Group calls on Bello to act on killings of labor leaders

The group Partido Manggagawa (PM) called on Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello for action on the continued killings of labor leaders a day after the fatal shooting of a union organizer in Cavite during a meeting of workers.

“We demand action from Secretary Bello to stop the series of extra-judicial killings of labor activists and trade unionists. As Labor Secretary, he must raise a voice against these killings. And we ask him to immediately convene the National Tripartite Monitoring Body (NTMB) which has the mandate to probe labor-related EJK’s,” stated Rene Magtubo, PM national chair.

The labor coalition Nagkaisa has likewise called on the Department of Labor and Employment for urgent response on the death of Sequena. The NTMB was formed in response to the recommendation of the International Labor Organization High Level Mission (ILO HLM) in 2009 to investigate violations of the freedom of association and killings of trade unionists.

“The shooting of Dennis while he was conducting a labor rights seminar is a particular blatant act of violence against workers exercising their freedom of association. This should not be happening 10 years after the ILO HLM,” Magtubo insisted.

Sequena is a National Council member of PM and vice chair of its provincial chapter in Cavite. He is the second PM labor activist killed since 2016. Orlando Abangan, PM-Cebu leader and informal worker organizer of the labor center Sentro, was shot and killed in September 2016.

Earlier, Victoriano Embang, president of the sugar workers association of Hacienda Maria Cecilia, Isabela in Negros Occidental was shot and killed in December 2012. Rolando Pango, a farm worker leader in Binalbagan, Negros Occidental was ambushed in November 2014. Both Embang and Pango were PM leaders involved in helping workers embroiled in labor and agrarian disputes.

The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) named the Philippines as one among the worst countries in 2018 for trade unionists due to systematic violations of labor rights and the continued killings of worker leaders.

June 3, 2019

Advisory: Workers protest at DOLE today as buildup to national day of action vs endo:

Media Advisory

Contact: Rene Magtubo (PM Chair) 09178532905

Today, Nov. 16 (Wednesday), 10:00 am: Labor groups to rally at DOLE Intramuros

Workers are set to escalate protests as they call for an end to endo o contractualization. The DOLE is set to release by the end of the year a new order to regulate the practice of contractualization and labor groups are calling on the agency to prohibit contractualization of regular jobs, including outsourcing. The protests this week are a buildup to a national day of action later this month.

The rally today at the main office of the DOLE will include groups Partido Manggagawa, Church-Labor Coalition and PALEA.

A national day of action to end endo is set later this month.

Advisory: Workers protest vs. endo: At NCMB Cavite today, DOLE Intramuros tom

Media Advisory

Contact:

Dennis Sequena (PM Cavite) 09301803072

Rene Magtubo (PM Chair) 09178532905

Today, Nov. 15 (Tuesday), 2:00 pm:

Cavite workers to rally at NCMB Imus 

Tomorrow, Nov. 16 (Wednesday), 10:00 am: Labor groups to rally at DOLE Intramuros

Nov. 18 (Friday): Labor summit in Cebu City 

Workers are set to escalate protests as they call for an end to endo o contractualization. The DOLE is set to release by the end of the year a new order to regulate the practice of contractualization and labor groups are calling on the agency to prohibit contractualization of regular jobs, including outsourcing. The protests this week are a buildup to a national day of action later this month.

The protest today will be led by workers of the Faremo International Inc., the biggest garments company in the Cavite ecozone. Faremo workers are accusing management of union busting and planning to replace regular workers with contractual employees when the factory reopens.

The rally tomorrow at the main office of the DOLE will include groups Partido Manggagawa, Church-Labor Coalition and PALEA.

Advisory:Workers to march at Cavite EPZA today

MEDIA ADVISORY

November 7, 2016

Contact: Dennis Sequena @ 09301803072

Workers to march at Cavite EPZA today

WHAT: Protest march by labor groups and workers of Faremo International, a Cavite EPZA garments factory that shutdown and laidoff 1,000 workers

WHEN: Today, Monday, November 7, 2016, 8:00 am

WHERE: Main gate (Gate 1) of the Cavite ecozone, Rosario town

DETAILS:  Community groups will hold today a solidarity rally outside the main gate of the Cavite Economic Zone (EPZA). They will be joined by workers of the garments factory Faremo International Inc. who will march from the Cavite EPZA.

The workers are demanding the reopening of Faremo as they assert that the closure is just a union busting manuever and a scheme to replace regular workers with contractual or endo employees. The workers have asked management to present proof of lack of orders but Faremo has not presented any.

The Faremo workers have been on picketline for the second week. Some 1,000 workers were laidoff last October 27 as the factory shutdown and have been locked out.

Another mediation meeting is scheduled on Tuesday, November 8, to resolve the dispute surrounding the closure of the biggest garments factory at Cavite EPZA.

