Hong Kong-listed NagaCorp, the operator of Cambodian integrated resort NagaWorld in the capital city of Phnom Penh, has rejected reports that it had given into the demands of striking workers by offering substantial pay increases.
It was reported in some local media outlets on Monday that NagaCorp had agreed to increase the wages of its workforce by between 18% and 30% after a large gathering of employees joined a rally outside NagaWorld on Friday.
However, in an updated filed with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Tuesday morning, NagaCorp rejected any such inference, stating instead that, “all the employees who participated in the illegal strike have returned to work on 12 January 2020 without any wage increases.”
NagaCorp did not make any reference to reports that Ms Chhim Sithar – the President of the Labor Rights Supported Union of Khmer Employees – had also been reinstated to full employment. Sithar was suspended from her job with full pay in October for what NagaCorp said was a breach of the group’s rules and regulations after she allegedly held a meeting with union members aimed at encouraging them not to work during the Pchum Ben Holidays on 27, 28 and 29 September 2019.
However, it reiterated the fact that NagaWorld currently boasts a “strong workforce of approximately 8,200 employees” and that it had also “recently hired about 1,000 trainees as part of the new Executive Trainee Program to provide additional labour capital to the operation of the Group.
“The Company wishes to inform that all business operations of the Group remained normal during the illegal strike and the Board expects that the above matter has had no negative impact on the business operations and financial performance of the Group.”