It Was Stinky for Days, but Cambodia’s Garbage Strikers Won Their Battle  · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Trash piled up for three days in Phnom Penh, Cambodia’s capital, as hundreds of garbage collectors went on strike to demand a pay hike and better working conditions. The strike ended on Wednesday, February 5, when workers agreed to a slight pay hike.
More than 400 garbage workers of the Cintri company refused to work last Sunday to protest their monthly salary of 65 US Dollars. They vowed to dance until their demands are met such as a $150 monthly pay, health bonus, and overtime pay during weekends.
Cintri, a subsidiary of the Canadian Firm Cintec, signed a 50-year exclusive contract in 2002 to collect Phnom Penh’s trash.
Initially, the management agreed to a slight salary hike:
Cintri management agreed to raise the basic monthly salary for general staff from $65 to $80, and from $70.5 to $95 for daytime waste collectors. Nighttime waste collectors were offered a salary increase from $97.5 to $110, and daytime garbage truck drivers were offered an increase from $110 to $120, and from $120 to $135 for nightshift drivers.
But workers rejected the package. After several negotiations, and after several days of mounting trash in the city, both parties came to an agreement. Street cleaners will now get $90 per month and truck drivers will receive $130. In addition, a health care center will be funded by the company. The uniform fee charged against employees will be scrapped too.
During the brief garbage strike, Phnom Penh residents complained of stink coming from the uncollected trash in the streets. Below are some reactions on Twitter:
MT @doyle_kevin: Outside main post office Phnom Penh on Day 3 of strike by city's garbage collectors. pic.twitter.com/zGYwXe3EUj #Cambodia
— Tweet Cambodia (@tweetcambodia) February 5, 2014
Growing the raw ingredients of Le Parfum du Penh, destined to be the scent of the week…or longer. pic.twitter.com/62nFkaJpLg
— Casey Nelson (@LTO_cambodia) February 4, 2014
#garbageddon #Cambodia! it stinks but great to see rise of #protestKH – whether garbage collector or garment worker http://t.co/5VroO7gHfa
— Devi Leiper O'Malley (@devi_lo) February 5, 2014
Obviously the ‘do not put garbage here’ signs aren't working. pic.twitter.com/R179IIiSwM
— (###) (@25hip25) February 5, 2014
The launching of Cambodia's first public bus was not enthusiastically reported because it coincided with the strike
For a month Phnom Penh has a public #bus! But today not so many ppl on the bus stops, maybe bc of heaps of trash? pic.twitter.com/0c3N7bfJvw
— Marta Soszynska (@m_sosz) February 5, 2014
After the end of the strike, garbage workers started collecting trash in the streets
So have striking garbage collectors returned to work? Here they are collecting garbage in front of North Korean Emb pic.twitter.com/9QhaZ3SFEM
— Chan Thul Prak (@prakchanthul) February 5, 2014
Yay! Trash collectors reach pay deal & Phnom Penh cleans up MT “@instupor: Cintri workers load a truck on riverside. pic.twitter.com/Lup1L80fum”
— Kevin Doyle (@doyle_kevin) February 5, 2014
Good to hear that #Cintri workers come back to work. Yesterday nearly everywhere smell trash. Personally workers deserved salary increased.
— Suy Heimkhemra (@Suyheimkhemra) February 5, 2014
The garbage strike came right after the government violently dispersed a strike by garment workers who have been demanding a $160 monthly minimum wage. It was feared that the garbage strike will be dispersed as well because of the increasing presence of military and police forces in the city.
*Thumbnail is from @LTO_cambodia