Relevant Legislation
Cambodian Labour Law (1997)2
Types of Disputes
Individual Disputes
Article 300 states that:
An individual dispute is one that arises between the employer and one or more workers or apprentices individually, and relates to the interpretation or enforcement of the terms of a labour contract or apprenticeship contract, or the provisions of a collective agreement as well as regulations or laws in effect.
Collective Disputes
Article 302 states that:
A collective labour dispute is any dispute that arises between one or more employers and a certain number of their staff over working conditions, the exercise of the recognized rights of professional organizations, the recognition of professional organizations within the enterprise, and issues regarding relations between employers and workers, and this dispute could jeopardize the effective operation of the enterprise or social peacefulness.
Resolution of Disputes Individual disputes may first be referred to a preliminary conciliation overseen by the labour inspector of the relevant province or municipality prior to any judicial action being taken as per Article 300 of the Labour Law. Article 301 stipulates that on receipt of the complaint, the labour inspector will attempt to conciliate the matter between the parties bearing in mind any relevant laws, labour contracts and/or collective agreements that may apply to the parties in question. An official hearing will be held within three weeks of the complaint being received by the labour inspector, the results of which the inspector will annotate in an official report, as per Article 301. Parties may bring representation to the hearing, and any agreement reached during the hearing is enforceable by law. In the event that conciliation is not reached, a complaint may be filed in a court of competent jurisdiction within two months of the date of the hearing.
In regards to collective disputes, where a formal settlement procedure is not specified in a collective agreement, the dispute may be communicated to the labour inspector – who may also initiate conciliation proceedings of his own volition where he/she has not received notification from the relevant parties to the dispute [Article 303].
Article 305 states that ‘conciliation shall be carried out within fifteen days from the designation by the Minister in Charge of Labour. It can be renewed only by joint request of the parties to the dispute’. Furthermore, during the period of conciliation the parties in question must ‘abstain from taking any measure of conflict’ and must attend all meetings as scheduled by the conciliator [Article 306]. Any agreement reached has ‘the same force and effect of a collective agreement between the parties and the persons they represent’ [Article 307]. Where an agreement fails to be reached a report will be sent to the Minister in Charge of Labour within 48 hours of the conclusion of the conciliation proceedings [Article 308] who may then refer the dispute on to the Council of Arbitration [Article 310].
The Council of Arbitration [Article 312]:
[…] legally decides on disputes concerning the interpretation and enforcement of laws or regulations of a collective agreement. […] The Council of Arbitration has considerable power to investigate the economic situation of the enterprises and the social situation of the workers involved in the dispute. The Council has the power to make all inquiries into the enterprises or the professional organizations, as well as the power to require the parties to present any document or economic, accounting, statistical, financial, or administrative information that would be useful in accomplishing its mission. The Council may also solicit the assistance of experts. Members of the Council of Arbitration must keep professional confidentiality regarding the information and documents provided to them for examination, and of any facts that come to their attention while carrying out their mission. All sessions of the Council of Arbitration shall be held behind closed doors.
The Council must issue a decision within fifteen days of hearing the case. The parties have the right to appeal the decision to the Minister in writing within eight days of receiving notification of the decision [Article 313]. If there is no appeal then the decision will be implemented immediately [Article 314].
Endnotes
2 Cambodian Labour Law, available at http://www.gocambodia.com/laws/labor_law.asp (accessed 16/05/11).
