Five “major” factories and manufacturing enterprises will be opening in Kampong Speu province that will employ more than 5,000 workers starting from March 17 to meet the need of workers searching for new job opportunities, according to the Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training.
In a March 15 notice, the ministry said its National Employment Agency (NEA) will organise a large-scale recruitment event in the province’s Chbar Mon town, with the five factories on hand to recruiting qualified applicants.
The employment forum is intended to help maintain the livelihoods and income of workers, in addition to social protections via cash subsidies for workers undergoing suspension of their employment contracts during the Covid-19 crisis.
NEA said it will send officials from its Mobile Job Centre to conduct outreach and mobilise as many potential applicants to join the event as possible.
Provincial governor Vei Samnang said he is happy that although some workers have had their jobs suspended, there are other factories offering thousands of openings.
He said factories in Kampong Speu need more workers than other provinces at present, suggesting that those who are unemployed consider relocating there.
"These achievements are due to the fact that Cambodia is peaceful, there is a lot of infrastructure development, so there are a lot of investors coming to the country. In addition, people in this province are honest and work hard. Therefore, many investors like to come to our province,” he said.
Ath Thorn, president of the Cambodian Labour Confederation (CLC), said it is good that the labour ministry organises such as event as the government seeks to address challenges with a number of factories closing down and suspending workers.
However, Thorn suggested that the ministry provide employment opportunities to other provinces as well.
"Every province should have employment opportunities to facilitate finding work for the unemployed. The government’s employment drive should continue regularly,” he said.
