Labor group slams PEZA and PNP for JIPCO IRR

 

The labor group Partido Manggagawa (PM) slammed the signing of the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of the Joint Industrial Peace and Concern Office (JIPCO) between the Philippine National Police and the Philippine Economic Zone Authority last Monday.

 

“The signing of IRR of the JIPCO between the PNP and PEZA will mean further militarization of ecozones, harassment of labor unionists and escalation of the union busting. As far as workers are concerned, police presence in the ecozones has been to harass labor protests, disperse picketlines and arrest organizers,” stated Rene Magtubo, Partido Manggagawa (PM) national chair.

 

He added “The hugot line about forming JIPCO and sending police to the ecozones as mechanisms to promote industrial peace is just doublespeak. It is no different from the lie about police rescuing lumad children in the bakwit school in Cebu and police killing nanlaban suspected drug addicts.”

 

PM, a member of the country’s biggest labor coalition Nagkaisa!, had earlier demanded that the PNP and PEZA withdraw the program, and for DOLE to enforce labor laws in ecozones, educate officials of the bureaucracy and security forces on labor rights, and prosecute the violators whether they are state officials or owners of capital. In fact, almost exactly a year ago today, DOLE Secretary Silvestre Bello already wrote to both the PNP Chief and the PEZA Director General to express concern about the formation of the JIPCO in Central Luzon.

 

Magtubo cited a series of PNP and PEZA collaboration in suppressing workers’ activities within the last year or so. First, the arrest by the Cebu PNP of five labor organizers and their dispersal of a rally of retrenched workers of First Glory at the gate of the Mactan ecozone last November 30. Second, the dispersal of the picketline of workers of Sejung Apparel in the First Cavite Industrial Estate by Dasmarinas police together with security guards and barangay tanods for allegedly violating quarantine rules. The dispersal happened in the dead of the night during Black Friday of 2020. Finally, soldiers and police harassed union leaders, sent threatening letters to labor organizers and held anti-union meetings with workers of the FCF Manufacturing Corp., a factory in the Freeport Area of Bataan that makes high-end leather bags.

 

He reminded the PNP and PEZA that under the law, even employers who own the businesses and exercise direct control over their workforce are considered as mere bystanders, meaning they cannot interfere in labor activities, particularly on the right of workers to form unions as provided under the Bill of Rights and the Social Justice provisions of the Constitution. “If employers are mere bystanders in workers’ exercise of their labor rights, more so the PNP and PEZA,” Magtubo insisted.

 

He concluded that “JIPCO is hiding under the cover of peace building efforts but in reality, it is a declaration of war against the trade union movement in the country. But we will not be cowed and we will continue to organize.” 

February 17, 2021

Labor Yearender: Workers are in the frontlines of a fight against the pandemic of rights violations

 

Without a doubt, covid-19 has gravely affected everyone, rich and poor, employer and worker. Still, workers and the poor are the ones who have been disproportionately impacted. The double-digit economic recessions in the second and third quarters of this year has been felt as grinding poverty and daily hunger by 7 million Filipino families as revealed in the SWS survey in September.

 

The Philippine economy is in worse shape compared to its neighbors is due to the harsh and long lockdown. It is the authoritarian response of the Duterte administration that is to blame for the economic recession and the adverse effect on the working class. The administration was late in forming a response and once it did, it treated the pandemic—similar to how it treated the drug addiction—as a peace and order concern instead of a public health matter. The severe lockdown shuttered the economy, and left workers and the poor without jobs and livelihood for months on end. The aid provided by the government reached only 3 million households out of 16 million Filipinos who were temporarily jobless during the lockdown. Today 4.5 million are unemployed and 2.2 million more are out of work but are not officially jobless only because they stopped looking for employment.

 

To make matters worse, employers used the pandemic as an opportunity to deny workers their benefits and their rights. Workers were put on floating status for more than the six months allowed by law. Establishments reopened but replaced regular workers with new hires on endo status. Some employers shutdown their firms without paying workers separation and other benefits. Capitalist Grinches are exploiting the pandemic to bust unions as shown by the experience of the Arcya Glass Employees Union in Laguna and the First Glory labor union in the Mactan ecozone.

 

While the pandemic of rights violations spread, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) exercised social distancing from workers. The DOLE released a series of orders and advisories that denigrated labor standards and rights. Labor Advisory 17 allowed employers to cut wages and benefits as long as workers will agree. But workers were left with no choice but to bite the bullet of wage cuts as the DOLE suspended the filing of complaints under DO 213. Labor groups called on the DOLE to dialogue but were repeatedly denied. Meanwhile the government banned protests and arrested those who tried using the pandemic as an alibi. In one incident, the picketline of Sejung Apparel  workers in the First Cavite Industrial Estate was dispersed by police and guards in the middle of Black Friday night for allegedly violating quarantine rules. With workers strikes and street protests effectively banned, Congress railroaded the Anti-Terror Law.

                                    

But workers are fighting back and are in the frontlines of the struggle to reclaim their rights. The Arcya Glass workers spent their holidays in the picketlines to protest the continued operation of the factory despite allegedly being permanently closed. The First Glory labor union has voted to go on strike to demand the reinstatement of 300 fired workers. Labor groups in the Philippines together with international union federations have formed the Caucus of Global Unions Pilipinas to call for the repeal of the Anti-Terror Law on pain of the country losing its trade privileges with Europe. Workers in four big factories in the Mactan ecozone have organized into unions as a result of recent grievances over lack of aid during the pandemic and long-running issues over wages and benefits. Certifications elections are due to be held next year in the four firms. We predict that 2021 will see a resurgence of workers’ actions to defend democratic freedoms and labor rights.

