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KONG PhallackV. Labor Dispute Resolution SystemThe Labor Law provides for the basic structure of labor dispute resolution in Chapter XIIand Chapter XVII. Labor disputes are classified into individual labor disputes and collective labor disputes. The Labor Law does not call for both collective and individual labordisputes to be resolved initially through direct negotiation between the disputing partiesbefore submission of the disputes to a third party. However the Law does provide forseveral different third-party dispute resolution mechanisms.16In an individual labor dispute, prior to any judicial action, either party can refer thecase to the Labor Inspector of his province or municipality or capital for a preliminaryconciliation. On receipt of the complaint, the Labor Inspector shall inquire of both parties to elicit the subject of the dispute and then shall attempt to conciliate the parties onthe basis of relevant laws, regulations, collective agreements, or the individual labor contract. To this effect, the Labor Inspector shall set a hearing that is to take place withinthree weeks at the latest upon receipt of the complaint. The parties can be assisted orrepresented at the hearing. The results of the conciliation shall be contained in an official report written by the Labor Inspector, stating whether there was agreement or nonconciliation. The report shall be signed by the Labor Inspector and by the parties, whoreceive a certified copy. An agreement made before the Labor Inspector is enforceableby law. In case of non-conciliation, the interested party can file a complaint in a court ofcompetent jurisdiction within two months; otherwise the litigation will lapse.17In a collective labor dispute, if there is no planned settlement procedure in a collective agreement, the parties are required to communicate the collective labor dispute to theLabor Inspector of their province or municipality. However, the Labor Inspector can takelegal conciliation proceedings upon learning of the collective labor dispute even thoughhe has not been officially notified.18 The Labor Law requires the Minister in Charge ofLabor to designate a conciliator within forty-eight hours from the moment he is apprisedor himself learns of the dispute19 and conciliation must be carried out within fifteen daysfrom the designation by the Minister in Charge of Labor. It can be renewed only by jointrequest of the parties to the dispute20. During the period of conciliation, the parties tothe dispute must abstain from taking any measure of conflict. They must attend all meetings to which the conciliator calls them. Unjustified absence from any such meeting ispunishable by a fine set in the rules of Chapter XVI.21 A conciliatory agreement, signedby the parties and endorsed by the conciliator, has the same force and effect of a collective agreement between the parties and the persons they represent. However, when aw,Law,Law,Law,Law,Ch. 12: Art 300–Art 317Art 301Art 303Art 304Art 305Art 306290 Introduction to Cambodian Law

Cambodian Labor and Employment Lawparty representing workers is not a trade union, the agreement is neither binding on suchunion nor on the workers it represents.22 In the absence of an agreement, the conciliatormust record and indicate the key points where the conciliation failed and shall prepare areport on the dispute. The conciliator must send such record and report to the Ministerin Charge of Labor within forty-eight hours at the latest after the conclusion of conciliation.23 If conciliation fails, the labor dispute shall be referred to settle by arbitration atthe Arbitration Council24. The Arbitration Council must hear the dispute within fifteenworking days of the Arbitration Panel’s formation date.25VI. Individual Employment1. Employment RelationshipSummary of Main Legal InstrumentsThe main legal instrument regulating individual contract employment in Cambodia is theLabor Law. The Labor Law provides the basic legal form and scope of a labor contract inCambodia and details the rights and obligations of the employer and workers in a laborrelationship26. Providing further guidance are Decree 38 on Contract and Other Liabilities of October 28, 1988 and the Civil Code27. These two laws set out the basic rules ofcontract such as formation of contract, forms of contract, effect of contract, executionof contract, interpretation of contract, and statute of limitation28. Furthermore, the CivilCode provides a guideline for implementing a labor contract according to provisions ofthe Labor Law29.Forms of EmploymentUnder the Labor Law, an employment relationship between an employer and a workercan be governed by either an oral or a written contract.30 The Labor Law provides twotypes of contracts, namely Fixed Duration Contract (FDC) or Specific Duration Contract222324252627282930Labor Law, Art 307Labor Law, Art 308Labor Law, Art 309KONG Phallack, Labor Arbitration in Cambodia: Law and Practice, Cambodian Society of Comparative Law, Volume 1, 2010, pp.163-171Labor Law, Ch4, Art 65- Art 95Civil Code, Book 5, Ch 9, Art 664- Art 668, The Civil Code was promulgated by Royal Kram No. NS/RKM/1207/030 of December 8, 2007. However, until today, the Civil Code is not yet implementedbecause article 1305 states the code will be implemented from the date determined by other laws.The Law on Implementation of Civil Code is in the drafting stageCivil Code, Book 4, Ch 1- Ch9, Art 308- Art 514 and Decree 38 on Contract and Other Liabilities ofOctober 28, 1988, art 1- Art 120Civil Code, Book 5, Ch 9, Art 668Labor Law, Art 65Chapter 12 291

