Eight people have been detained for days without charges. Employees at a company that makes footwear for Nike demonstrate for higher wages and better working conditions. Sources tell AsiaNews that protests are on the rise, as dissatisfaction becomes more "evident and widespread."

Phnom Penh (AsiaNews) - Cambodian workers are "steadily intensifying" their labour actions as dissatisfaction becomes "more and more evident and widespread" than in the past, Catholic sources told AsiaNews. In fact, with local employment and operations sensitive to external factors like Chinese competition, local manufacturers try to drive down wages, below subsistence levels in some cases. And this has led to street protest by thousands of workers, led by national unions, who today demanded the release of workers arrested a few days ago and still held without charges.

On Monday, eight people were arrested during protests that attracted more than 10,000 garment workers, demanding higher wages and better working conditions.

Workers with the Taiwanese-owned Sabrina (Cambodia) Garment Manufacturing, which produces clothing and footwear for the American Nike, led the way.

Cambodia's textile industry employs about 650,000 people making garments for Western brands and is a key source of foreign income for the Asian nation.

Police has not yet charged protesters it took into custody, whilst many protesters have been hurt, including a pregnant woman who suffered a miscarriage.

At least 3,000 people rallied outside the Kampong Speu provincial court in southern Cambodia demanding their release.

"The government fears the protests will lead to social unrest because of the upcoming election and what happened in the Arab world and recently in Turkey," said Ou Virak, president of the Cambodian Centre for Human Rights. However, "the government's iron-fisted action will only cause anger," he added.

• cambodia
• occupation
• factories
• workers
• strikes
• human
• rights
• exploitation