Labor standards violations at garment export firm

FCO is a garments manufacturer in the Cebu Economic Zone that supplies to brands Victoria's Secret, Champion and Black/Pink. The company retrenched more than a hundred workers last September without paying separation benefits due them according to law. Aside from this, FCO also did not grant holiday pay to its workers. The firm likewise hires workers on short-term contracts then rehires them on new ones to avoid the regularization of its employees. All of these are in violation of Philippine labor laws or regulations.

Workers protest factory closure in Laguna

 

Workers of a glass factory in Laguna protested in front of the company gates last Wednesday. Some 200 employees, about a dozen of whom are women, were terminated as Arcya Glass Corporation in Calamba, Laguna filed for permanent closure in November 16. However, the Arcya Glass Employees Union is accusing the company of union busting as the factory continues to operate with a reduced workforce.

 

“We believe that Arcya Glass is feigning closure as a way to bust the union and replace regular workers with contractual employees who will work for less wages and benefits. In fact last Wednesday, three trucks from Pedraja Trucking came out of the factory and we think they carried bottles for delivery to Arcya’s customers,” stated Joseph Legada, president of the Arcya Glass Employees Union.

 

“The mass layoffs in Laguna and Cebu are symptomatic of the pandemic of job loss that is happening without effective intervention by the government. This ties in with news reports that 4.5 million are unemployed this year and 2.2 million are also out of work but are not officially jobless only because they stopped looking for work. The restricted definition of unemployment limits it only to the jobless who are actively looking for work in the last six months,” asserted Rene Magtubo, PM national chair.

 

He added that “Moreover, we are seeing that capitalists are exploiting the covid-19 crisis to bust unions and shift to contract work. This is shown by the experience of the Arcya Glass Employees Union and the First Glory labor union in the Mactan ecozone.”

 

Last Friday the garment firm First Glory Apparel in Cebu fired 300 workers, including the union president. The union has a pending petition for certification election. A rally of terminated First Glory workers last November 30 was broken up by police and led to the arrest of five union officers and labor organizers. The so-called MEPZ 5 were later released as their cases for “disobedience to person in authority” were dismissed.

 

Arcya Glass put workers on one-month forced leave in March 15 as the covid lockdown started. The company then filed for temporary closure until October 15. Finally the company declared permanent closure in November 16. The Arcya Glass Employees Union has a pending case for unpaid benefits at the National Conciliation and Mediation Board and a complaint for illegal closure and union busting at the National Labor Relations Commission.

 

Magtubo insisted that “We demand that Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello convene a dialogue with labor groups on the continued hemorrhage of jobs inside and outside of the ecozones. We also ask Secretary Bello to remind police that existing DOLE-PEZA-PNP rules on labor disputes prohibit security personnel from harassing workers’ concerted actions.”

 

Photos of the Arcya workers protest can be accessed at https://www.facebook.com/partidomanggagawa/posts/10158678405269323.

December 4, 2020

As Cebu labor organizers released from jail, DOLE asked to act on mass layoffs

 

Labor groups welcomed the release from detention of three labor organizers who were arrested in a workers rally at the Cebu Mactan Ecozone last November 30. Cases of “disobedience against a person in authority” lodged against Dennis Derige, Joksan Branzuela and Jonel Labrador were dismissed yesterday afternoon. Their colleagues Myra Opada and Cristito Pangan, both union leaders at the Mactan Ecozone, were released earlier.

 

Partido Manggagawa (PM) and Sentro ng mga Nagkakaisa at Progresibong Manggagawa (Sentro) also asked the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) for pro-active measures to stem the series of mass layoffs in the ecozones.

 

“We condemn the double standard of police in implementing the quarantine rules. Police turn a blind eye to Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque leading a mass gathering in Bantayan, Cebu last November 27 but without batting an eyelash arrest union leaders who were airing grievances on mass firings,” stated Rene Magtubo, PM national chair.

 

Meanwhile Josua Mata, Sentro secretary-general stated that “I would like to laud the decision of the prosecutor in dismissing the cases against our organizers. It only shows that there are still people in our justice system who are courageous enough to uphold the constitutional rights of workers.”