KONG Phallack(SDC) and Undetermined or Unfixed Duration Contract (UDC). Under the Labor Law FDCmust be made in writing. If not, it becomes a UDC. Furthermore, the Labor Law providesthat the labor contract signed with consent for a specific duration cannot be for a periodlonger than two years. It can be renewed one or more times, as long as the renewal doesnot surpass the maximum duration of two years. Any violation of this rule leads the contract to become a labor contract of undetermined duration. When a contract is signed fora fixed period of or less than two years, but the work tacitly and quietly continues afterthe end of the fixed period, the contract becomes a labor contract of undetermined duration.31 According to the Labor Law, there are two ways to create a UDC. One is an intention creation by parties while entering into a contract without specifying the date andthe other is an unintentional creation whereby FDC is transformed into a UDC either atthe time of contracting or at a later time.322. Statutory Regulation of EmploymentEmployment ListingsGenerally, the Labor Law allows employers to directly or indirectly recruit workers butthey are required to notify the Placement Office of the Ministry in Charge of Labor or theprovincial or municipal Employment Office of any vacancies in his enterprise or any newneed for personnel33. However, as a matter of practice, employers usually directly recruitworkers. Therefore, in practice, employers often skip the announcement requirement.Labor Supply Organizations or Labor ContractorsThe Labor Law defines a labor contractor as a sub-contractor who contracts with an entrepreneur and who himself recruits the necessary work force or workmen for the execution of certain work or the provision of certain services for an all-inclusive price. Such acontract must be in writing. The labor contractor is required to observe the provisionsof the Labor Law in the same manner as an ordinary employer and assumes the sameresponsibilities as the latter. In case of insolvency or default by the labor contractor, theentrepreneur or the manager of an enterprise shall substitute for the contractor to fulfillhis obligations to the workers and the harmed workers. In such case, the workers mayfile a case directly against the entrepreneur or manager. Furthermore, the Labor Law requires the entrepreneur to constantly keep available a list of labor contractors and sendthe list to the Labor Inspector’s Office within seven whole days following the date ofsigning the labor contract or fifteen days for agricultural enterprises or businesses. This31 Labor Law, Art 67(2) and (7); Art 73 (5); and Case 10/03- Jacqsintex Industrial Cambodia32 Edward (kees) De Bouter, Daniel Adler, Lee U Meng, and Patricia Bar (Authors) & Sussie Brown, andMegan Reeve (Contributing Authors and Editors), Cambodian Employment and Labor Law, CommunityLegal Education Center, Third Edition, pp.79-80; Labor Law, Art 67(2) and (7); Art 73 (5); and Case10/03- Jacqsintex Industrial Cambodia33 Labor Law, Art 21 and Art 258292 Introduction to Cambodian Law

Cambodian Labor and Employment Lawlist must indicate the name, address, and status of the labor contractor and the situationof each workplace.34In practice, there are two types of labor contractors, one who provides labor domestically and the other who exports labor overseas. The latter is governed by specific governmental regulations such as Sub-decree No.57 ANK/PK Of July 20, 1995 on ExportingCambodian Workers Overseas and a complementary Sub-decree No.70 ANK/PK Of July25, 1996 on creating a Manpower Training and Overseas Sending Board to act as a public agency for recruiting, training, sending and managing Cambodian workers to workoverseas. Sub-decree No.57 ANK/PK Of July 20, 1995 is the most important law regulating labor migration management from Cambodia, and gives the Ministry of Labour andVocational training (MOLVT) authority to license any company to send Cambodian workers abroad. The sub-decree establishes a joint cooperation between the MOLVT and theMinistry of Interior (MOI) for issuing passports and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA)in monitoring workers at destination countries, and also provides processes and procedures of cooperation between the MOLVT and private recruitment agencies, includingthe obligation for the recruitment agencies to sign a written contract with the worker andto organize pre-departure training as well as criteria for licensing such the deposit of aguarantee fund within the MOLVT. However, Cambodia has not yet signed the 1990 UNConvention on the Protection of the Rights of all Migrant Workers and Members of theirFamilies, Convention No. 97 on Migration for Employment (Revised), 1949, ConventionNo. 143 on Migrant Workers (Supplementary Provisions), 1975 and Convention No. 181on Private Employment Agencies, 1997. 353. Substance of the Individual Contract of EmploymentMandatory Terms in a ContractThe Labor Law provides that a labor contract establishes working relations between theworker and the employer and is subject to common law and can be made in a form thatis agreed upon by the contracting parties. The contract can be written or verbal. It canbe drawn up and signed according to local custom. If it needs registering, this shall bedone at no cost. The verbal contract is considered to be a tacit agreement between theemployer and the worker under the conditions laid down by the labor regulations, evenif it is not expressly defined. The Civil Code provides that a labor contract must containa description of the following: wages, working hours, and other working conditions.36The word “Working Conditions” includes general working conditions specified in Chapter VI and specific working conditions stated in Chapter VII of the Labor Law. The General Working Conditions include wage, hours or work, night work, weekly time off, paid34 Labor Law, Art 45- Art 5035 .htm36 Civil Code, Art 665Chapter 12 293

