PM: Philippines off course regarding labor rights

Press Release

December 6, 2011

Days before the commemoration of International Human Rights Day, the labor group Partido ng Manggagawa (PM) called the attention of the government to the critical report issued by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) regarding the observance of core labor standards in the Philippines. “The Philippines is not on the right track but off course as far as labor rights is concerned,” declared Renato Magtubo, PM chair.

The global union body said that “In view of restrictions on the trade union rights of workers, discrimination, child labour, and forced labour, determined measures are needed to comply with the commitments” of the country to the World Trade Organization and the International Labor Organization.

Magtubo said that “The ITUC report is a wake up call to PNoy and Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz that rhetoric is far from reality. The violations of core labor standards detailed in the report are in stark contrast to the avowed aim of the administration to align our country’s labor policies with international treaties and ILO conventions.”

The critique was contained in the ITUC REPORT FOR THE WTO GENERAL COUNCIL REVIEW OF THE TRADE POLICIES OF PHILIPPINES (Geneva, 22 and 24 November 2011) which is posted at http://www.ituc-csi.org/IMG/pdf/wto_review.pdf.

Magtubo insisted that “Among the damning conclusions reached by the ITUC is that union rights are restricted in law and practice.” He quoted from the report that “There is an environment of violence and intimidation against trade unions. Employers and state authorities make use of anti-union practices in order to curb unions' rights.”

The ITUC report also rapped the Aquino administration for its decision to allow the outsourcing plan of Philippine Airlines. The report asserted that “The increasing replacement of long-term employment contracts with subcontracted or contractual labor curtails union membership.” To support this conclusion, the report cited that “Another example of the increasing contractualisation of employment is PAL… In February 2011, PAL announced $15.1 million profits and one month later, the government gave the company permission to continue with its outsourcing plan.”

“The ITUC report further confirms the accusation of labor groups that labor rights in general and union organizing in particular is severely constrained in the export procession zones,” Magtubo averred. He again quoted from the ITUC report that “When a union is organized the management of the special economic zones (EPZs) or individual companies file lawsuits to frighten union leaders or threaten that they will file for bankruptcy. This was the case of the garment producer, Alta Mode Inc, in the Mactan EPZ II in Lapu-Lapu City.”

Violations of Workers Rights in the Philippines in 2010

Aside from the worst forms of labor repression such as the killings of union leaders and members that are well documented by human rights groups, workers in the Philippines suffer from a host of other violations of internationally recognized and constitutionally protected rights and freedoms.

A particular section of the working class, those working in the special economic zones, deserve particular concern in terms of the observance of labor standards and labor rights. The most common grievances of export zone workers revolve around violations of security of tenure, such as illegal dismissal and illegal suspension; non-remittance of social security premiums, withholding taxes, employees' compensation and health premiums; non-payment/underpayment/late payment of mandated benefits such as 13th month pay, 5 days service incentive leave, overtime pay and paternity leave; lack of transparency in employment contracts; imposition of excessive production quota; verbal humiliation and physical abuse of workers; restrictions of the freedom to organize including blacklisting of unionists; and restraints on the right to peaceful concerted actions including strikes.

The town of Rosario, Cavite hosts the biggest economic zone. In the Cavite Economic Zone (CEZ) are based more than 300 locators which employ an estimated 70,000 workers, a majority of them women. In May this year some 100 retrenched workers of Dyna Image, a Taiwanese-owned electronics firm, setup the first ever campout at the CEZ in protest at the refusal of management to heed the workers demand for rotation instead of layoffs. The campout lasted for only 24 hours without the workers demands being met because of the threat by the CEZ administrator and the local police that the peaceful action will be dismantled.

Another illustrative case of restriction in the freedom to unionize is the pending labor dispute at Best Chemical and Plastics Phils. Inc. (BCPI), a Korean-owned factory in the town of Carmona, Cavite. The union won a certification election last July despite management interference in the exercise of the right to organize, and collusion by local government officials and Labor Department functionaries. Management has a pending protest at the results of the certification elections. The union has filed a notice of strike due to the company’s refusal to bargain.

One of the largest export zones is the Mactan Economic Zone (MEZ) in Lapu-Lapu City in the province of Cebu. There are some 200 companies in MEZ I and MEZ II employing an estimated 50,000 workers but not a single union presently exists in the zone.

The latest attempt to form a union was the Alta Mode Workers Union in a garments export firm that supplies to Abercrombie and Fitch among other world famous brands. Unfortunately the union lost the certification election due to successful interference by management and collusion by Labor Department officials. All the union members were put on forced leave on the day of the certification election. The Labor Department allowed and counted the votes of supervisory and contractual workers who were not part of the bargaining unit.

Finally Alta Mode locked out the workers early this year and then closed the factory. The Alta Mode workers setup a three-month long campout at the gates of MEZ II. There was a failed attempt by the private security guards to demolish the campout and repeated threats to dismantle it despite its peaceful and legal nature. The workers finally settled with management because of the pressure of an unfavorable but questionable decision from a labor arbiter. The arbiter found the Alta Mode workers guilty of an illegal strike for holding a sit-in protest at the factory. The workers assert that the protest did not constitute a strike—and thus cannot be found illegal on procedural grounds—for they were then on forced leave and in fact were demanding that they be allowed to return to work.

The Alta Mode campout was the peak of a wave of labor unrest in Cebu that came as a result of the deleterious impact of global economic crisis on jobs, wages and working conditions. Workers involved in the wave of protests complain that not a single one of them have received financial assistance from the Labor Department despite meeting the requirements. Furthermore, an informant has revealed that the Alta Mode unionists are effectively blacklisted from employment in the MEZ since locators haven been furnished copies of their names.

