International Trade Federation Calls for Release of Arrested Workers

A federation of international trade unions from 161 countries is calling for the Cambodian government to release workers arrested in violent protests earlier this month. The International Trade Union Confederation, which represents 176 million workers, also called on the government to “withdraw the threats to independent trade unions to take away their licenses,” Jaap Wiennen, a senior representative of the federation, told reporters in Phnom Penh Monday. Wiennan met with Labor Minister Ith Sam Heng, urging him to release 23 detainees who were arrested in protest crackdowns and are being held at a remote facility near the Vietnam border. Officials from the Labor Ministry were not immediately available for comment. (Kong Sothanarith, Phnom Penh)