December 29, 2020

Group calls for a timeout on mass layoffs at the ecozones of Cebu and Calabarzon

Some 200 workers of a garments factory at the Mactan Economic Zone went to work on Saturday only to be told that they are already jobless. A big majority of the fired workers were women and breadwinners. The labor organizations Partido Manggagawa (PM) and the MEPZ Workers Alliance slammed the impromptu mass layoff at Yuenthai Philippines Inc. as inhumane amidst the difficulties of life during the pandemic.

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.

“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. Nasaan ang ayuda?,” stated Rene Magtubo, PM national chair.

Likewise Cherry Abadilla, spokesperson for the MEPZ Workers Alliance, insisted that “We cannot accept that workers are the first to sacrifice in a time of covid and recession when we are the last to benefit during the period of economic boom. Nasaan ang bayanihan?”

Abadilla herself was terminated last July 10 along with other 67 workers of Kor Landa Corp., a French-owned manufacturer of jewelry at the Mactan Ecozone. She is president of the Kor Landa workers union and they have filed a notice of strike since they allege that the mass layoff in their company is just a subterfuge for union busting. The DOLE has called the union and management to a preventive mediation to prevent a full-blown strike.

PM and the MEPZ Workers Alliance are supporting the Yuenthai workers in their fight. Many of the jobless workers are refusing to accept the company offer. “Workers needs jobs so they can earn their daily bread. Accepting the company’s offer of separation will just tide workers over for a few weeks. When it is consumed, how can workers and their families survive when there is no ayuda from government and no hiring from other factories?,” argued Abadilla.

The two group are calling on workers in the Mactan Ecozone to unite and fight for their jobs. “We have no one to depend on but ourselves, our unity and our struggle. Mag-bayanihan po tayo at lumaban para sa ating trabaho!,”Abadilla appealed.

September 1, 2020

Signing of anti-terror law and veto of anti-endo bill reveals Duterte’s real color

President Duterte’s signing of the anti-terror law and his veto of the anti-endo bill reveals that he is undeniably an enemy of labor rights. The contrast is remarkable. Duterte made a promise to abolish endo only to drag his feet and at the crucial juncture shoot down the bill that will limit contractualization. Now, labor activists fighting for regular jobs and workers’ rights are threatened by the vague provisions of the anti-terror law.

Even without an anti-terror law, labor rights are already under attack by the agents of the State. In the middle of the lockdown, at the height of Black Friday last April 10, elements of the Dasmarinas police threatened to arrest two workers manning the picketline in the First Cavite Industrial Estate if they don’t abandon the protest. In January this year, the PNP and the Philippine Export Zone Authority launched the Joint Industrial Peace and Concern Office (JIPCO) in Central Luzon to prevent militant unionism in the export zones. Two years ago, photos of three women union leaders were posted under the heading “wanted” at the gate of the Mactan Economic Zone in Cebu.

All these flagrant violations of labor rights by agents of the State will be enabled by the restriction of civil liberties under the draconian provisions of the anti-terror law. Thus workers have a stake in resisting and defying the slide to authoritarianism.

Workers will fight back and push back against the restriction of civil liberties and suppression of labor rights. Last June 30, workers held a global day of action against the anti-terror bill. On July 7, workers will join others sectors in a bigger action to protest the authoritarianism. 

July 4, 2020

Justice for slain union organizer on his first death anniversary—labor group

The labor group Partido Manggagawa reiterated its call for justice for its union organizer who was brutally murdered last year. Dennis Sequeña, Cavite provincial chair of Partido Manggagawa (PM) and veteran labor organizer of ecozone workers, was shot and killed in June 2, 2019 while facilitating a union seminar among workers in the Cavite Economic Zone.

“On the occasion of the first death anniversary of Ka Dennis, we call the attention of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) that justice has not been served and his unidentified killers are still at large. The unsolved murder of Ka Dennis highlights the new normal of impunity characterized by killings of rights defenders, double standard in the enforcement of lockdown rules, restriction of civil liberties and the looming danger of the anti-terror bill,” stated Rene Magtubo, PM national chair.

The murder of Sequeña was immediately condemned by local and international labor groups and led to a recommendation at the International Labor Organization conference in June 2019 for a high level mission to be sent to the country to investigate the killings of unionists and violations of freedom of association. Later the Technical Executive Committee of the National Tripartite Industrial Peace Council made a determination that Sequeña’s killing was extra-judicial and thus was under the purview of Administrative Order 35 (AO 35). In August 2019 the DOJ, as lead agency of AO 35, announced that a special investigative team was formed to probe the killing.

“We thus ask both the DOJ and DOLE: what is the status of the probe on the murder of Ka Dennis? Neither the family nor our organization has been updated of any development,” declared Magtubo.