Arguably the biggest labor issue this year is the dispute at the Philippine Airlines (PAL), the national flag carrier. It showcases government abuse of the power to intervene in labor disputes that are “imbued with national interest” in the opinion of the Labor Secretary.

The Labor Code allows the Secretary of Labor to assume jurisdiction (AJ) of disputes and enjoin the right to strike. The Philippine Airlines Employees Association (PALEA), the ground crew union, is protesting against the planned mass layoff of some 3,000 employees and contractualization of work.

The AJ on the PAL dispute was dated April 23, 2010 and came just a few days after Department Order DO 40-G-03 series of 2010 amended the rules on strikes. It is dated March 29, 2010 and took effect 15 days after publication. DO 40 was supposed to be a reform in the wake of the ILO High Level Mission last year. The ILO High Level Mission conducted an investigation into the government’s enforcement of Convention 87 on the freedom of self-organization and Convention 98 on the right to collective bargaining amidst allegations by workers groups of employer interference and state indifference if not collusion.

In the PAL case, Sec 15 (conditions for assuming jurisdiction) of DO 40 was violated since (1) no conference was called by the Labor Department on the propriety of an AJ and (2) the union did not request for an AJ. Also Sec 17 (rendering decisions) was violated since the Acting Labor Secretary penned a decision even though the case was not yet submitted for resolution. The rules provide that decision should be made within 30 days after being submitted for resolution. A decision unfavorable to the union ("layoff is legal exercise of management prerogative") was dated June 15 even though mediation proceedings were still ongoing then.

A motion for reconsideration was filed by PALEA on June 28. On the strength of a petition sent by the union to President Benigno Aquino, he has ordered the new Labor Secretary to "review and evaluate" the decision, which remains pending to this day. Last September, PALEA formally asked the Labor Secretary to declare the planned mass layoff as illegal and for PAL to be found guilty of unfair labor practice.

May 1 protest demands a stop to layoffs and contractualization

Press Release
May 1, 2010

The call to stop mass layoffs and labor contractualization rang loud and clear in protests on Labor Day. The demand to reform the wage fixing system and abolish the wage boards were also highlighted in the protest motorcade dubbed “Sakbayan para sa Trabahong Regular at Dagdag Sahod” by the party-list Partido ng Manggagawa (PM).

“Can the 3,000 PAL employees to be retrenched on May 31 find work in the Labor Day job fairs of the government? If ever they do, they will probably end up as contractual workers, which is their same fate in the spun off companies to be created by Lucio Tan. Regular jobs are being destroyed and replaced by contractual work in which wages are cheaper, benefits are fewer and security of tenure is abolished,” declared Renato Magtubo, PM chairperson.

The May 1 motorcade converged by 7:00 a.m. at the PAL In Flight Center along Airport Road in Paranaque. A program was held in which Gerry Rivera, PAL Employees Association (PALEA) president and PM vice-chairperson, was the main speaker. The motorcade then proceeded to Mendiola for a joint program with other labor groups by 10:00 a.m.

Rivera criticized the Department of Labor and Employment for assuming jurisdiction (AJ) of the labor dispute in PAL when PALEA has not even held a strike vote and has not yet discussed holding a strike. The AJ order was dated April 23, 2010 and stopped PALEA from continuing with the protest motorcades that had mobilized hundreds of workers last week.

Magtubo called on PAL to cancel the retrenchment planned for May 31. “The failure of elections that could result from a slowdown or paralysis of PAL’s operations is the responsibility of management since it provoked the labor dispute,” Magtubo argued. PM is supporting the series of protest actions by PAL workers against spinoff and contractualization.

Magtubo also lambasted the government for freezing wages for the past two years and its announcement that no wage hike is forthcoming. “The minimum wage has been stuck at P382 while the prices of basic goods and services have skyrocketed. In the midst of rotating brownouts and less energy consumption, consumers’ electricity bills have increased by 50% and yet the government will not lift a finger to ease workers’ burdens. To the bitter end, the Gloria Arroyo regime remains anti-labor,” he exclaimed.

PM also led May 1 protests in Cebu, Bacolod, Iloilo, Davao and Iligan. In Cebu, more than 1,000 workers marched to the campout of the displaced Alta Mode workers at the gates of the Mactan export processing zone. PAL workers in Cebu joined the Labor Day program at the Alta Mode campout. In Bacolod, a caravan of more than 20 trucks from plantations in South Negros entered Bacolod in the morning and met with other contingents for an indoor rally at the Teacher Center. At the end of the indoor rally by 3:00 p.m., the participants marched to SM-Bacolod where a job fair was being held and tore in half an employment contract in a symbolic protest at contractualization.

Meanwhile in Iloilo City, a caravan of 20 jeeps ended in a rally at Plaza Letogay. In Davao, PM members assembled by 1:00 p.m. at the corner of Magsaysay and Roxas Blvds. before marching to Orcullo Freedom Park for a joint rally with other groups. Also in Iligan, PM joined a labor unity parade by the different labor groups that went around the downtown area. A program was then held at the City Plaza where workers concerns were discussed. Finally in Koronadal City, PM members led by the union of the Yellow Bus Line marched around the downtown area in the afternoon.

Last-minute effort today to mediate Alta Mode dispute

Press Release
March 10, 2010

The administration of the Mactan Economic Zone (MEZ) called for a meeting today between the management and union of Alta Mode Inc., a garments exporter for such global brands as Abercrombie & Fitch. The Alta Mode workers had requested the MEZ administration for a last-minute effort to mediate the almost month-long dispute as the permanent shutdown of Alta Mode looms Monday next week.