KONG Phallackholidays, paid annual leave, special leave, child labor, women labor and also workersrecruited outside the workplace.37 The Specific Working Conditions refer to conditionsset specifically for agricultural work such as plantations, farms (the growing of crops andraising of animals), forestry exploitation and fisheries. In addition to the general requirements, the law requires employers to provide partial payment in kind, family benefit,housing, housing allowance, water, supplies, latrines, funeral services (in case of death),day nursery, and school for kids.38Notice PeriodThe notice period required when one party unilaterally terminates a labor contractdepends on the duration of the contract and the reason for termination. The Labor Lawprovides notice periods for FDC and UDC. For FDC, the Labor Law states that if thecontract has a duration of more than six months, the worker must be informed of theexpiration of the contract or of its non-renewal ten days in advance. This notice periodis extended to fifteen days for contracts that have a duration of more than one year. Ifthere is no prior notice, the contract shall be extended for a length of time equal to itsinitial duration or deemed as a contract of unspecified duration if its total length exceedsthe time limit specified.39 For UDC, the Labor Law provides a notice period as follows: i)Seven days, if the worker’s length of continuous service is less than six months; ii) Fifteendays, if the worker’s length of continuous service is from six months to two years; iii)One month, if the worker’s length of continuous service is longer than two years and upto five years; iv) Two months, if the worker’s length of continuous service is longer thanfive years and up to ten years, and v) Three months, if the worker’s length of continuousservice is longer than ten years.40 For UDC, an employee does not have to give a reasonfor termination, but the Labor Law requires an employer to have valid reason relatingto the worker’s aptitude or behavior, based on the requirements of the operation of theenterprise, establishment or group.41Presumption of TermThe Labor Law provides for three basic term lengths for labor contracts: indefinite termfor UDC, definite-term of 1 to 24 months (FDC), and probationary term of 1 to 3 months(“probationary orLaborLaw,Law,Law,Law,Law,Law,Art 102-Art 190Art 190-Art 227Art 73(5)Art 75Art 74 (2)Ch 4, Art 65, Art 67, Art 68, Art294 Introduction to Cambodian Law

Cambodian Labor and Employment LawIncorporation of Terms in a Collective AgreementTerms and conditions between individual employment contracts and collective laboragreements may be at variance with one another. The Labor Law provides that whererights and interests of the employees stipulated in individual employment contracts areless favorable to the employees than provided for in the collective agreement, the collective agreement will trump the individual employment contracts.434. Contract Termination and DismissalGeneralThe Labor Law details very specific circumstances under which a labor contract may beterminated: when the contract expires or is otherwise completed; with the consent ofboth parties; in the event of the serious misconduct or force majeure; and at the will ofeach party.44A labor contract of specific duration normally terminates at the specified ending date.It can, however, be terminated before the ending date if both parties are in agreementon the condition that this agreement is made in form of writing in the presence of aLabor Inspector and signed by the two parties to the contract. If both parties do notagree, a contract of specified duration can be canceled before its termination date onlyin the event of the serious misconduct or acts of God.45 The premature termination ofthe contract by the will of either the employer or the worker alone for reasons otherthan those mentioned in this section entitles the other party to damages in an amountat least equal to the remuneration he would have received until the termination of thecontract (in case of termination at the will of the employer), and damages in an amountthat corresponds to the damage sustained (in case of termination at the will of worker)46.The labor contract of unspecified duration can be terminated at will by one of thecontracting parties. This termination shall be subject to the prior notice made in writing by the party who intends to terminate the contract to the other party. However, nolayoff can be taken without a valid reason relating to the worker’s aptitude or behavior,based on the requirements of the operation of the enterprise, establishment or ,Law,Law,Law,ArtArtArtArtArt98(2)73 and Art 7473(1-2)73(3-4)74Chapter 12 295