He added that, “Relatedly, we also call on the DOLE to convene the technical working group for the review of the guidelines on the conduct of PNP, AFP and other security forces during labor disputes and the exercise of the freedom of association in the ecozones, the advocacy for which Ka Dennis gave his life for. The DOLE cannot make covid an excuse for inaction. On the contrary, a workers’ picketline in an ecozone in Cavite was dispersed using the lockdown as an alibi. Two workers of Sejung Apparel in the First Cavite Industrial Estate were threatened with arrest on Black Friday night, April 19, by Dasmarinas police, who refused to identify themselves, for alleging violating the curfew rules since they were manning the picketline.”

“Justice for Dennis also means justice for all workers. We ask the DOLE to investigate the dispersal of the Sejung picketline and for the reopening of the garments factory to produce much needed face masks not only to provide employment to the jobless workers and but also assist in the covid response,” Magtubo proposed.

June 2, 2020

Workers ask factory to be reopened to make facemasks

In reaction to the statement of Trade and Industry Ramon Lopez yesterday that several companies are repurposing their facilities to produce personal protective equipment (PPE), workers of a garments firm that has been shuttered for the past four months are asking the government to reopen the factory to produce facemasks. In yesterday’s address by President Rodrigo Duterte, Lopez announced that at least 10 manufacturing companies agreed to repurpose and produce PPE’s, face masks and ventilators.

“We call on Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello to facilitate a social dialogue for the reopening of Sejung Apparel so it can produce wearable facemasks and also put hundreds of workers back to gainful employment,” Jopay Odchimar, president of the labor union of Sejung workers.

Sejung Apparel Inc., a Korean-owned firm in the First Cavite Industrial Estate (FCIE) in Dasmarinas, shutdown in December last year. Last April 10, officials of the FCIE padlocked the factory gates.

“Reopening the factory will put 315 employees back to work to make PPE’s that are desperately needed at this time. We want to help others even as we lift ourselves by our own efforts. The government should not think twice about our appeal to reopen the factory and retool it for making washable facemasks,” Odchimar explained.

The DOLE has rejected the application for assistance to Sejung workers since the factory closure was not due to the covid quarantine. Ironically, the Sejung workers are also not qualified for the social amelioration for informal workers since they are technically still employed by the company.

Sejung workers have been embroiled in a long-running dispute since last year. The labor dispute is due to non-payment of 13^th month pay, last salary and union busting.

Sejung declared temporary shutdowns several times. The first shutdown in October last year occurred just one week after the union submitted a collective bargaining proposal and just three weeks after the union won a certification election. The company reopened but once more closed in December 12 and has remained shutdown since then.

“For more than four months, the DOLE provincial and regional offices did not act on a clear case of labor standards violation despite undertaking an inspection in December 19. The case has dragged on for so long that the covid pandemic and the resulting quarantine further aggravated the sufferings of workers,” Odchimar explained.

April 25, 2020

Contact Jopay Odchimar @ 09755769603

Workers ask gov’t to reopen factory to make facemasks

Sejung factory gate is padlocked on April 10, 2020

Workers of a garments firm that has been shuttered for the past four months are asking the government to reopen the factory to produce facemasks. Sejung Apparel Inc., a Korean-owned firm in the First Cavite Industrial Estate (FCIE) in Dasmarinas, was shutdown in December last year.

“The Bayanihan Act gave the government the power to direct the operations of a company to respond to the covid pandemic. Thus we demand that 315 Sejung employees be put back to working to make PPE’s that are desperately needed at this time,” stated Jopay Odchimar, president of the labor union of Sejung workers.

She added that “We want to help others even as we lift ourselves by our own efforts. The government should not think twice about our appeal to reopen the factory and retool it for making washable facemasks.”

Last April 10, officials of the FCIE padlocked the factory gates.

The DOLE has rejected the application for assistance to Sejung workers since the factory shutdown was not due to the covid quarantine. Ironically, the Sejung workers are also not qualified for the social amelioration for informal workers since they are technically still employed by the company.

Sejung workers have been embroiled in a long-running dispute since last year. The labor dispute is due to non-payment of 13^th month pay, last salary and union busting.

Sejung declared temporary shutdowns several times. The first shutdown in October last year occurred just one week after the union submitted a collective bargaining proposal and just three weeks after the union won a certification election. The company reopened but once more closed in December 12 and has remained shutdown since then.

“For more than four months, the DOLE provincial and regional offices did not act on a clear case of labor standards violation despite undertaking an inspection in December 19. The case has dragged on for so long that the covid pandemic and the resulting quarantine further aggravated the sufferings of workers,” Odchimar explained.

April 13, 2020

Police disperse picketline using lockdown as alibi

A picketline of economic zone workers in Dasmarinas, Cavite was dispersed last night using the lockdown as an alibi. From 8:00 to 9:00 pm last night, two Dasmarinas police backed up with scores of tanods of Barangay Langkaan 1 and 2 and security guards threatened two workers in the picketline, Jackie Elorde and Amer Taluba, with arrest if they will not leave the picketline. Workers of Korean-owned Sejung Apparel Inc. in the First Cavite Industrial Estate (FCIE) have been on picket-protest since December for non-payment of 13^th month pay and other violations.

“We condemn the forcible dispersal of the picketline of Sejung workers in the dead of Black Friday night by modern Roman centurions—police, barangay tanods and security guards—in blatant violation of the law,” asserted Jopay Odchimar, president of the labor union of Sejung workers.