“We remain steadfast in our view that the closure of the Alta Mode factory is merely a desperate attempt to bust the union. Supposed losses and the global crisis are simply alibis to cover up management’s union busting and unfair labor practice. Even Alta Mode’s own financial statement for the years 2007 and 2008 belies its claims,” insisted Renante Peliño, president of the Alta Mode Workers Union (AMWU), an affiliate of the labor party-list Partido ng Manggagawa (PM).

Early this morning a commotion broke out at the campout of the Alta Mode workers at the MEZ II main gates when security guards tried to close the entry and exit to the protest site using steel fences. The guards backed down in the end as the workers resisted and picketed the main gates in protest.

In the meeting at the MEZ administration office, AMWU demanded that the workers be allowed to return to work pending an investigation of the real cause of Alta Mode’s shutdown. The union also called on the MEZ administration not to give a clearance to Alta Mode.

“While nobody can force an employer to continue its business, the government is not totally powerless to intervene. The export zone administration has the power to block Alta Mode’s closure by refusing to give it a clearance. The DOLE too has the power to investigate the workers’ grave allegations of management’s unfair labor practice,” Peliño argued.

AMWU refused to accept management’s offer of separation package although it demanded the payment of the workers wages for the almost one month period that management has disallowed workers to report for work. Only 15 contractual workers and office employees of Alta Mode have received the separation pay while none of the 91 union members have accepted.

Representatives of the DOLE Regional Office 7 and the National Mediation and Conciliation Board (NCMB) also attended the meeting at the MEZ. Mediation hearings called by the NCMB in the middle of February resolved nothing as management remained steadfast on closing the factory.

Since February 15, 2010, AMWU has camped out at the MEZ II after workers were refused entry and not allowed to go to work. Scores of supporters from unions in Cebu and other allies have trooped to the campout in solidarity with the Alta Mode workers. Even Women’s Day was commemorated in the Alta Mode campout last Monday by urban poor and working class women.

Labor dispute erupts anew at MEPZ, strike looms

Press Release
February 11, 2010

The labor union at Alta Mode Inc., a garments factory in the Mactan Economic Zone, today filed a notice of strike as management yesterday announced its abrupt closure on March 15. “The shutdown of Alta Mode is a vicious tactic to bust the union,” insisted Reynante Pelino, president of the Alta Mode Workers Union (AMWU).

Leaders of the AMWU trooped to the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) office in Cebu City early this morning to file the notice of strike. Within the week, the union plans to call for a strike vote among its almost 100 members. According to the Labor Code, disputes arising from complaints of union busting are immediately strikeable without going through the usual cooling off period.

Alta Mode, an apparel exporter and subcontractor for global brands such as Abercrombie & Fitch, has been rocked by labor disputes and workers unrest over unfair working conditions and the freedom to organize for almost a year already. Pelino added that “The workers are not buying Alta Mode’s line that they are losing money. They want to shutdown the factory because they do want to face organized workers who assert their rights and fight for their welfare.”

The labor party-list Partido ng Manggagawa (PM) announced it solidarity for the workers of Alta Mode. Renato Magtubo, PM national chairperson, said that “We challenge the politicians who claim to run on a platform of reform or who say they are pro-poor to put their money where their mouths are and support the workers who stand to lose their jobs simply because they assert their constitutional rights.”

Magtubo further added that “We would like to remind the DOLE that the ILO High Level Mission just recently released its report on the implementation of Convention 87 on the freedom of association which will be tabled this coming March at another ILO meeting. The Alta Mode case highlights the no-union policy inside export zones that is in direct contravention with Convention 87.”

Pelino appealed for the understanding and solidarity of fellow workers in the MEZ. “An injury to one is an injury to all. The fight of the Alta Mode workers is the struggle of all export zone workers,” he explained. Since the start of the global recession late in 2008, the MEZ has seen a series of mass actions and militant struggles by workers over layoffs, reduced workdays, poor working conditions and the right to organize.

Workers in 2009: Refusing to Pay the Price of a Crisis Not of Their Own Making

December 30, 2009
The Situation and Struggle of Workers in 2009

The global economic crisis has brought the Philippine economy to the brink of recession. At the onset of the global crisis late last year, the government of Gloria Arroyo initially took the stance that the local economy will be insulated. But despite being in denial and whistling in the dark, the signs are clear of an economy teetering in recession.

There are historic declines in manufacturing and trade. The seasonally adjusted agriculture, fishery and forestry sector contracted by 1.0 percent in the first quarter of 2009 after expanding by 0.9 per cent in the last quarter of 2008. Industry registered its lowest growth for the last twenty years as it sank by 6.6 percent from a 0.1 percent gain in the last quarter.

Even the services sector posted no growth for the first quarter of 2009 compared to 0.2 percent recorded the previous quarter. Investments in fixed capital formation in the first quarter of 2009 plunged to negative 5.7 percent from a growth of 3.0 percent in the same period last year. Investments in durable equipment dropped to negative 17.9 percent from a growth of 9.6 percent a year ago. Total exports dived deeper to negative 18.2 percent from negative 7.7 percent last year. Total imports valued at P530.9 billion pesos at current prices exceeded total exports valued at P528.6 billion pesos, resulting in a trade deficit of P2.3 billion pesos.

The global economic crisis and the slowdown in the local economy had a grave impact on the lives and livelihood of workers in the Philippines. Job losses, mainly in the export sector of the economy, are worsening the unemployment and underemployment rate.

The adult unemployment is more than 20%, the highest since 2005, according to the Social Weather Station survey last June. Some 40,000 workers were laid off since October last year according to the conservative data of the DOLE. At least 120,000 workers affected by layoffs, job-rotation and wage cuts according to the DOLE.

