The Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training, ILO and ILO-Korea Partnership Program jointly organised a workshop to share experiences on more effective dispute resolution.

The “Strengthening the Capacity of Labour Dispute Prevention and Resolution Mechanisms in Cambodia” workshop was held on Thursday, April 24, at the Himawari Hotel.

The workshop was organised as part of ILO’s project, “Social Dialogue & Capacity Building for Strengthening Labour Disputes Prevention and Resolution Mechanisms”, which was launched in November 2024 and is scheduled to end in December 2026.

Sovann Vannaroth, permanent secretary of state at the labour ministry, presided over the opening of the workshop, which was attended by representatives of several relevant South Korean and Cambodian institutions.

Tun Sophorn, National Coordinator of the ILO in Cambodia, explained that the workshop is a reflection of the activities that ILO plans to implement to meet the actual needs of Cambodia to strengthen mechanisms to resolve and prevent labour disputes in Cambodia.

“We want to learn from good experiences, good lessons that South Korea has implemented in relation to how to effectively resolve their labour disputes, and what Cambodia can learn to apply in Cambodia. We share exchanges with each other,” he said, adding that the project will strengthen effective settlement mechanisms, which means that it will end disputes as soon as possible and take less time.

“These inputs are insightful and important for the project to develop an action plan for strengthening social dialogue and capacity for preventing and resolving labour disputes in Cambodia. These are essential for fostering fair employment relationships, promoting productive enterprises and the growth of the economy,” he said.

He observed that compared to 20 years ago, disputes have decreased by up to about 90 per cent, noting that today, the parties involved are more patient and knowledgeable and have the knowledge needed to solve problems together.

“In the past, there were problems, even small issues, such as receiving insufficient wages, always seeing workers go down the road to raise banners, or protest, but we are not like that now,” he said.

Most of the disputes that occur today are the unreasonable firing of trade union leaders, businesses closing and the owners fleeing without paying wages, according to Sophorn.

Vannaroth explained that increasing the capacity of stakeholders, including workers, their representatives and professional organisations, as well as the administrative officers of businesses, is very important.

“We do not have to sit and wait for a dispute to happen and resolve it. The mechanism of dispute prevention is an important point in joining the labour sector, as well as workers and employers in making us understand their rights and obligations before reaching a claim that is against the law or a principle,” she said.

The labour ministry recognizes the importance of empowering people with knowledge, and has run a series of training programmes to build the capacity of all stakeholders. Recently, the ministry’s National Institute of Labour conducted special training courses focused on capacity building for labor inspectors, mediators and the council of arbitrators, as well as stakeholders from within the labour sector, including representatives of employers' associations and administrative heads. They are all key players in contributing to the harmonisation of labour relations.

According to the ministry, the labour institute has delivered training to 4,382 individuals across 53 sessions, since 2024.

The training sessions aim to ensure that all stakeholders understand the foundations of the Labour Law and related regulations. These include the Trade Union Law, the Minimum Wage Law and the Social Security Law. These are the basic laws that help promote the leadership as well as development the Cambodian labour sector so it can move forward with clarity, accuracy and transparency, while maintaining workers’ benefits and ensuring the sustainability of enterprises.

Vannaroth noted that maintaining harmony between businesses and workers without disputes is very important for socio-economic development, not only in Cambodia but also South Korea, and other countries. Ensuring that workers’ benefits are protected is also important for maintaining the economic and political stability of each nation.

“If we cannot manage and establish good relations in this space, labour movement will create problems, as it does in all countries,” she said.

She added that according to the results of the annual labor dispute settlement assessment, the successful resolution rate stood at more than 80 per cent, a positive figure. She hoped the high rate would be maintained, through the development of capacity building as well as the strengthening of dispute resolution mechanisms.

Shin Hochul, Chief Technical Advisor of the ILO-Korea Partnership Program, highlighted how effective mechanisms for preventing and resolving labor disputes are essential for fostering fair employment relationships, promoting productive enterprises and the growth of the economy.

He noted that while many Asian countries, including Cambodia, recognise this need, they continue to face significant challenges. Labour law reforms in most countries have not led to any significant improvements in arrangements and processes for resolving labor disputes.

Addressing labour disputes and other industrial relationship challenges, he suggested, should not be seen as merely a matter of resolving labour management problems. It is important to view labour relations policies as a tool for improving productivity of investment and the competitiveness of an economy.

He hoped the workshop would be a starting point of a social dialogue for Cambodia to develop more effective labour dispute resolution mechanisms. This will help create conditions not only for improving productivity of business and welfare of workers, but also create conditions to attract more investment to Cambodia.

“What I really want to emphasise here is this project really needs the active participation, support and commitment of tripartite constituents to be successful,” he said, adding that the ILO is committed to supporting social dialogue and capacity building for improving labour dispute prevention and resolution mechanisms in Cambodia.

He is very confident that the workshop will also serve as a major stepping stone for further strengthening cooperation between Cambodia and the ILO-Korea Partnership Program.

Through the project, Vannaroth hopes that the development of the labor sector in all areas will enable Cambodians, especially workers in all industries, to fully benefit from the mechanism of social dialogue, as well as of labour dispute resolutions.

She appealed to workers and employers to consider their businesses as “joint rice pots” and to make full use of the possibilities of resolving disputes, preventing issues and maintaining good relations between workers and employees.