She asserted that the DOLE-PNP-PEZA Guidelines of 2011 and the expanded version of 2012 which specifically includes barangay tanods prohibit interference by any security personnel in labor disputes. “The guidelines and labor rights are not revoked or suspended just because a quarantine is in effect,” Odchimar insisted.

She added that “The dispersal is the culmination of a three-week long attempt by FCIE to harass and starve Jackie and Amer into submission. Since March 27, all attempts to bring food and water to Jackie and Amer were stopped by security guards allegedly upon orders of FCIE estate manager Raffy Malanyaon. Guards maintained a 24/7 cordon sanitaire around the picketline in violation of the guidelines which mandate that police, military and guards should be 50 meters away and not interfere in peaceful picketing.”

“For more than four months, the Department of Labor and Employment provincial and regional offices did not act on a clear case of labor standards violation despite undertaking an inspection. The case has dragged on for so long that the covid pandemic and the resulting quarantine further aggravated the sufferings of workers,” Odchimar explained.

The labor dispute is due to non-payment of 13^th month pay, last salary and union busting. Sejung declared temporary shutdowns several times. The first shutdown in October last year occurred just one week after the union submitted a collective bargaining proposal and just three weeks after the union won a certification election. The company reopened but once more closed in December and has remained shutdown since then.

April 11, 2020

Group condemns dispersal of picketline using lockdown as alibi

 The group Partido Manggagawa (PM) slammed the dispersal of a picketline of economic zone workers in Dasmarinas, Cavite last night. From 8:00 to 9:00 pm last night, two Dasmarinas police backed up with scores of tanods of Barangay Langkaan 1 and 2 and security guards threatened two workers in the picketline, Jackie Elorde and Amer Taluba, with arrest if they will not leave the picketline. Workers of Korean-owned Sejung Apparel Inc. in the First Cavite Industrial Estate (FCIE) have been on picket-protest since December for non-payment of 13^th month pay and other violations.

“We condemn the forcible dispersal of the picketline of Sejung workers in the dead of Black Friday night by modern Roman centurions—police, barangay tanods and security guards—in blatant violation of the law,” asserted Rene Magtubo, PM national chair.

He asserted that the DOLE-PNP-PEZA Guidelines of 2011 and the expanded version of 2012 which specifically includes barangay tanods prohibit interference by any security personnel in labor disputes. “The guidelines and labor rights are not revoked or suspended just because a quarantine is in effect,” Magtubo insisted.

He added that “The dispersal is the culmination of a three-week long attempt by FCIE to harass and starve Jackie and Amer into submission. Since March 27, all attempts to bring food and water to Jackie and Amer were stopped by security guards allegedly upon orders of FCIE estate manager Raffy Malanyaon. Guards maintained a 24/7 cordon sanitaire around the picketline in violation of the guidelines which mandate that police, military and guards should be 50 meters away and not interfere in peaceful picketing.”

“For more than four months, the Department of Labor and Employment provincial and regional offices did not act on a clear case of labor standards violation despite undertaking an inspection. The case has dragged on for so long that the covid pandemic and the resulting quarantine further aggravated the sufferings of the workers,” Magtubo explained.

The labor dispute is due to non-payment of 13^th month pay, last salary and union busting. Sejung declared temporary shutdowns several times. The first shutdown in October last year occurred just one week after the union submitted a collective bargaining proposal and just three weeks after the union won a certification election. The company reopened but once more closed in December and has remained shutdown since then.

April 11, 2020

Strikers being starved using covid lockdown as cover

Workers of garments factory Sejung Apparel Inc. have been on picket-protest since December. In recognition of the need to maintain social distancing, the number of people at the picketline was reduced by the union. From March 27 until today, all attempts to bring food and water to Jackie Elorde and Amer Taluba, the two workers at the picketline, have been stopped by security guards.

Sejung Apparel is a Korean-owned garments factory at the First Cavite Industrial Estate (FCIE) in Dasmarinas, Cavite (part of the industrial region just outside the capital Metro Manila). Guards have maintained a 24/7 cordon sanitaire around the picketline in violation of the 2011 Guidelines on the Conduct of Security Personnel During Labor Disputes which mandate that police, military and guards should be 50 meters away and not interfere in peaceful picketing. It appears that FCIE wants to starve Jackie and Amer into submission so as to dismantle the picketline.

On the morning of March 27, the union president Jopay Odchimar was prevented by FCIE guards from returning to the picketline to bring food. The guards said that this was upon the orders of FCIE estate manager Raffy Malanyaon and alleged due to the covid quarantine. However, workers continued to go in and out of the FCIE that day as the export processing zone was not shuttered.

After a standoff from morning to afternoon, the union president agreed not to proceed to prevent further argument. That night, FCIE guards stopped water from being given by friends from nearby factories allegedly upon the orders of the estate manager.

This is a clear case of harassment by the FCIE estate manager under the cover of the covid lockdown. Freedom of association and labor rights—including the guidelines on the conduct of security personnel—have not been revoked or suspended just because a quarantine is in effect. From a labor dispute the case has morphed into humanitarian issue.

The labor dispute is due to union busting and also non-payment of 13^th month pay and last salary. For more than four months, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) provincial and regional office has not acted on the clear case of labor standards violation despite undertaking an inspection. The case has dragged on for so long that the covid pandemic and the resulting quarantine has further aggravated the sufferings of the workers.