Big multinational firms based in the Philippines have shutdown in the space of one year. The prestigious Intel plant in Cavite closed in December 2008. The German-owned undergarments firms Triumph and Star Performance in Taguig closed this August, laying off 1,600 workers. The Canadian-owned electronics factory Celestica in Cebu also shutdown in August, displacing 900 workers. Meanwhile in September a Taiwanese-owned conglomerate of garments firms called Sports City that produces for world-famous brands Adidas and Reebok retrenched 1,000 workers in Cebu.

Employers are passing the burden of the crisis on the backs of the workers. Capitalists are using the global crisis as an excuse to demolish workers rights and undercut labor standards. Several high profile cases highlight the trend.

Up to 400 retrenched workers of Maitland-Smith Cebu, Inc. have filed cases of illegal retrenchment. Some 1,700 workers produce high-end home furniture and accessories in the Mactan Economic Zone in Lapu-Lapu, Cebu. Its mother company is Maitland-Smith, headquartered in High Point, North Carolina.

Over 200 laid off workers of Lear Automotive have filed cases. Located also in the Mactan Economic Zone, it is an American company that exports electronics parts for cars. The remaining 11,000 workers suffer from reduced workdays.

Some 15 retrenched workers have filed cases against Taiyo Yuden Philippines Inc. It is a Japanese subsidiary that produces spare parts for cellular phones in the Mactan Economic Zone. The remaining 8,000 workers are on reduced workdays.

The workers are refusing to pay the price of a crisis that is not of their own making. Labor unrest is brewing as capitalists attack jobs, wages and working conditions. Although the revival in workers struggle is uneven, the return to militant struggle is taking shape. At the forefront of the new struggles are the workers of Metro Cebu.

The first workers strike against mass layoffs erupted last February in a furniture export firm in Mandaue, an industrial town in Metro Cebu. Hundreds of workers of Giardini del Sole went on strike for two days and paralyzed operations of the company by physically preventing the passage of personnel and goods. Even though illegal, the government vacillated in enforcing the law because of worker militancy and public support.

In April the first ever rally was held inside the Mactan Economic Zone in its decades-long existence. Around 70 workers of Sauna World Inc., a Finnish-owned firm producing sauna and spa heaters for export, marched from their factory to the gates of the export zone.

Last June the first picket line was setup on the gates of the Mactan Economic Zone by the workers of Paul Yu Industrial Corp., one of the biggest factories in the zone that produces lamp shades for export. More than 300 workers went on a month-long work stoppage in protest at the suspension of seven leaders of their workers association. The bitter labor dispute marked the definitive end of the era of the zone as a haven for docile labor where employers can ride roughshod over workers rights and labor standards without provoking a militant response from the workers.

By September of this year the labor unrest had transformed into a revival of unionism at the Mactan Economic Zone. The export zone was so repressive that even the moderate TUCP was complaining against its no-union policy. The workers of Altamode Inc., which makes clothes for the American firm Abercrombie & Fitch, successfully formed a union though they lost the certification elections due to management interference in the workers’ exercise of the freedom to organize and the DOLE’s indifference to the unfair labor practice of the company. Yet unlike previous attempts at failed union building which always ended in the termination of union officers and members, in this case the unionists were able to regain work and thus the struggle continues.

International labor advocates slam sweatshop labor in the Philippines

Press Release
November 18, 2009

Two international labor rights groups slammed the exploitation of sweatshop labor around the world including the Philippines. The International Labor Rights Forum (ILRF) released a report yesterday that listed two big American companies in its “Sweatshop Hall of Shame 2010” for using subcontractors based in the Mactan Economic Zone (MEZ) in Lapu-Lapu City that violate fundamental labor rights and standards. Meanwhile the Clean Clothes Campaign (CCC) celebrated its 20th anniversary by launching a book that chronicles the rise of the anti-sweatshop movement. The CCC has recently worked with the Partido ng Manggagawa (PM) in defending workers in several factories in the MEZ that produce for famous companies like Adidas and Abercrombie and Fitch.

Renato Magtubo, PM chairperson, said “We welcome the critical report of the ILRF and the excellent work of the CCC in support of the struggle of workers in the Philippines and around the world. If only our own Department of Labor and Employment was as vigilant as the ILRF and CCC then there would be less workers suffering from poverty wages and dire working conditions.”

The ILRF is a Washington DC-based advocacy organization dedicated to achieving just and humane treatment for workers worldwide. The ILRF’s Hall of Shame inductees are companies that “are responsible for evading fair labor standards and often are slow to respond or provide no response at all to any attempts by the ILRF and workers to improve working conditions.”

ILRF called on American shoppers to “take the time to ask about labor standards at the factories that produce Abercrombie and Fitch and Hollister clothing.” The demand stemmed from the labor dispute at Alta Mode Inc., an Abercrombie and Fitch contractor, where the union is accusing management of unfair labor practice and interference in the right to organize. The ILRF report states that “Workers have struggled for a union as an antidote to a production quota set beyond human capacity.”

Meanwhile the CCC has national campaigns in 12 European countries with a network of 250 organisations worldwide. The CCC inspired book titled "Clean Clothes" by Dutch writer and photographer Liesbeth Sluiter recounts that “all along the garment industry’s supply chains, workers, including children, are exploited through poverty wages, unpaid overtime and harsh anti-union measures.”

According to the ILRF report, at the Paul Yu factory, a supplier of the US home furnishings retailer Pier 1 Imports, employees were unjustly suspended for forming a workers association and protesting against rampant contractualization. ILRF revealed that it communicated with Pier 1 Imports but the company refused to take any meaningful action. The report relates that “The workers of Paul Yu are a testament to how companies like Pier 1 Imports continuously fail to meet their own corporate social responsibility commitment.”

