Cambodia

The garment workers are threatening strikes in reaction to governement proposals to change the law that compels employers to pay double wages for night work. By cutting this premium by 70% the Prime Minister, Hun Sen, claims he will be able to create tens of thousands of new jobs. The industry is currently responsible for US$2.3bn worth of exports yearly, almost 80% of the total.

Workers at the factory were protesting over new short-term work contracts, when management called the police. A large number of police armed with AK47s marched into the crowd, firing shots into the air, shooting a woman in the back as she tried to escape. Around 16 workers, members of the FTUWKC union, have been arrested since the protest.

The invasion was in response to Cambodia holding the crew of an American cargo ship, with the intention of re-asserting US military dominance in the wake of its defeat in Vietnam.

The US wars in Indochina fall into the same general pattern