Sejung Apparel has declared temporary shutdown for three times since October. The first shutdown occurred just one week after the union submitted a collective bargaining proposal and just three weeks after the union won the certification election. Again, the circumstances point to union busting by management. But action by the DOLE has been lacking to protect freedom of association at the export processing zones.

We call on the DOLE to act immediately to bring food and water to Jackie and Amer. Further, we call on FCIE to stop the harassment of the Sejung workers and respect the right to peaceful picketing. ###

April 8, 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

Labor group slam PNP for anti-union stations at ecozones, call on DOLE to enforce FOA

PNP, PEZA announce ecozone militarization. Photo by Rappler

The Philippine National Police (PNP), including its commander-in-chief, the President, cannot infringe on the right of workers to form unions. Doing so will be a clear violation of the Constitution, the Labor Code and international conventions that guarantee freedom of association (FOA), the labor group Partido Manggagawa (PM) said in a statement sent to media.

The reaction came after the PNP regional office in Central Luzon on Friday launched the Joint Industrial Peace and Concern Office (JIPCO) in the Clark Freeport Zone that will serve, according to Central Luzon police chief Brigadier General Rhodel Sermonia, as “the first line of defense from radical labor infiltration of the labor force and the industrial zones.”

The launching had as guest speakers, presidential adviser on the peace process Secretary Carlito Galvez, newly installed Philippine National Police (PNP) Director General Archie Francisco Gamboa, and Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) Director Charito Plaza.

PM, a member of the country’s biggest labor coalition Nagkaisa!, demanded that the PNP, PEZA and OPA withdraw the program and for DOLE to enforce labor laws in ecozones, educate officials of the bureaucracy and security forces on labor rights, and prosecute the violators whether they are state officials or owners of capital.

“These officials were appointed to their offices to promote and defend the Constitution. But the launching of JIPCO is very clear on its purpose – to violate the Constitution. Therefore under the context of ecozones, it is clearly the first line of defense of foreign capital and not of the labor force,” lamented PM chair Renato Magtubo.

He added that “Even before the launching of JIPCO, ecozones in Central Luzon have been militarized. Soldiers and police harassed union leaders, sent threatening letters to labor organizers and held anti-union meeting with workers of the FCF Manufacturing Corp., a factory in the Freeport Area of Bataan that makes high-end leather bags.”

Magtubo reminded the PNP and PEZA that under the law, even employers who own the businesses and exercise direct control over their workforce are considered as mere bystanders, meaning they cannot interfere in labor activities, particularly on the right of workers to form unions as provided under the Bill of Rights and the Social Justice provisions of the Constitution.

“If these officials are ignorant of these basics on labor rights, then this Republic of Endos and cheap labor is really in a deep shit,” declared Magtubo who now sits as a city councilor of Marikina.

“In fact, Central Luzon in recent memory, is no longer a hotbed of insurgents but of ninja cops as shown during the Senate hearings. Contrary to the vicious propaganda peddled by security forces against trade unions, the Filipino workforce, especially in special economic zones or EPZAs, are defenseless not from insurgents but from intransigent anti-union foreign investors.  Indeed, the urgent need of workers inside ecozones are incorruptible labor offices or desks and not PNP detachments.” argued Magtubo.

“Militarization of ecozones is an escalation of the union busting efforts of PEZA. In other regions like Calabarzon and Cebu, PEZA has been conniving with foreign investors by temporarily closing down factories where workers have unionized. The most recent incident of this modus operandi is the closure of Sejung Apparel Inc. in the First Cavite Industrial Estate where workers are currently on protest,” Magtubo explained.

JIPCO, the group said, is hiding under the cover of peace building efforts but in reality it is a declaration of war against the trade union movement in the country. “We will not be cowed. We will continue to organize,” concluded Magtubo. 

24 January 2020

DOLE hit for inaction on violations of “Grinch” company in Cavite

The militant Partido Manggagawa (PM) hit the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) for continued delay in enforcing the mandatory payment of the 13^th month benefit for workers of a garments factory in Cavite. In a hearing yesterday at the provincial DOLE office in Trece Martirez, Cavite, officials gave the management of Sejung Apparel Inc. another 10 days to pay the 13^th month benefit and the last salary due of workers.

“Christmas and New Year has come and gone but the DOLE still refuses to use its enforcement powers against a ‘Grinch’ company,” declared Rene Magtubo, PM national chair. Workers of Sejung in the First Cavite Industrial Estate have been on picket-protest since December 12.

“While DOLE officials in the national and regional offices enjoyed their holidays, Sejung workers had a sad Christmas and a bleak New Year since labor standards are not being enforced,” Magtubo insisted.

Josephine Odchimar, president of the labor union at Sejung, stated that DOLE conducted a factory inspection last December 19 and promised to issue an order if management did not release the 13^th month pay on December 24 as mandated.

“Justice delayed is justice denied. What’s keeping the DOLE regional office from issuing a compliance order? Even during the mediation hearings, Sejung maintained its illegal and hardline stance that it will grant the 13^th month pay in March not December. Yet the DOLE dare not lift a finger even as Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello issued press releases reminding employers about the payment of the 13^th month benefit,” Magtubo averred.