 

Magtubo insisted that “Another double standard is DOLE’s inaction on employers engaging in mass layoffs for dubious reasons while police immediate suppress workers’ protests against indiscriminate firings. We demand that Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello remind police that existing DOLE-PEZA-PNP rules on labor disputes prohibit security personnel from harassing workers’ concerted actions. We also ask him to convene a dialogue with labor groups on the continued hemorrhage of jobs inside and outside of the ecozones.”

 

Last November 30, the so-called MEPZ 5 led more than a hundred recently terminated ecozone workers in rally at the Mactan ecozone gate. But police dispersed the rally and arrested the MEPZ 5.

 

On November 27, First Glory Apparel fired 300 workers. This comes on the heels of mass layoffs at other firms in the Mactan ecozone. Earlier the Sports City group of companies retrenched 4,000 workers, Yuenthai fired 2000 workers, FCO laid off 100 workers and Kor Landa terminated 67 workers.

December 2, 2020

Partido Manggagawa Demands the Release of Five Unionists Arrested in Cebu

As workers commemorated Bonifacio Day in a nationally coordinated action, Partido Manggagawa (Labor Party) demanded the release of unionists Dennis Derige, Myra Opada, Joksan Branzuela, Jonel Labrador, and Cristito Pangan.

 

Opada is the union president at Philippine Light Leather, Pangan is the union president at First Glory Apparel while Derige, Branzuela and Labrador are union organizers.

 

The Mactan Economic Zone has been a site of struggle between local labor and foreign capital.  Last Friday, Nov. 27th, some 300 workers of the First Glory Apparel were fired -- the latest in the surge of mass layoffs at garment firms in the zone in the past three months.  The Sports City group of companies laid off 4,000 workers, Yuenthai fired 200 workers, FCO laid off 100 workers and Kor Landa retrenched 67 workers.

 

To mark Bonifacio Day, members of the Mactan Ecozone Workers Alliance, Partido Manggagawa, and Sentro assembled at Gate 3 and marched to Gate 2 where they held a program highlighting the Zone capitalists' attack on the right of workers to unionize, bargain collectively, seek redress of grievance and assemble peacefully. However, police broke up the rally and arrested the five unionists.

 

Rene Magtubo of PM called for an end to the repression of labor rights and the harassment of human rights defenders.  "Activism is not terrorism," said Magtubo.  "This is precisely the theme of today's national and global commemoration of Bonifacio Day."

 

The arrest of the PM Cebu labor organizers underscores the escalating attacks on workers' rights in the country, said Magtubo.  "It adds to the unsolved killings of unionists, busting of unions, and red-tagging of union activists." 

 

Last year, PM-Cavite labor organizer Dennis Sequena was brutally murdered while facilitating a labor seminar.  No one has been arrested, much less charged with his murder.

 

The impunity with which workers are fired in economic zones like Mactan, in the middle of a pandemic, graphically illustrates the inability of the government to ensure job security for native labor, and its puppetry toward foreign capital.  As employment shrinks steadily and dramatically in the country, the brunt of the double blow of a recession and a pandemic is felt most grievously by the Philippine working class.

Arrest of Cebu labor organizers slammed

 

The labor group Partido Manggagawa (PM) denounced the arrest of several of its leaders and organizers in Cebu during the Bonifacio Day action of workers in the gate of the Mactan Economic Zone.

 

“We call for the release of PM leaders Dennis Derige, Myra Opada, Joksan Branzuela, Jonel Labrador and Cristito Pangan. Activism is not terrorism. Repression of labor rights and harassment of human rights defenders must stop. This is precisely the theme of today’s national and global commemoration of Bonifacio Day,” declard Rene Magtubo.

 

Members of Mactan Ecozone Workers Alliance, Partido Manggagawa and Sentro assembled at the Gate 3 of the Mactan Economic Zone at 8:00 am then marched towards Gate 2 where they held a program that highlighted the attacks on workers’ rights to unionize, bargain collectively, seek redress of grievances, and peaceful assembly.

 

Retrenched workers of factories in the Mactan ecozone joined the Bonifacio Day commemoration in Cebu against repression of labor rights. Last Friday, some 300 workers of First Glory Apparel were fired. This comes on the heels of mass layoffs at other garment firms in the Mactan ecozone in the last three months—the Sports City group of companies retrenched 4,000 workers, Yuenthai fired 2000 workers and FCO laid off 100 workers.

