The Ministry of Labour is warning Cambodian workers that there are no official labour agreements between the Kingdom and Armenia after a woman claimed her husband was deceptively recruited to a gig in the nation

Chhim PichBormey

The Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training (MLVT) has issued a public warning for citizens not to accept jobs in Armenia, calling such offers “illegal” after a woman posted a video online claiming her husband was stuck in the Caucasus region between Europe and Asia.

On October 24, the ministry posted warning recruiters against posting jobs in Armenia while urging job seekers not to respond to any employment requests.

The statement describes such job offers as “illegal” because there are no official labour exchange agreements in place between the two countries.

“Cambodia has no bilateral employment agreement to exchange workforce and send staff or workers to work in Armenia yet,” the ministry said in the statement.

The Ministry of Labour also urged the public to be careful of any individual or company who promotes and promises job offers with high wages, noting that citizens shouldn’t follow any offer that will send them directly to Armenia or through a third country.

“From now on any advertising or hiring Cambodian people to work for Armenia is illegal,” the statement said. It does not specify any punishments for recruiters who advertise jobs in Armenia or other countries without bilateral labour agreements.

The warning comes five days after a Cambodian woman claimed on social media that her husband was deceived by a company that promised a well-paying job in Armenia.

In a six-minute livestream video with a journalist, an unnamed woman claims that her husband was offered a job in Armenia with a salary of between $1,200 and $1,700 by recruitment firm AA Labour (Cambodia) Supply Co. Ltd. in Phnom Penh.

She said that the family borrowed $5,000 to pay the company’s service fees and travel abroad. However, she said that their promises were false.

When her husband arrived in Armenia, she said he was instead offered a construction job paying about $10 a day, which the company still failed to pay.

In the video, the woman called on MLVT to help her husband, claiming the company confiscated his passport, preventing him from returning to Cambodia.

According to data from the Ministry of Commerce’s Business Registration, the firm has three directors: Hang Sunly, Mao Sreylark and Natthawut Wangpanawong, a Thai national.

Sunly, Chairman of the Directors of AA Labour, told Kiripost that the wife’s claims are “fake news”. He said the husband, Long Prim, was not sent to Armenia by AA Company.

He said Prim initially submitted documents to work in Malaysia, but did not pass the requirements, so withdrew his application and submitted it to another company to work in Armenia.

“My company only recruits for Malaysia and Japan,” Sunly said.

The ministry is urging citizens who experience deceptive job offers, to contact local authorities or call the ministry’s hotline on 1297.