Workers set up a picketline outside the factory to guard against machines being taken out of the factory and prevent a runaway shop. Sejung workers are also demanding a stop to the transfer of machines and an end to subcontracting of production. “The company’s argument of lack of buyers is just an alibi. The truth is that production is being subcontracted by Sejung to other companies,” Odchimar asserted.

Workers believe management is maneuvering to bust the union. The union won the certification elections in August. The company temporarily closed down in October, a week after the union submitted a proposal for a collective bargaining agreement. After a month, the company reopened.

“The pattern of companies inside ecozones shutting down to bust unions is well documented. It appears that Sejung is following this modus operandi of union busting,” Magtubo asserted.

Photos of the company memo about the 13^th month pay and the workers protest can be accessed at https://www.facebook.com/partidomanggagawa/posts/10157676136334323?__xts__[0]=68.ARBGx-zVbDCc8zj4NMSQA7GQZzAcPSgrdNybQuh8TDrUfgPoGL0ifqHsC1shGb5r2mUeM6OC4LpkuDtw0LdTEh7KBQlilRY_iXcLklX-Vfq6LbKMnlp7xtpdf1JMLKpSrmYbkSeR1kwkomnr5RLkideH5PsxzoAloxtaDTdzpFDTKp4P_r4XmggowFpw-YSXCTnkmrTtD8eUslR-4IFoREjmkuHzUSd8E6lbMV1Gpp9DF69t0eZLnLiTdp_1_HXmiB4qiZiza_RhwNSXxgs9EVYTJ_o2EFKqMqtjRoEfd-SvYOgk5nkwSe_ZrGfHS-R5a6SFOAuf4E6QAF3x_cux&__tn__=-R

January 3, 2020

Press Release: Cavite workers call on Congress to investigate ecozone investors

Workers embroiled in a labor dispute in a Korean-owned factory in Cavite called on Congress to investigate violations of workers’ rights and labor standards by foreign investors in economic zones. The demand by workers of Sejung Apparel Inc. coincided with a solidarity visit this morning by Sen. Risa Hontiveros to their picketline.

“When foreign investors violate our labor laws with impunity, then Filipino workers are second-class citizens in our own land. We ask Congress to make incentives to foreign investors conditional on their respect for workers’ rights,” asserted Josephine Odchimar, union president.

The proposed Corporate Income Tax and Incentives Act (CITIRA) removes incentives to foreign investors in ecozones. The Department of Finance and the Philippine Economic Zone Authority are openly debating the provisions of the bill. Labor groups on the other hand take an independent position and ask that incentives be tied to labor rights.

Odchimar added that “We welcome Sen. Risa and her staff to our picketline which has served as our home for the holidays. Similar to the story of Jesus being born in a lowly manger, we spent Christmas in a humble picketline.”

Sejung workers are demanding the release of the mandated 13^th month pay, the latest salary due workers, a stop to the removal of machines and an end to the outsourcing of production to other factories.

Meanwhile the labor group Partido Manggagawa (PM) slammed the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) for lack of action in enforcing labor standards at Sejung.

“December 24 has come and gone but the DOLE still refuses to use it powers to enforce the payment of wages and 13^th month pay for workers of a ‘Grinch’ company. While DOLE officials in the national and regional offices are enjoying their happy holidays, Sejung workers had a sad Christmas and are facing a bleak New Year since labor standards are not being enforced,” declared Rene Magtubo, PM national chair.

Odchimar explained that DOLE had already conducted a factory inspection last December 19 and promised to issue an order if management does not release the 13^th month pay on December 24 as mandated. However, she added that DOLE did not issue an order and instead is trying to schedule another inspection.

“Justice delayed is justice denied. What’s keeping the DOLE regional office from issuing a compliance order? Even during the mediation hearings, Sejung maintained its illegal and hardline stance that it will grant the 13^th month pay in March not December. Yet the DOLE dare not lift a finger even as Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello issued press releases reminding employers about the payment of the 13^th month benefit,” Magtubo averred.

Photos of the solidarity visit can be accessed at https://www.facebook.com/donnaescueta.nano/posts/10216599085550453 and https://www.facebook.com/partidomanggagawa/posts/10157724749314323?__xts__[0]=68.ARAFRCJop2H-p1EpVO643elmAgPyuPLojo7ntrHEok9UjAnCbDRsjazTpvQJm0pOiw3Wfm0l6iKYQ5Q03Vs7ihV5zCyKl8BgsZFOXd5pSU9fFxGrBdZ_S4GKz0Qe8yVlMYyIPvgF_i8ey4XOWl_VWQfSgq-sJFXCJ4PRVJdlEP1CgdDpj8hx3A8HLDjSdLHA440vlGYjhsarXPUVO5agzpTrGtquexNdTLPtKnD8bt6Ff5JZgoLW8cgz7GbQyrvhBL9Hld2mWolWi53ktLpYXMFCyOafGQOKwT0FoYiW0RCfqbzKtiLb13VfIPRj3XGPe_9iEzhpmb9zgFsP8u8N&__tn__=-R

December 30, 2019

Labor Yearender: The end endo promise died in 2019

Photo by Rappler

The mass of Filipino workers will look back and remember 2019 as the year that President Duterte’s famous promise to end endo dies ignominiously. With the stroke of his presidential veto of the Security of Tenure bill, Duterte shamelessly killed his pledge to abolish contractualization. End endo became another victim of EJK under the administration.