 

Magtubo insisted that “The arrest of PM Cebu labor organizers puts a spotlight on the escalating attacks on workers’ rights in the country and adds to the unsolved killings of unionists, busting of unions and red-tagging of union activists. Last PM-Cavite labor organizer Dennis Sequena was brutally murdered last year while facilitating a labor seminar.” 

November 30, 2020

Group calls for bigger educ, ayuda budget in response to 3M unenrolled students

A youth group today called for massive government intervention in response to the 3 million students who are not enrolled for the school year. The Partido Manggagawa-Kabataan (PM-Kabataan), youth wing of the militant labor group Partido Manggagawa, asked for additional funds for basic education and emergency employment in the proposed 2021 budget.

 

“Three million students are bound to be left behind if the government does not act decisively. Even though education already has the biggest allocation in the proposed 2021 General Appropriations Act, there are still yawning gaps if one looks at the details. Just to cite one example, the allocation for the DepEd computerization program is a mere P9 billion which is just half of the fund for the National Task Force to End Communist Armed Conflict. It is obvious that the biggest threat to social development are 3 million unenrolled students and not 3,000 armed rebels,” observed Jonel Labrador, PM-Kabataan spokesperson.

 

Labrador sourced the figures from the information released by the Department of Budget and Management last August 25 (https://www.dbm.gov.ph/index.php/budget-documents/2021/2021-people-s-budget/2021-budget-at-a-glance-proposed).

 

The group also said that the main reason that students will not be enrolling is that income insecurity accruing from joblessness amidst the pandemic. The latest unemployment figures reveal 4.6 million Filipinos jobless last July.

 

“Government must provide emergency employment to jobless Filipinos even as it must call on employers for a timeout on layoffs. In the Mactan Ecozone for example, companies are shedding jobs left and right with the Sports City group of companies implementing the mother of all layoffs which victimized more than 4,000 workers. But the Labor Department has been curiously silent and inactive on these mass layoffs,” Labrador added.

 

He pointed out that “The tulong panghanapbuhay for displaced and disadvantaged workers is a paltry P9.9 billion. This will hardly make a dent in the dire unemployment and underemployment situation of the country.”

September 13, 2020

 

Mother of all layoffs at Cebu ecozone slammed as 4,000 fired

 

Labor groups Partido Manggagawa (PM) and the MEPZ Workers Alliance slammed the surprise mass layoff of an estimated 4,000 workers in the Sports City group of companies in the Mactan Economic Zone. The firing started yesterday but are continuing today. The groups also heard that there was tension in the factory gates this morning over the terminations happening.

 

“Some 4,000 breadwinners had the surprise of their covid lives when they were unceremoniously terminated without any clear criteria. This is the single largest layoff in the Mactan Ecozone since the 2009 economic crisis,” declared Rene Magtubo, PM chair.

 

The two groups are calling on the affected workers to fight for their jobs and oppose the impromptu termination. PM is providing legal assistance to laid off workers and already held an online consultation a few days ago. Meanwhile the MEPZ Workers Alliance is asking workers to raise their grievances and concerns at their Facebook page.

 

PM is also assisting workers in the ecozones of Cavite and Laguna who were terminated, loss their jobs due to temporary closures and have not been paid their wages. A glass factory in Calamba, Laguna shutdown indefinitely in the middle of the lockdown and threw some 200 workers out of work. In the First Cavite Industrial Estate (FCIE) in Dasmarinas, Cavite, a garments factory have not paid their workers their last salary and have put them on forced leave. Suspiciously, the company is already selling pieces of machines. Earlier, the Sejung garment factory also located in FCIE shutdown also without paying workers their salaries and benefits.

 

Magtubo stated that “We call for a timeout on retrenchments in the ecozones. We demand immediate action from the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), the Philippine Economic Zone Authority and the local government units.”

 

“Majority of those blindsided by the termination are women with families to feed but little prospect of finding new jobs in this pandemic economy. As per our monitoring, several hundred workers are being fired in each of the following factories: Vertex One, Mactan Apparel, Globalwear Manufacturing and Feeder Apparel,” explained Cherry Abadilla, spokesperson for the MEPZ Workers Alliance.

 

She added that the mass layoff at Sports City follows earlier terminations at Yuenthai and Kor Landa where 200 and 67 workers were affected. “There is a common modus operandi in all of these layoffs. They were surprise firings without prior notice. This is inhumane and disruptive of workers’ lives,” Abadilla insisted.

