A mass protest of 5,000 Cambodian garment factory workers has forced their company to reverse its decision to dismiss 700 workers.
The ABC reports that, following discussions with owners of the Singapore-owned SL Garment Processing factory, 6,000 striking workers will return to work.
However, according to the union representing the workers, there are still a number of outstanding demands that need to be addressed.
Ath Thorn, President of the Coalition of Cambodian Apparel Workers Democratic Union said that these demands include increased wages, improved working conditions and better health and safety standards.
Thorn said that the attitude of the government to the workers’ plight has improved since Cambodia’s general election in July.
"Before the general election, the government was not really involved. But after the general election, the government agreed to help set up the committee for increased salary,” he said.
"And now when I came to the City Hall, they said they will become more involved with working conditions."
According to the Wall Street Journal, the workers claim they have been the victims of workplace intimidation and say that military police are present at the factory during regular inspections.
SL Garment officials could not be reached for comment. However, according to the Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia, an industry body, the strike at SL Garment was “illegal”. The organisation claims that the striking workers had used “violence and strong-arm coercion techniques.”