The copy of the ILRF report can be accessed at http://www.laborrights.org/sites/default/files/publications-and-resources/sweatshop_hall_shame_2010.pdf. Details of the CCC anniversary commemoration and book launching can be confirmed via wyger@cleanclothes.org. Below is a copy of the CCC press release.

Anti-sweatshop 'Clean Clothes Campaign' Marks 20 Years
New Book Charts Growth of Global Movement

Nov. 16, 2009 - The worldwide anti-sweatshop Clean Clothes Campaign marks 20 years this month, and coinciding with the anniversary a new book on the movement will be launched on November 18. "Clean Clothes" by Dutch writer and photographer Liesbeth Sluiter takes an independent look at how the campaign has grown from an ad-hoc feminist coalition in Holland to an international labour-rights activist network that put corporate accountability on the fashion industry's agenda.

The campaign, one of the most prominent anti-sweatshop organizations today, aims to improve the wages and conditions of workers in the global garment industry. Large retailers such as Tesco, Walmart and Carrefour lure shoppers in with prices that seem too good to be true. This book shows that they’re too good to be fair.

All along the industry’s supply chains, workers, including children, are exploited through poverty wages, unpaid overtime and harsh anti-union measures. The campaign urges those in charge of the garment industry’s supply lines to protect their workers and treat them fairly.

This dynamic account of direct engagement by concerned consumers is a must read for those that see globalisation differently and want their shopping choices to support the most vulnerable people involved in the clothing industry.

Liesbeth Sluiter is a Dutch freelance photographer and journalist, who has worked for over 25 years with a passionate focus on environment, gender and global development issues. She is the author of The Mekong Currency (1993), published in the UK, the Netherlands, and Japan, and has written numerous articles on development and environmental issues.

The CCC has national campaigns in 12 European countries with a network of 250 organisations worldwide, including development organisations, trade unions, women's organisations, human-rights defenders. In the Philippines the Partido ng Manggagawa works together with the CCC to defend labor rights and welfare in the export zones.

Cebu export zone workers picket DOLE, assail collusion with employers

Press Release
October 6, 2009

Workers of a garments factory in the Mactan Economic Zone (MEZ) today picketed the DOLE office in Cebu a day after a summary decision by labor officials on a controversial certification election. Around 100 workers from Alta Mode Inc. slammed the DOLE for colluding with employers in derailing workers rights to organize.

“Hardly one week has passed since the investigation by the International Labor Organization (ILO) into government’s enforcement of Convention 87 on the freedom of association but the DOLE is back to business as usual in conspiring with employers in hindering unionization. The med-arbiter’s summary decision without benefit of a hearing to canvass 27 disputed votes in the certification election completes management’s scheme to deny our labor rights,” stated Renante Pelino, president of the Alta Mode Workers Union (AMWU).

The protesting workers brought placards assailing “DOLE-capitalist conspiracy vs. workers rights.” Some placards also appealed to the multinational garments firm A&F which owns the brands Abercrombie and Fitch, and Hollister to respect labor rights in its supplier companies, among them Alta Mode Inc. Since the start of the year up to the Alta Mode shutdown last September 11, the workers were producing orders for A&F products.

AMWU representatives and its lawyer walked out of the canvassing yesterday after the med-arbiter Atty. Theresa Casino and the DOLE election officer Eliza Mojana dismissed the workers’ motion for reconsideration and pushed through with the counting of the 27 segregated ballots. AMWU criticized the decision to count the 27 segregated votes without hearing the side of the workers on why the disputed ballots should not be counted. “These 27 ballots were cast by supervisors and others that should be excluded since we filed a petition for elections with only regular rank-and-file workers as the bargaining unit. We do not oppose unionization, and in fact we will support it, by supervisors but by law they should organize unions separate from the rank-and-file,” Pelino explained.

In the hearing conducted by ILO more than a week ago, Renato Magtubo, chairperson of the Partido ng Manggagawa (PM), presented Alta Mode as “a graphic case of the violation of Convention 87” and proof of the “no union policy” in the export zones. According to Magtubo, AMWU’s experience reflects why not a single union has survived and gained status as a bargaining agent in the 30 years of the MEZ.

AMWU and PM, which is supporting the workers, vowed that the picket today is just the start of a series of protests against employer interference and DOLE’s collusion in workers freedom to organize. The workers chanted “Babalik kami, mas marami” as the picketed ended.

Case file of Cebu union submitted to ILO as workers end campout in export zone

Press Release
September 24, 2009

The Partido ng Manggagawa formally submitted to the ILO High Level Mission (HLM) a case file on a Cebu export zone union detailing incidents that violate Convention 87 on the right to self-organization. Judy Ann Miranda, Partido ng Manggagawa secretary general, stated that “Even as the ILO HLM conducts its investigation on the government’s implementation and enforcement of Convention 87, in the Mactan Economic Zone (MEZ), a union is fighting for its life.”

The laid off workers of Alta Mode, a garments export firm in MEZ II that subcontracts for Abercrombie & Fitch among other multinational corporations, lifted today their picketline outside the company gates since their employer has agreed to a meeting tomorrow. Renante Pelino, president of Alta Mode Workers Union (AMWU), declared that “We end our campout in good faith to remove any obstacle to a dialogue with top management on our demands for recognition of the union, work rotation, financial assistance to laid off workers and union access to the factory during the temporary shutdown.”

Pelino said that “We call the attention of the ILO mission to the de facto ‘no union, no strike’ policy in the export zones. Yesterday it took hours of haggling just to allow food and water to be brought to hungry and thirsty workers in the campout. Criminals get better treatment in jails compared to protesting workers inside the export zones.”