 

Scores of Yuenthai workers are refusing the separation offer of the company. In Kor Landa, the union filed a notice of strike which has triggered the preventive mediation proceedings of the National Conciliation and Mediation Board. Abadilla herself was terminated last July 10 along with Kor Landa workers, a French-owned manufacturer of jewelry.

September 5, 2020

Thousands of workers without aid from employers, gov’t

Thousands of workers still have not received assistance from either their employers, the government or both according to labor group Partido Manggagawa (PM).

“The no work, no pay policy is a recipe for hunger. We call on employers to grant quarantine subsidy to their workers and for the government to mandate companies to provide such assistance,” argued Rene Magtubo, PM national chair. PM and other group are calling for P10,000 quarantine subsidy for formal workers affected by the covid pandemic.

Based in the groups monitoring of several factories in the ecozones of Cavite, majority have received not a single centavo of support since firms shuttered. A few received some assistance from their employers. However, all of the workers surveyed have not received the P5,000 CAMP subsidy from the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE). The Cavite Economic Zone (CEZ) 1 and 1 in Rosario, Tanza and General Trias Cavite shutdown on the night of March 19.

“The Mactan Economic Zone (MEZ) in Lapu-Lapu shutdown last Sunday, throwing out of work some 100,000 workers which will add to the conservative figure of 500,000 DOLE Sec. Bello reported as affected by covid lockdown. Unfortunately, except for one electronics company in MEZ, we know that foreign locators let go of workers without substantial assistance,” Magtubo explained.

According to PM, a giant garments company in MEZ that supplies to global brands is refusing to grant quarantine subsidy to some 17,000 employees and instead only gave a token 5 kilos of rice with some canned goods. A large car parts supplier in Cavite employing some 9,000 workers gave pro-rated 13^th month pay to their workers. Both these companies in Mactan and Cavite applied for the CAMP from DOLE assistance but workers have not received the P5,000 subsidy.

Magtubo averred that “Foreign investors should shoulder temporary losses due to the covid pandemic. Employers have benefited from recent economic growth without sharing the bounty with their workers. This was revealed in a Department of Finance study showing labor productivity grew by at least 50 percent, yet real wages were stagnant from 2001 to 2016. Moreover, foreign investors in the ecozones enjoyed tax breaks and other privileges for years. Now that there is a crisis, employers are morally obliged not to pass on the burden to their hapless workers.”

He added that “A survey of five factories in the Cavite ecozone revealed that all did not grant any assistance to their workers and also none have received any support from the DOLE. Four of these are garments factories while the last is a metal firm. In total, the five factories employs at least 2,000 workers. Eleven days into the lockdown, they all face increasing difficulties due to the lack of support.”

Magtubo insisted that “We also know of three companies, two in Silang, Cavite and one in Dasmarinas, which applied for the DOLE CAMP but again none of the workers have received the P5,000 assistance. The Dasmarinas firm and one of the Silang companies did not grant any support to their workers while the last one gave seven days paid quarantine.”

March 30, 2020

P10k quarantine pay asked as ecozone, businesses close in Cebu

Photo by SunStar

The labor group Partido Manggagawa (PM) called on employers to grant paid quarantine of P10,000 per month to workers to be affected by the impending closure of businesses in the province and city of Cebu, and the Mactan ecozone in Lapu-Lapu. “Local employers and foreign investors should shoulder temporary losses due to the covid pandemic,” asserted Dennis Derige, PM-Cebu spokesperson.

The province of Cebu is imposing a lockdown starting tomorrow while Cebu City is doing so on Saturday and Lapu-Lapu on Sunday. The shutdown of the Mactan Economic Zone (MEZ) alone will lead to the loss of jobs of some 100,000 workers.

“There are already a number of locators in MEZ that are closing ahead of Sunday and all are throwing workers out of work without paid quarantine except for Fairchild Semiconductor (Philippines) Inc. which gave wages for the next 20 days that employees will be out of work. Even a giant garments company that supplies to global brands is refusing to give quarantine subsidy to some 17,000 employees and instead is applying for the DOLE assistance for formal workers. This is a giant company that can very well afford to bear losses by granting quarantine subsidy.” Derige explained.

