Members of the group Partido Manggagawa (PM) picketed this morning
the main office of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to demand that
the National Tripartite Industrial Peace Council (NTIPC) be convened to
investigate the killing of a union organizer in Cavite. The mass action
coincides with the 40th day since the brutal shooting of Dennis Sequeña,
vice chair of the PM-Cavite chapter and veteran union organizer.
“We condemn the glaring inaction and
chilling silence of the DOLE on the killing of our colleague Dennis. Today
marks 40 days since his murder, and the relevant government agencies have so
far failed to make any headway in the investigation of the case,” stated Rene
Magtubo, PM national chair.
The NTIPC, sitting as the National Tripartite
Monitoring Body (NTMB), is tasked to investigate complaints of labor-related
extra-judicial killings. The NTMB was formed in response to the recommendations
of a high level mission by the International Labor Organization in 2009.
The mass action today over the murder of Sequeña
comes in the wake of the Philippines being named among the ten worse countries
for workers. The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), the global
body of organized labor, has once again listed the country for systematic
violations of labor rights.
Sequeña was killed in broad daylight by a gunman in
the middle of a meeting with ecozone workers last June 2. Local and
international labor groups, including the labor coalition Nagkaisa and the
ITUC, condemned the murder, called on the DOLE to stop the killings of
unionists and investigate these cases.
“It is sad and frustrating to note that
such basic acts of workers self-organization, protected no less by our Constitution
and several international conventions and treaties, come at the price of the
lives of countless labor organizers and rights defenders. Dennis’ murder and
the appalling state of worker’s rights in ecozones simply confirm the report by
the ITUC that the Philippines is among the ten most dangerous countries for unionists,”
Magtubo explained.
PM also demanded that the DOLE enforce
laws guaranteeing the freedom of association in ecozones in light of rampant
management interference and intimidation against workers exercising their
constitutional and human rights. Sequeña was actively assisting three unions at
the time of his killing. This month several unions in the ecozones of Cavite
are due to undergo certification elections but organizers are alleging that
workers are “challenged by adversity and harassment by management.”
July 11, 2019
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