KONG PhallackDismissal for CauseThe employer can dismiss an employee for serious misconduct mentioned in the LaborLaw48. This is the only situation in which an employer is legally allowed to unilaterallyterminate an employee’s contract without giving notice or being liable for any type ofseverance or compensation pay. In the following circumstances, dismissal is permissible:i) Stealing, misappropriation, embezzlement; ii). Fraudulent acts committed at the time ofsigning (presentation of false documentation) or during employment (sabotage, refusalto comply with the terms of the employment contract, divulging professional confidentiality); iii) Serious infractions of disciplinary, safety, and health regulations; iv) Threat,abusive language or assault against the employer or other workers; v) Inciting other workers to commit serious offenses; and political propaganda, activities or demonstrations inthe establishment. Besides these circumstances, the Labor Law allows for discretionaryexpansion of the circumstances under which the employer may dismiss a labor contractthrough its “other conduct” provision. This allows the employer to categorize many otheractivities aside from the ones listed above as cause for an employee’s dismissal. However,in order for the provisions to be enforceable against the employee, the prohibited conductmust be specified in the labor contract, the collective labor agreement, or the company’sinternal regulations. The internal regulations must be approved by the Labor Inspectorsin order to survive a legal challenge. Furthermore, the Labor Law empowers the competent court to determine the magnitude of offenses besides what are mentioned in theLabor Law49, and the disciplinary sanction must be proportional to the seriousness of themisconduct50. The employer is considered to renounce his right to dismiss a worker forserious misconduct if this action is not taken within a period of seven days from the dateon which he has learned about the serious misconduct in question.51The Role of the Union and Labor Authority in Termination/DismissalCambodia is unique because it generally does not have an industry-wide or trade-specificconcept of “union,” as in other countries. Unions in Cambodia are not united, and multiple unions may exist in an enterprise. The union represents the employees in negotiating the collective labor agreement with the employer.52 The union also plays an importantrole in case of mass layoff. Under the Labor Law the employer must inform the workers’representatives in writing in order to solicit their suggestions, primarily, on the measuresfor a prior announcement of the reduction in staff and the measures taken to minimizethe effects of the reduction on the affected workers.53484950515253Labor Law, Art 83, and Art 84Labor Law, Art 84Labor Law, Art 27Labor Law, Art 26Labor Law, Art 96Labor Law, Art 95. The Workers’ representatives are elected from the candidates nominated by therepresentative union organizations within each establishment (See also art 288)296 Introduction to Cambodian Law

Cambodian Labor and Employment LawThe dismissal of a workers’ representative or a candidate for workers’ representative/trade union can take place only after authorization from the Labor Inspector. The sameprotective measures apply to former workers’ representative three months following theend of their terms and to unelected candidates during three months following the proclamation of the results of the ballot. Any reassignment or transfer that would end theworkers’ representative‘s term is subject to the same procedure. 545. PrivacyThere are no employment-specific privacy laws in Cambodia. However, the Civil Codeof Cambodia contains a concept of personal rights. Personal rights under the civil codeinclude the rights to life, personal safety, health, freedom, identity, dignity, privacy, andother personal benefits or interests. Nevertheless, “privacy,” “personal secrets,” and “personal life” are not specifically defined. This absence of definition could have potentiallyimportant ramifications in an employment context (e.g., company email, backgroundchecks) unless these terms are addressed in the company’s relevant labor regulations andagreed to by the employee.6. Employee Duty of Loyalty, Trade Secrets,Covenants Not to CompeteDuty of LoyaltyCambodian Labor Law provides a duty of loyalty. Worker’s loyalty and confidentialitytowards the enterprise continues to be in effect during the execution and suspension ofthe employment contract. 55Trade SecretsA law on trade secrets is not yet in place in Cambodia. Labor Inspectors and Controllers must solemnly swear allegiance to fulfilling their duties and to not revealing, evenafter having left their post, any manufacturing or trade secrets or operating methods thatthey learned of during the course of their work.56 Due to the absence of law, trade secretprovisions are normally includeed in the employment contract and internal regulationsof the companies.54 Labor Law, Art 293 and Prakas 305 dated 21 November, 200155 Labor Law, Art 72 (See also article 60)56 Labor Law, Art 343Chapter 12 297

KONG PhallackVII. Collective barg

19 Labor Law, Art 304 20 Labor Law, Art 305 21 Labor Law, Art 306. Chapter 12 291 Cambodian Labor and Employment Law party representing workers is not a trade union, the agreement is neither binding on such union nor on the workers it represents.22 In the absence of an agreement, the conciliator