Phnom Penh (FN), August 9 - The Cambodian government, for the first time, granted authority to 77 agencies to recruit, train, and dispatch maids who will serve as domestic assistants at Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, according to Minister of Labor and Vocational Training, Ith Sam Heng.

The statement was made on Wednesday morning in Phnom Penh at the workshop on the dissemination and procedure of recruiting, training, sending and managing Cambodian domestic helpers to work in Hong Kong.

“Cambodian government has granted licenses to 77 agencies to send workers abroad and will continue to work on many more requests,” stated Ith Sam Heng.

The minister ordered the relevant ministries and institutions to crack down on illegal brokers or unlicensed companies.

He asked the six agencies among the 77 to assign quality employees to Hong Kong employers. In return, the Hong Kong companies should provide decent accommodation and respect for the rights of workers.

The minister proposed to the CSOs to monitor and cooperate with the Ministry of Labor and Vocational Training in providing security and legal support, if necessary, to civil servants.

There are 1.1 million Cambodians currently working in Thailand, S. Korea, Malaysia, Japan, and Singapore.
=FRESH NEWS