020). "Victory for labor rights in Cambodia as largest casino workers' strike ends in peace". Global Voices. Retrieved 13 December 2022.
  9. ^ "Striking Cambodian casino workers return to work in NagaWorld deal". Reuters. 11 January 2020. Retrieved 13 December 2022.
  10. ^ Turton, Shaun (8 June 2021). "Workers at Cambodia casino NagaWorld protest mass layoffs". Nikkei Asia. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  11. ^ Keeton-Olsen, Danielle (2 June 2021). "Cambodian workers at NagaWorld casino vexed over lay-offs as Hong Kong-listed parent firm reports profits". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 13 December 2022.
  12. ^ Keeton-Olsen, Danielle (18 December 2021). "Updated: Phnom Penh Court Bans NagaWorld Workers' Strike, Unionists Leave Vowing to Return". VOD. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  13. ^ Flynn, Gerald (1 January 2022). "Nine NagaWorld Unionists Arrested on New Year's Eve". Cambodianess. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  14. ^ "Cambodian police arrest 14 striking casino workers". Radio Free Asia. 3 January 2022. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  15. ^ "Updated: NagaWorld Union Leader Chhim Sithar Arrested Arriving to Rally". VOD. 4 January 2022. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  16. ^ Flynn, Gerald; Phoung, Vantha (4 January 2022). "NagaWorld Union Leader Arrested in Chaotic Scenes Outside Australian Embassy". Cambodianess. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  17. ^ "Cambodian union leaders arrested in casino labor dispute". Radio Free Asia. 4 January 2022. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  18. ^ Handley, Erin (7 December 2022). "Cambodian community calls for casino union leader Chhim Sithar's release from prison after visit to Australia". ABC News. Retrieved 13 December 2022.
  19. ^ "Only "Instant Noodle" Unions Survive". Human Rights Watch. 21 November 2022. Retrieved 13 December 2022.
  20. ^ https://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/ministry-stands-sithar-arrest
  21. ^ "Cambodia: Immediately release and drop charges against Union Leader Chhim Sithar". Amnesty International. 13 December 2022. Retrieved 13 December 2022.
  22. ^ "US calls for the release of Cambodian labor activist". CNN. 29 November 2022. Retrieved 13 December 2022.
  23. ^ Barrett, Chris (30 November 2022). "'Gangster regime': Outrage at arrest of union leader after Australian visit". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  24. ^ Khuon, Narim (21 February 2023). "Incitement Trial Begins for NagaWorld Union Leader and Eight Strikers". CamboJA News. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  25. ^ "Cambodia: Labor Leader, Activists Face Baseless Charges". Human Rights Watch. 14 March 2023. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  26. ^ Chandara, Samban (16 March 2023). "Justice ministry rebuffs calls to free unionists". The Phnom Penh Post. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  27. ^ a b "NagaWorld Union Leaders' Trial Nearing End, Court Schedules Closing Arguments". 29 April 2023.
  28. ^ Khuon, Narim (3 May 2023). "In Closing Arguments, Prosecution Frames NagaWorld Gatherings as Incitement, Union Leaders Claim Lawful Strike". CamboJA News. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  29. ^ "Cambodia condemned after union leader jailed over casino strike". Al Jazeera. 25 May 2023. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  30. ^ AFP (25 May 2023). "Cambodian Union Leader Jailed over Casino Strike". VOA. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  31. ^ Sovann, Sreypich (25 May 2023). "NagaWorld Union Leader Chhim Sithar Sentenced to Two Years in Prison". CamboJA News. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  32. ^ "Cambodia: Casino Union Leader Chhim Sithar and Strikers Convicted". Australian Council of Trade Unions. 25 May 2023. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  33. ^ "Cambodia: ITUC slams prison sentence for union leaders". International Trade Union Confederation. 25 May 2023. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  34. ^ "Appeal Court Upholds Convictions of LRSU Unionists". LICADHO. 19 October 2023. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  35. ^ https://normlex.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=NORMLEXPUB:50002:0::NO::P50002_COMPLAINT_TEXT_ID:4364409
  36. ^ Cheang, Sopheng (3 May 2024). "Cambodia's Supreme Court upholds the 2-year prison sentence of a casino strike leader". AP News.
  37. ^ "Chhim Sithar Awarded Human Rights Defender Award". U.S. Embassy in Cambodia. 2 February 2023. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  38. ^ "2024: Sithar Chhim". Living History Forum. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
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