Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training spokesman Heng Suor urged all factory owners outside Phnom Penh and adjacent Kandal provincial town Takmao, which have been placed in lockdown, to refrain from requesting permission letters in order to enter the areas to withdraw money from banks.

Sour said they should instead transfer the money from banks in Phnom Penh to their local banks where their factories are located and pay salaries to workers next week.

“During this lockdown period, owners of factories and enterprises in the provinces should use the banking system to transfer money from any bank in Phnom Penh to any branch in the provincial towns or the locations of their factories,” Suor said in a Facebook post on April 23.

He said he observed that some factory owners or managers had requested permission letters from One Window Services in the provinces in order to come to withdraw money in Phnom Penh, which is under lockdown until April 28.

He also called on factory workers to be patient because the salary that was supposed to be paid this weekend would be postponed until next week.