About 500 garment workers whose bosses have complained that they spend too much of their working day talking on the phone and listening to music protested outside their Kampong Speu factory yesterday, demanding better working conditions.

Workers began the strike at the Teng Xun factory at about 8am, with a list of six demands, including that tax not be deducted from their wages, lunch bonuses be paid for working on Saturdays and Sundays, medical certificates be recognised and permission be granted for them to bring phones into factories, worker Sun Vannak said.

“The workers will continue protesting until we reach a solution,” he said.

Cheav Sokheng, chief administrator at the factory, said the demand for wages not to be taxed was “impossible”, while a ban on phones on the factory floor was unlikely to be lifted due to the workers’ propensity to call friends and listen to music.