At 2:00 pm this afternoon, around 100 AMWU members marched some 400 meters from the Alta Mode factory to the MEZ II main gate and were met by dozens of their families, other union members, and supporters from the Partido ng Manggagawa and other unions. The AMWU members chanted “Makibaka, Wag Matakot” as export zone workers watched the march proceed.

In a meeting last night with representatives of the National Conciliation and Mediation Board, Philippine Export Zone Authority and Aboitiz Land which owns MEZ II, AMWU agreed to lift the picketline in return for a dialogue with management. Since the declaring a temporary shutdown last September 11, Alta Mode has refused to negotiate with AMWU.

Among the recommendations forwarded in the AMWU case file are the following:

1. For the Philippine Export Zone Authority (PEZA) to form tripartite councils within all export zones with the mandate to discuss workers grievances and employers concerns within the export zone, and recommend actions to resolve the issues.
2. For the PEZA to setup billboards at every single gate of export zones with the message that (a) it is state policy to guarantee labor rights, (b) the law encourages trade unionism and collective bargaining, and (c) management interference in the right to organize is unfair labor practice.
3. For employers within the export zone to put up notices at company gates that it is company policy to the respect labor laws and specifically that it will not interfere in the workers exercise of freedom to organize.
4. For the PEZA to draft, in consultation with workers, an education seminar on labor rights, standards and welfare based on provisions of the labor code for all export zones workers, including managerial and supervisory employees, to be attended within their first six months of their employment.
5. For the Executive to draft a course on labor rights, standards and welfare to be included in the mandatory curriculum for secondary and tertiary education.
6. For the PEZA and employers to allow representatives of labor organizations, specifically union organizers, access to the export zones and to company premises for the purpose of union organizing and other union activities, including workers concerted actions.
7. For the PEZA to allow representatives of media access to the export zones for the purpose of reporting on workers’ concerted activities, including strikes, conducted inside the zone.
8. For the PEZA to guarantee the exercise of the workers right to engage in concerted activities, including strikes without harassment or intimidation by PEZA police, company guards or any agent of state authorities.

Case of laid off garments workers in Cebu presented to ILO mission

Press Release
September 23, 2009

In a meeting today with the International Labor Organization High Level Mission (ILO HLM) at the RCBC Plaza in Makati, Renato Magtubo, chairperson of the Partido ng Manggagawa, presented the case of laid off garments workers in Cebu as a “graphic example of violation of Convention 87 on the freedom of self-organization.”

The laid off workers were from Alta Mode, a garments export firm that subcontracts for Abercrombie & Fitch and Adidas among other multinational corporations. In a press conference today in Mactan City, members of the Alta Mode Workers Union (AMWU) called on the ILO HLM to investigate the “unwritten no union, no strike policy” in export zones.

According to Renante Pelino, AMWU president, “Our experience is just one among many similar cases of employer interference with government connivance in the workers exercise of the freedom of self-organization. No single union represents the tens of thousands of workers in the Mactan Economic Zone (MEZ). In the 30 years of MEZ, no union has been able to survive and gain status as bargaining representative of workers.”

Yesterday AMWU members barged into the MEZ compound and started a campout at the gates of the Alta Mode factory as a form of protest and to guard against any attempt at runaway shop. They are now on their second day of a “Campout for Union Rights.”

Magtubo cited the following as Convention 87 issues regarding Alta Mode:

1. Two days before the certification election last September 7, a meeting was held of Alta Mode workers under the guise of an assembly of cooperative members. The meeting’s agenda was not cooperative matters but the certification elections and the need to defeat the AMWU in the vote.

2. On the day of the certification election, all the union members were put on forced leave. Article 248 (e) of the Labor Code states that it is unfair labor practice to discriminate in regard to wages, hours of work, and other terms and conditions of employment in order to encourage or discourage membership in any labor organization.

3. AMWU members were the first batch of workers to vote in the certification election but since they were on forced leave they were not allowed into the production area. Supervisors and managers were free to make a last-minute campaign among the workers since no union members were in the shop floor.

4. AMWU won 107 votes, “no union” got 88 votes but the certification election remains unresolved since 27 challenged ballots are not yet counted. These ballots were cast by supervisory employees, line leaders and contractual workers who AMWU alleges are not part of the bargaining unit.

5. Four days after the certification elections, Alta Mode went on a six-month temporary shutdown. AMWU filed a notice of strike on the basis of union busting and members unanimously voted to go on strike. But due to the restrictions of the Labor Code, AMWU could not immediately go on strike despite union busting by the employer. Further, if AMWU did go on strike, workers cannot setup a picket at the factory gates since they will not be allowed inside the MEZ compound since there are temporarily out of work.

Laid off garments workers barge into Cebu export zone, discover possible runaway shop

Press Release
September 22, 2009

Some 100 workers of a garments factory that went on a temporary shutdown more than a week ago barged into the compound of the Mactan Economic Zone (MEZ) around 7:30 am today and setup a picket at the gates of their company. The protesting workers of Alta Mode, which exports clothes under world-famous brands such as Abercrombie & Fitch and Hollister, discovered a truck within the factory premises that is being filled up by materials and they suspect it might be an attempt at a runaway shop.

Renante Pelino, president of the Alta Mode Workers Union (AMWU), declared that “The truck is from a scrap dealer but it is possible they might spirit out machines in the guise of scrap materials. We warn our employer and the dealer that they will be liable for unfair labor practice if they attempt to transfer machines for a runway shop. We will not let that truck leave with machines and materials on board.”

Officials of the Aboitiz Land which leases the MEZ II compound to the Philippine Economic Zone have met the workers and asked them to leave pending resolution of the dispute. The workers however refused and vowed to keep guard at the Alta Mode factory gate and not leave without an agreement on their demands. The workers brought with them food, water and supplies for an indefinite campout.