He added that “Employers, including tourism businesses, have benefited from recent economic growth without sharing the bounty with their workers. This was revealed in a Department of Finance study showing labor productivity grew by at least 50 percent, yet real wages were stagnant from 2001 to 2016. Moreover, foreign investors in the ecozones enjoyed tax breaks and other privileges for years. Now that there is a crisis, employers are morally obliged not to pass on the burden to their hapless workers.”

Derige insisted that “We cannot accept that workers are the last to benefit from economic progress but the first to sacrifice in time of crisis.”

The group is proposing the following mitigation measures to lessen the impact of covid on workers and the people:

1.      Living pension for senior citizens since the elderly are more prone to infection;

2.      Shift build-build-build budget to health in order to build more hospitals, provide testing and treatment facilities, hire more health workers;

3.      Health tax on the wealthy—as part of CITIRA—to fund universal health care.

March 26, 2020

DOLE asked to act on factory closures, forced leaves

The labor group Partido Manggagawa (PM) called on Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello to act with dispatch on other cases of factory closures and even forced leave of workers. The other day, it was announced by management that the Honda plant manufacturing cars in Laguna was to be closed down.

“Other than the 387 Honda workers in Laguna that will be laidoff as a result, Secretary Bello should also look into the thousands of workers who are also victims of forced leaves and factory closures in Cavite and Cebu,” asserted Rene Magtubo, PM national chair.

“The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) should prepare relief and assistance to the displaced workers together with an investigation into the causes of the forced leaves and factory closures, including compliance with labor laws,” Magtubo explained.

He added that “Under the radar, there are more cases of workers losing incomes.” PM said that the Sports City group of companies in the Mactan Economic Zone (MEZ) in Cebu that produce for global garments brands have been putting workers on forced leave due to reduced production.

The group also cited the declaration of electronics locators in MEZ that production is due to be affected by the ban on flights from China where parts and supplies come from. MEZ Deputy Administrator Atty. Rufino Ranulfo San Juan IV was quoted that at least one electronics company has said that it may close down if supplies from China do not arrive due to the impact of the CoVID-19 epidemic.

PM also cited the repeated temporary closure of a garments factory in Cavite which made 348 workers jobless since late last year. “DOLE should look into the Sejung Apparel Inc. firm which has closed down three times in October 2019, January 2020 and again this month. We believe this is intended to bust the union formed last year,” Magtubo insisted.

He furthered that “DOLE is also dragging its feet on releasing a compliance order on the dispute about Sejung management’s non-payment of 13^th month pay and the last salary of workers. The rule is crystal clear that the 13^th month pay should be given at most by December 24. Is the DOLE waiting for Holy Week before compelling a company to pay mandated Christmas benefits?”

February 24, 2020

Workers to hold protests & lobby for a stronger law vs endo

Photo from Rappler

In the face of President Rodrigo Duterte’s veto of the Security of Tenure bill, workers will hold initial protests on Monday in Manila and Cebu. “The Security of Tenure bill is the latest victim of killing under the Duterte regime. Workers vow to continue the fight to end endo,” declared Wilson Fortaleza, spokesperson of Partido Manggagawa (PM).

PM and other labor groups such as Sentro will launch a noise barrage dubbed “Black Monday Protest” on July 29. In Metro Manila, the protest is at 5:00 pm at the Boy Scout Circle. While in Metro Cebu, the noise barrage is also at 5:00 pm at Gate 1 of the Mactan Economic Zone in Lapu-Lapu City.

The groups also preparing to lobby the new Congress for a new and stronger version of the Security of Tenure bill. “Workers want a law that will ensure regular jobs is the norm in employment relations. We do not accept the excuse that employers can outsource jobs even if it is directly related and necessary to its business. That simply opens the floodgates to the abusive system of contractualization that is happening today,” Fortaleza argued.

“Workers will not forget this betrayal by Duterte of his promise to end endo. Three months into his administration, Duterte forcefully warned employers that he will kill them for continuing with the practice of endo. But now three years into his term, he is parroting the lame capitalist alibi that businesses will die if workers are made regular. Duterte’s promise to end endo is dead,” Fortaleza asserted.

He added that “In the class war between the workers and capitalists on contractualization, Duterte has revealed that he is an enemy of the working class and the CEO of the capitalist class.” 

