Today, hundreds of workers gathered in Takeo’s provincial town to show their support for eight union leaders and union members who were arrested yesterday afternoon during a garment factory strike at the JSD Textile (Cambodia) Co. Ltd factory. The strikers were seeking a minimum wage of $160 and improved working conditions. Armed security forces have blocked the way to the court with barbed wire and to the provincial police station, where the arrested unionists are being held.

The eight unionists include six union leaders from the Coalition of Cambodian Apparel Workers' Democratic Union (CCAWDU) and two CCAWDU staff, who came to assist the striking workers. As of now those arrested are being held at the provincial police station in Takeo’s provincial town where lawyers, unions and NGOs have been denied access to them.