AMWU is demanding that management recognize the union, honor the memorandum of agreement (MOA) forged last September 8 providing for work rotation and financial assistance for workers who will be put on forced leave, and finally for access by two union officers to the factory during the duration of the six-month temporary shutdown.

The Alta Mode factory has been rocked by labor unrest this year with workers complaining of inhuman working conditions such as excessive production quota, illegal forced leave and unfair schemes for undertime work. The workers organized a union but on the day of the certifications elections last September 7, management put all union members on forced leave. Still AMWU got 107 votes compared to 88 “no union” ballots cast but the certification elections remain unresolved since 27 challenged ballots remain uncounted.

Immediately after the elections, AMWU went into a 24-hour sitdown protest that ended with a MOA to put half of the union members back to work. However management reneged on the MOA by declaring a six-month temporary shutdown starting September 11. The union has a filed notice of strike and members have unanimously voted to go on strike.

Alta Mode has sister garments companies called Frankhaus International Corp. and MK Corp. operating in Taytay, Rizal. AMWU suspects that the temporary shutdown is a ruse to shift work to the sister companies and bust the union in Cebu.

Labor party calls for changes to martial law-era labor code

Press Release
September 21, 2009

On the anniversary of the declaration of martial law, the labor group Partido ng Manggagawa (PM) called for major changes in the labor code in the interest of advancing workers rights and welfare. “It is ironic that even as we vow never again to repeat the tragedy of martial law, the 1974 labor code remains in force as an enduring legacy of the dictatorship and a tight chain on the hands of the workers. The 1986 Edsa revolution dismantled many ramparts of the Marcos dictatorship and revived the trappings of elite democracy but it retained the labor code in order to restrict the freedoms of workers,” argued Renato Magtubo, chairperson of PM.

PM together with other labor groups under the KONTRA coalition formed to campaign against contractualization mobilized today several hundreds of workers. Theme of the workers rally was “Wakasan ang Batas Militar sa Paggawa.” The KONTRA mobilization assembled around 9 am at Morayta in Manila before proceeding to Mendiola by 10 am.

“The urgency of revising the martial law-era labor code comes to stark relief as the International Labor Organization starts its High Level Mission on the government’s enforcement of the Convention 87 and 98 on the right to organize of workers and bargain collectively,” Magtubo explained. The ILO High Level Mission (HLM) arrives today and starts if investigation officially tomorrow.

Magtubo also issued a challenge to the presidentiables to make put in their platforms the labor issues. “For the coming election to truly be a fight between good and evil, the presidentiables must specifically commit to changes in the labor code and jurisprudence on labor in the interest of promoting workers rights and welfare. Any presidentiable who claims to be fighting for good instead of evil must be an advocate of labor,” Magtubo insisted.

PM also appealed to the ILO HLM to investigate the “no union, no strike” policy in the export zones and the contractualization of labor both of which the group claims as a hindrance to the exercise of the right to unionize and bargain. “For example, Philippine Airlines will spinoff by November 15 its catering, passenger and cargo handling operations thus affecting an estimated 2,000 workers, about half its workforce. But this is just a retire-rehire tactic to weaken the PAL union. Lucio Tan owns the companies which will continue the spun off operations but with workers who are non-union with cheaper wages, less benefits and no security of tenure,” Magtubo described.

He also clarified that in the Mactan Export Processing Zone in Cebu workers are complaining of unfair labor practices by management designed to interfere in the workers exercise of the freedom to organize. “A clear case in point is Alta Mode, a garments factory producing world famous brands like Abercrobie and Fitch and Hollister, that put on forced leave all of the union members on the day of the election for workers to decide on having a union. And several days after the union won a majority of the votes, the management put the factory on temporary shutdown in order to intimidate the workers,” Magtubo added.

ILO asked to investigate workers rights violations at export zones

Press Release
September 9, 2009

The labor group Partido ng Manggagawa (PM) asked the International Labor Organization (ILO) High Level Mission due to arrive on September 22 to investigate violations of the right to unionize at the export zones and industrial estates. Renato Magtubo, PM Chairperson, stated that “The Philippines is signatory to ILO Convention No. 87 which obliges governments to guarantee the right to self-organization of workers. That right is blatantly violated by the unwritten no union policy at the export zones and industrial estates in order to attract foreign investments.”

PM is pointing to the Mactan Economic Zone (MEZ) in Cebu as a case in point. Magtubo explained, “No single union presently exists within MEZ despite being in operation for three decades since it opened in 1979. In the latest attempt at organizing, all union members at the Alta Mode factory in MEZ were all put on forced leave on the day that the workers were to vote to certify the union as bargaining agent. The Labor Department did not lift a finger despite such being a violation of Article 248 (e) of the Labor Code which provides that it is unfair labor practice to discriminate in regard to wages, hours of work, and other terms and conditions of employment in order to discourage union membership.”

In a related development, some 100 members of the Alta Mode Workers Union (AMWU) staged a sit down protest starting Monday afternoon to protest the forced leave. The 24-hour factory occupation ended early evening yesterday with management acceding to workers demands to implement a work rotation scheme instead of forced leave and to provide financial assistance to workers who cannot be absorbed through work rotation. Renante Pelino, AMWU president, elaborated that “Half of the union membership will now be put back to work through work rotation and the rest will be given P500 every week in assistance, half as cash advance and the other half for free. Such a victory is not possible without the courage and militance of the workers.”