July 27, 2019

Cavite workers gear up for strike anew

Workers of an electronics factory in the Cavite ecozone are preparing to go on strike once more due to the mass termination of all union officers. The all-women labor union at the Lakepower Converter Inc. filed a notice of strike after mediation talks last Wednesday broke down due to the refusal of management to reinstate eight union officers who were terminated.

The Lakepower women workers went on a five-month strike that started in December 2017 to demand a stop to the harassment of union officers and members. The strike was settled last April due to the intervention of the Department of Labor and Employment. As part of the agreement, 64 union officers and members were to return to work.

“However, Lakepower reneged on the agreement. It reinstated union members but immediately suspended union officers. After a month-long suspension, they were then terminated. This is obviously a case of union busting,” declared Rene Magtubo, chair of Partido Manggagawa (PM), which is assisting the Lakepower women workers.

Lakepower is a Taiwanese-owned parts supplier to global electronics companies like Recom Power, Arrow Electronics, Asus and Texas Instruments. To avert another strike, the National Conciliation and Mediation Board is calling the management and union to conciliation meetings next week.

Magtubo asserted that union busting and harassment of unionists in Lakepower is not an isolated case in the export processing zones. Last week, PM condemned the posting of a “wanted list” of unionists at the gate of the Mactan, Cebu Economic Zone and its security office. Also last week, in the middle of negotiations for a collective bargaining agreement (CBA), a union president and vice president were arrested due to a criminal complaint in Valenzuela.

“We are alarmed at this disturbing pattern of unionists being treated as criminals. Unionism is not a crime. But with the prevailing culture of impunity, employers are emboldened to criminalize unionists and treat them as terrorists,” asserted Magtubo. A global union body had listed the Philippines as among the worst countries for workers in its 2018 Global Rights Index.

Names and pictures of Myra Opada, Luzelie Gesta and Aurelia Parangan were on the “wanted list” in the Mactan ecozone. Opada is union president at Philippine Light Leather Corp. (PLLC), Gesta is secretary of the union and Parangan is an active member. All three have been terminated by PLLC management but the workers have filed cases of union busting, unfair labor practice and illegal dismissal.

Meanwhile, the president and vice president of the labor union at the Nation Paper Products and Printing Corp. (NAPPCO) were arrested and detained at a Valenzuela police station for two days. The CBA negotiations were cancelled as a result of the arrest and detention.

July 6, 2018

Labor group slams Cebu ecozone company for unfair labor practice

 

The labor group Partido Manggagawa (PM) lambasted a French-owned company in the Mactan Economic Zone (MEPZ) for its blatant interference in the union election conducted last week. After the end of work last March 6, the eve of the certification election at Kor Landa Corp., its workers were bussed from the factory, brought to a resort and were lectured overnight against voting for the union.

“The unfair labor practice of the Kor Landa management is a flagrant violation of the freedom of association of the women workers of the factory. It is ironic that as the nation celebrates Women’s Month, the mostly female workers of Kor Landa have been denied the right to have voice and representation,” stated Dennis Derige, PM-Cebu spokesperson.

Kor Landa is a jewelry accessories assembler at MEPZ I in Lapu-Lapu City with some 307 workers. Derige related that after the end of the work shift, around 5:30 to 6:00 pm on March 6, the non-union workers were not allowed to go home and were held inside the company premises.

“Upon the orders of Kor Landa’s French owners, Amaury and Manuelle Christine, and company lawyer Atty. Go, the workers were herded to a car, a red multi-cab and four vans with plate numbers AFF 1359, 4844 and 503. The union officers tried to follow the vans but eventually lost track of the vehicles ferrying the workers. The union later learned that the workers were forced to listen to anti-union speeches for the whole night. All the workers were then brought back to the factory the next day in time for the certification election,” Derige explained.

In the certification elections held by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), the Kor Landa Labor Union-PIGLAS, brought the incident to the attention of the election officer and asked for postponement. After the request for postponement was denied, the union filed a protest and walked out of the proceedings. The case is presently pending at the DOLE-Region VII.

Derige averred that “This is certainly not the first time that such a tactic—abducting workers before a scheduled certification election and forcing them to listen to anti-union lectures—was employed by locators at MEPZ. But by exposing this brazen interference at Kor Landa, we hope that it will be the last time so that workers can exercise the freedom to unionize and thereby improve their working conditions.”

Derige is calling on DOLE-Region VII to uphold the right to unionize of Kor Landa workers and hold another certification election.

March 13, 2018