The group Partido Manggagawa slammed the
meddling of management in a union election held yesterday at the garments factory
Dong Seung Inc. in the Cavite Economic Zone.
“Management blatantly interfered in the
conduct of the elections in violation of the rules guaranteeing workers’
freedom of association. The company lawyer prevented representatives of the
union legal counsel to enter the factory and observe the conduct of the
election. For the duration of the election, no union legal representatives were
in polling area thus putting the results of election in doubt,” stated Rene
Magtubo, chair of PM.
Slain labor organizer Dennis Sequena had
assisted workers of Dong Seung in organizing a union. Sequena was killed last
June 2 in Tanza, Cavite while conducting a labor rights seminar for workers in
the Cavite ecozone.
PM called on Labor Secretary Silvestre
Bello to guarantee the sanctity of union elections and promote freedom of
association in the ecozones in view of such gross violations and management
interference. Another certification
election is being held today at another garments factory in the Cavite ecozone.
Magtubo reminded the DOLE that the country has again been cited at the
International Labor Organization annual conference this month for complaints of
violations of freedom of association and collective bargaining.
“Meddling by the company lawyer of Dong
Seung started well before the actual certification election. During the
pre-election proceedings, the company lawyer opposed the participation of any
legal counsels except for the employer. The employer was given the privilege of
pollwatchers in violation of the bystander rule,” Magtubo averred.
He added that “The company lawyer demanded
that two union officers can only be allowed to vote if they undermine their
pending case at the National Labor Relations Commission by declaring that their
complaint is not true. Is this not a clear case of blackmail? He also pushed
for the inclusion of 112 voters in violation of the rule providing that employees
regularized after the three-months prior are excluded. The company lawyer
finally insisted that campaigning and distribution of sample ballots are
prohibited!”
“Unfortunately the election officer from
the DOLE provincial office—in a clear act of omission—allowed all of this flagrant
management interference despite his power to administer the conduct of the
certification election. The rules provide that management is only a bystander
in a union election since workers’ have freedom of association. Workers do not
interfere when investors and stockholders vote for the company board of
directors. So why should employers meddle in elections among workers?,” Magtubo
explained.
June 28, 2019