Magtubo added that last Friday, a worker leading a union organizing drive was retrenched in a mass layoff of some 1,000 workers at the Taiwanese-owned Sports City conglomerate of garments factories that includes Metroware, Mactan Apparel, Fedder Apparel and Global. Jose Pelino, a worker at Metroware, claims he was singled out for dismissal due to his organizing work. He alleges that he was under intense observation by management for the last two weeks and furthermore he was conspicuously tailed by men in two motorcycles on his way home on the very day of his dismissal. Magtubo pointed out that Pelino has reported the harassment incident and his complaint of illegal dismissal to the Labor Department but no action has yet been taken.

Magtubo also emphasized that the contractualization of workers have become a barrier to union organizing, especially in the export zones and industrial estates. “Contractual workers work side by side in with regular workers in the factories, with the former frequently outnumbering the latter, practically an insurmountable hindrance to unionization. For example, Cebu General Services and Nozumi are the two biggest agencies supplying thousands of contractual workers to factories in MEZ and the giant Mitzumi electronics plant in Danao, all of which have no unions,” he clarified.

The union elections at Alta Mode, a subcontractor for garments brands like Adidas, Reebok and Abercrombie & Fitch, remains inconclusive, Magtubo emphasized. In the certification elections, 107 voted for AMWU while 88 chose no union but 27 ballots remain uncounted since they were challenged by the union since they were cast by supervisory employees, line leaders and contractual workers which are not supposed to be part of the bargaining unit.

Cebu garments workers hold sit down protest against forced leave, unfair labor practice

Press Release
September 8, 2009

Some one hundred workers at the Alta Mode garments firm in the Mactan Export Processing Zone (MEPZ) started a sit down action yesterday and spent the night inside the factory in protest against the forced leave implemented by management that discriminates against union members. “The forced leave that was timed for the certification elections yesterday constitutes unfair labor practice and discrimination to discourage union membership,” asserted Renante Pelino, president of Alta Mode Workers Union (AMWU).

As of this morning 89 workers remained inside the factory and vowed not to leave until management resolves their demands. Pelino explained that the AMWU demands are: (1) rotation among the workers so they can share the supposedly reduced workload, (2) financial assistance for those workers who still cannot be absorbed through rotation, and (3) definite cutoff date to the forced leave and reduced workdays. The union states that even the Labor Department encourages work rotation as an alternative to retrenchments.

The union plans to file today a notice of strike on the basis of union busting and unfair labor practice. AMWU is arguing that the forced leave discriminates against the union since practically all of the more than 100 workers affected were AMWU members.

In the certification election yesterday, AMWU got 107 votes, 88 voted for no union while one ballot was spoiled. Another 27 ballots are being challenged by AMWU since these were cast by supervisory employees, line leaders and contractual workers who the union allege are not part of the bargaining unit. The case is due to be heard by the Labor Department.

Pelino explained, “Our sit down action is a peaceful protest with the aim of obliging management to sincerely face the workers’ grievances. This is a fight for our jobs and our rights. Without our jobs, we cannot live. But without the union, we are vulnerable to abuse and discrimination at work.”

Before the sit down protest started late in the afternoon yesterday, AMWU held a dialogue with management in the presence of officials of the export zone administration. The dialogue was inconclusive as management claimed they could not answer the workers demands since the company owners were in Manila.

AMWU is appealing for support from fellow MEPZ workers and the labor movement in general. No union presently exists within MEPZ and the workers movement has been accusing the export zone administration and the Labor Department of implementing an unwritten no union policy.

Cebu union complains of unfair labor practice as workers vote in historic certification elections

Press Release
September 7, 2009

The newly formed union at the Alta Mode garments factory in the Mactan Export Processing Zone (MEPZ) complained of management’s unfair labor practice as workers vote today whether to certify the Alta Mode Workers Union (AMWU) as the sole and exclusive bargaining agent of rank-and-file employees. If AMWU wins in the certification elections, they will be the first successful union in MEPZ.

More than 100 workers, practically all of them union members including all union officers were put on forced leave effective today, just in time for the certification elections. Alta Mode makes clothes under world-famous brands like Adidas, Reebok and Abercrombie & Fitch. Last March, Alta Mode workers successfully protested against excessive production quotas and illegal reduction in working days. Since then they have formed and registered the AMWU to protect their rights and advance their welfare as employees.

Renante Pelino, AMWU president, stated “Management hasty decision to put half of the workforce and almost the whole of the union on forced leave without even a notice with the Labor Department is evidently meant to harass and intimidate the workers against voting for the union. The Labor Code clearly provides in Article 248 (e) that it is unfair labor practice to discriminate in regard to wages, hours of work, and other terms and conditions of employment in order to encourage or discourage membership in any labor organization.”

Despite management’s unfair labor practice, Pelino declared that AMWU is ready for today’s certification election that will start in this morning and end by 3 p.m. “The union is confident that Alta Mode workers will not be frightened by management’s scare tactics. Workers will assert their rights to choose a union so that they will have a voice and representation in the company. We hope to break new ground and be the first union to be certified inside the MEPZ,” he affirmed.

Dennis Derige, spokesperson of the Cebu chapter of Partido ng Manggagawa (PM), insisted, “No union presently exists within the MEPZ despite being in operation since 1979. Although the Labor Department and the export zone administration keeps denying it, everybody knows that they try to keep MEPZ a non-union zone in order to attract and maintain foreign investors. But without unions to defend them, MEPZ workers are victims of rampant infringement of labor standards and workers rights.”

PM also decried the fact that the unfair labor practice at Alta Mode is the second incident in as many weeks of violation of the right to self-organization. Last week, the Sports City conglomerate of four garments firms in MEPZ retrenched 1,000 employees including Jose Pelino, a worker leading the organizing efforts. On the day that Pelino was dismissed, three motorcycles tailed him as he left the factory, got out of the MEPZ and went to his home in Sitio Gabi, Lapu-Lapu City.