Workers want refund

via CAAI

Friday, 26 November 2010 15:02 Buth Reaksmeay Kongkea

WORKERS from Kandal province who filed a complaint against a company for failing to provide job placements in Thailand aren now refusing to collect work visas that have just been prepared by the company, a police official said yesterday.

The workers said they have been waiting too long for jobs from the labor placement firm CDM Trading Manpower Company, and lost other work opportunities as a result, said Ros Savin, chief of the anti-human trafficking and juvenile protection department in Kandal province, adding that they have demanded their money back with interest.

Forty-two workers filed a complaint earlier this month against the company alleging fraud and breach of trust, saying that they each paid US$150 for help securing employment in Thailand, but had seen no results for six months.

Kandal police officials interviewed all 42 workers as part of an investigation into the matter and confirmed the payment had been received by the company.

“We have just completed our investigation this week”, Ros Savin said. “We have found that all workers in fact paid $150 to CDM Trading Manpower Company, and the company’s representatives also recognised that they have received this money for finding jobs.

Touch Manak, General Manager of the Toek Thla branch of CDM, said the company had prepared passports for the workers as well as arrangements to work with various construction companies in Thailand.

“They can leave for work this December”, he said.

He declined to offer details about the companies or where precisely they operate.

Touch Manak said 18 visas had arrived as of yesterday, and the rest would be ready on December 10. He blamed delays on political tensions between Cambodia and Thailand.

Ros Savin said the police had urged both parties to reach a compromise and resolve the issue.