The dispute around the Security of Tenure bill pales in comparison to other labor related issues in 2019 like the expanded maternity bill (EML) or the influx of Chinese workers. While there were debates between workers’ and employers’ group about EML benefits, such reforms were low hanging fruits in contrast to the long-running struggle around contractualization.

Since the time that Duterte vowed to end endo during the campaign period up to the eve of the presidential veto, millions of workers held on to belief that those words would become deeds. For four long years, the labor movement engaged with the government for the implementation of the promise. Through the twists and turns of the campaign against contractualization, labor groups kept up the pressure.

It took more than a year into the administration’s term for DO 174 to be released by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE). Since DO 174 merely recycled the provisions of Aquino’s DO 18-A, the labor coalition Nagkaisa instead directly petitioned Duterte for a new rule that will make regular jobs the norm in employment relations. Thus came EO 51 in May 2018 which again fell short of workers’ demands. Upon the labor movement’s sustained demand, Duterte called on Congress in his 2018 SONA to pass the Security of Tenure bill on the argument that only a revision of the law could implement his promise. Then an open letter by all the employers associations appealed to Duterte to veto the bill. On the eve of the Security of Tenure bill lapsing into law last July, Duterte heeded the employers’ call and betrayed his promise to workers.

Pundits may say that it was too much for the labor movement to actually expect that such a radical populist promise will actually be fulfilled. As the saying goes, nangako na nga, gusto nyo pa tuparin. But for Partido Manggagawa, Duterte’s fake promise—which unfortunately the masses of workers believed in—can only be exposed not through denunciations but through experience. Thus the whole campaign to demand the realization of Duterte’s end endo promise ended in the veto but it also led to a significant drop in his popularity. In a Pulse Asia survey, Duterte’s performance ratings dropped by seven points from June to September 2019.

Despite the veto, the labor movement should be relentless in the end endo campaign in the coming year. But the anchor of the continued campaign will not anymore be the broken promise of Duterte but the real movement of contractual workers demanding regularization. In the last few years, labor unrest has been on the rise with the number of strike notices and actual strikes increasing. A majority of these labor disputes are due to regularization. Besides high profile cases like the NutriAsia, PLDT and Philippine Airlines, there are lesser known struggles by workers of the Sejung garments factory in Cavite and ES Transport firm in Cubao whose issues include regularization. Workers in Sejung spent their holidays on the picketlines while the workers in ES Transport had to end their strike due a mysterious assumption of jurisdiction order served on December 22 despite being a Sunday.

Encouraged by the presidential promise of end endo and the labor movement’s visible campaign, workers in these firms have not waited for the reforms from above but instead are claiming their rights by action from below. It is upon these grassroots initiatives and struggles, that the labor movement should base its campaign to abolish contractualization in 2020 and beyond.

Aside from the fight against contractualization, the labor movement should also open a new front in 2020—the struggle to end regional wages. Duterte again made a promise—not as prominent as end endo—but a pledge nonetheless to stop ‘provincial rates.’

In July this year, DOLE announced that it will undertake a study on the propriety of the regional wage system given the demand for wage increases and the clamor against provincial rates. Partido Manggagawa has consistently asserted that regional rates are a system to cheapen wages and boost profits. Thus wages in the NCR are double the rates in ARMM despite the fact that the price differential is nowhere as large. In Calabarzon, there are different wage rates even among contiguous cities and municipalities even though the cost of living is basically the same throughout the region.

Unfortunately, DOLE’s study of regional wages has been outsourced to UP’s School of Economics (UPSE) which is a known bastion of the neoliberal doctrine of the so-called free market. It is entirely possible that the DOLE-UPSE study will end up recommending not just the abolition of regional wages but also minimum wages itself. If so, this will mean throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

Minimum wages have served as protection for workers since its enactment in 1936. President Quezon’s social justice program was an evident response to the labor and agrarian unrest of the period. At present, the minimum wage is not just the floor but it is also the average wage rate in country. Due to union decline and low collective bargaining coverage, wages above the minimum are an exception rather than the rule.

A Department of Finance study has revealed that from 2001 to 2016, labor productivity has doubled but real wages have remained stagnant despite repeated nominal wage orders by regional boards. In other words, the pie has become bigger but capitalists have monopolized the fruits of workers’ labor.

It is high time that the system of wage fixing be fixed. Thus PM’s call to abolish the regional wage boards and setup a National Wage Commission with the mandate to set a national minimum wage at the level of the cost of living. This will be in consonance with the Constitutional provision for a living wage. Next year, the fight for a living wage should begin in earnest.

December 29, 2019

DOLE slammed for inaction on 13th month pay issue of “Grinch” company in Cavite

The labor group Partido Manggagawa (PM) slammed the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) for lack of action in enforcing the mandatory payment of the 13^th month benefit for workers of a garments factory in Cavite.

“December 24 has come and gone but the DOLE still refuses to use it powers to enforce the payment of wages and 13^th month pay for workers of a ‘Grinch’ company,” declared Rene Magtubo, PM national chair. Workers of Sejung Apparel Inc. in the First Cavite Industrial Estate have been on picket-protest since December 12.

Tomorrow, Senator Risa Hontiveros is set to visit the Sejung picketline to bring moral and logistical support to the workers.

“While DOLE officials in the national and regional offices are enjoying their happy holidays, Sejung workers had a sad Christmas and are facing a bleak New Year since labor standards are not being enforced,” Magtubo insisted.

Josephine Odchimar, president of the labor union at Sejung, stated that DOLE had already conducted a factory inspection last December 19 and promised to issue an order if management does not release the 13^th month pay on December 24 as mandated. However, she added that DOLE did not issue an order and instead is trying to schedule another inspection.

“Justice delayed is justice denied. What’s keeping the DOLE regional office from issuing a compliance order? Even during the mediation hearings, Sejung maintained its illegal and hardline stance that it will grant the 13^th month pay in March not December. Yet the DOLE dare not lift a finger even as Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello issued press releases reminding employers about the payment of the 13^th month benefit,” Magtubo averred.

Workers set up a picketline outside the factory to guard against machines being taken out of the factory and prevent a runaway shop. Sejung workers are also demanding a stop the transfer of machines and an end to subcontracting of production. “The company’s argument of lack of buyers is just an alibi. The truth is that production is being subcontracted by Sejung to other companies,” Odchimar asserted.

Workers believe management is maneuvering to bust the union. The union won the certification elections in August. The company temp closed down in October, a week after the union submitted a proposal for a collective bargaining agreement. After a month, the company reopened.

“The pattern of companies inside ecozones shutting down to bust unions is well documented. It appears that Sejung is following this modus operandi of union busting,” Magtubo asserted.

Photos of the company memo about the 13^th month pay and the workers protest can be accessed at https://www.facebook.com/partidomanggagawa/posts/10157676136334323?__xts__[0]=68.ARBGx-zVbDCc8zj4NMSQA7GQZzAcPSgrdNybQuh8TDrUfgPoGL0ifqHsC1shGb5r2mUeM6OC4LpkuDtw0LdTEh7KBQlilRY_iXcLklX-Vfq6LbKMnlp7xtpdf1JMLKpSrmYbkSeR1kwkomnr5RLkideH5PsxzoAloxtaDTdzpFDTKp4P_r4XmggowFpw-YSXCTnkmrTtD8eUslR-4IFoREjmkuHzUSd8E6lbMV1Gpp9DF69t0eZLnLiTdp_1_HXmiB4qiZiza_RhwNSXxgs9EVYTJ_o2EFKqMqtjRoEfd-SvYOgk5nkwSe_ZrGfHS-R5a6SFOAuf4E6QAF3x_cux&__tn__=-R

December 29, 2019

DOLE asked to act on 13th month pay issue of “Grinch” company in Cavite

The labor group Partido Manggagawa today asked the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to act with dispatch on the violation of a garments company in Cavite that is refusing to give the mandated 13^th month pay by December 24. Sejung Apparel Inc., a Korean-owned firm in the First Cavite Industrial Estate in Dasmarinas, issued a memo to its employees that it will give the 13^th month benefit in March.

“DOLE should act now so that Sejung workers will have a merry Christmas. Workers have already brought to the attention of the DOLE the numerous violations of Sejung. A few days ago, DOLE Secretary issued a reminder to employers to abide by the law on granting the 13^th month pay. We call on the DOLE to match its words with deeds,” stated Rene Magtubo, PM chair.

In the conciliation meeting called by the Labor Department last Friday, no agreement was reached as the company remained adamant that it will only give the benefit on March. “The management of Sejung Apparel Inc. is the Grinch,” asserted Josephine Odchimar, president of the workers union in the company.

Workers have put up a picketline outside the factory since Friday night to guard against machines being taken out of the factory and prevent a runaway shop. Sejung Workers are also demanding a stop the transfer of machines and an end to subcontracting of production, which led to workers being furloughed since Friday until late January.

“The company’s argument of lack of buyers is just an alibi. The truth is that production is being subcontracted by Sejung to other companies,” Odchimar asserted.

Workers believe management is maneuvering to bust the union. The union won the certification elections in August. The company temp closed down in October, a week after the union submitted a proposal for a collective bargaining agreement. Workers set-up a picketline during the shutdown and were repeatedly harassed by FCIE guards. After a month, the company reopened.

“The pattern of companies inside ecozones shutting down to bust unions is well documented. It appears that Sejung is following this modus operandi of union busting,” Magtubo asserted.

Photos of the company memo about the 13^th month pay and the workers protest can be accessed at https://www.facebook.com/partidomanggagawa/posts/10157676136334323?__xts__[0]=68.ARBGx-zVbDCc8zj4NMSQA7GQZzAcPSgrdNybQuh8TDrUfgPoGL0ifqHsC1shGb5r2mUeM6OC4LpkuDtw0LdTEh7KBQlilRY_iXcLklX-Vfq6LbKMnlp7xtpdf1JMLKpSrmYbkSeR1kwkomnr5RLkideH5PsxzoAloxtaDTdzpFDTKp4P_r4XmggowFpw-YSXCTnkmrTtD8eUslR-4IFoREjmkuHzUSd8E6lbMV1Gpp9DF69t0eZLnLiTdp_1_HXmiB4qiZiza_RhwNSXxgs9EVYTJ_o2EFKqMqtjRoEfd-SvYOgk5nkwSe_ZrGfHS-R5a6SFOAuf4E6QAF3x_cux&__tn__=-R

December 18, 2019