The union is alleging that the closure is illegal since it is meant to bust the union and destroy the CBA. Early last month, management filed for temporary closure and the union proposed work rotation to preserve jobs and prevents layoffs. Management ignored the proposal and responded with the permanent closure.

Faremo is owned by the Korean textile multinational Hansoll and supplies to global garments brands. A union was formed by workers at Faremo last year in a bid to redress grievances such a low pay, verbal abuse and lack of benefits. A collective bargaining agreement (CBA) was concluded just last May. ###

Cavite EPZA garments workers conclude CBA after days of protests

Kudos to the workers of garments factory Faremo International Inc. in the Cavite EPZA for winning their remaining demands and concluding a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) after days of protests and the threat of a strike.

"What we failed to achieve in more than three months of bargaining at the table, we won with the help of three days of mass protests by union members who wore red ribbons at work to express their fervent demand for a decent CBA and were determined to go on strike if necessary," explained Jessel Autida, president of the Faremo labor union.

He added that "Salamat sa pagkakaisa at pagkilos ng mga manggagawa ng Faremo, member man ng unyon o hindi. We owe this victory to their unity and action."

The Faremo workers won their demand for retirement pay, paid leaves and other monetary benefits. These issues were previously unresolved and caused the deadlock in the CBA negotiations.

Last Monday the Faremo union filed a notice of strike due to CBA deadlock and workers also started tying red ribbons in their shirts or around their heads. The ribbon protest continued until last Wednesday when the DOLE/NCMB called for a factory level mediation hearing to resolve the strike threat.

While the negotiations proceeded, hundreds of workers who clocked out of work stayed just outside the factory gate to show support for the union panel. The conclusion of the CBA negotiations was met with joy by the Faremo workers. The notice of strike has been withdrawn by the union while the draft CBA will next be submitted for formal ratification by the union members.

Faremo is a subsidiary of the Korean multinational Hansoll and produces for global garments brands Gap, JC Penney and Kohl's. Aside from the Philippines, Hansoll has factories in Indonesia, Cambodia, Vietnam, Guatemala and Nicaragua.

May 27, 2016

Cavite EPZA workers preparing for strike

Workers of the biggest garments factory at the country’s largest export zone are preparing to go on strike to break a deadlock in collective bargaining negotiations. The union of workers at Faremo International Inc. in the Cavite ecozone filed a notice of strike yesterday after bargaining talks remained inconclusive last Friday.

“Workers are asking for just a little more than 5% of the net profit on a per capita basis of Faremo’s mother company yet the company refuses to budge on our just demands. The union has patiently negotiated for the last four months but management has been intransigent. It has even showed bad faith in bargaining for withdrawing a previously agreed upon offer of paid leaves,” explained Jessel Autida, union president of the Faremo International Inc. Workers Association.

Provisions on retirement pay, paid leaves and other monetary benefits remain pending at the bargaining table. On Wednesday, the Department of Labor and Employment is calling a mediation hearing in a bid to resolve the bargaining dispute and avert a strike.

Despite years on the job, almost all workers at Faremo are paid just the regional minimum wage of P315 plus P25.50 in allowances. A handful of so-called pioneer workers are paid wages P1 higher than the minimum. Workplace grievances like low pay impelled the formation of a union at Faremo last year.

“Management keeps on saying that Faremo was in the red for the past several years and only showed a small profit last year. The union believes this is simply due to the magic of transfer pricing. Faremo sells its products at low prices to its mother company Hansoll and thus the profit is reflected in the latter not the former,” Autida insisted.

In its website, Hansoll proclaims that it has revenues of USD 1.23 billion and a target net profit of 5% on sales by year 2017.

There are more than a thousand workers at Faremo, some 800 of whom are regular and represented by the union. Faremo is a subsidiary of the Korean multinational Hansoll and exports to the US and Europe for global garments brands.

Yesterday Faremo workers started wearing red ribbons to symbolize their demand for a decent collective bargaining agreement. More mass actions are planned to highlight the plight of workers at Faremo.

May 24, 2016

Update: Faremo worker complaint resolved

The complaint of Faremo worker Edwin Senica was resolved yesterday at a hearing presided by the DOLE-NCMB. The Faremo management presented a company memo which stipulates that the suspension of Senica has been cancelled, his alleged infraction has been annulled and he will be compensated for the seven days that he was not able to report for work due to the dispute.

Moreover, Faremo management expressed that it respects the right of workers to freedom of association and will not engage in union busting.

Senica welcomed the presentation of management and his complaint was thus amicably settled.

Finally, according to first hand accounts of Faremo workers, later in the afternoon it was announced at the public address system of the company that management recognizes the right of its workers to unionize.

Over firing and suspension of union members: Workers of Korean-owned factory in Cavite restive anew

Workers strike at Tae Sung last February

Press Release

March 17, 2015

Workers of a Korean-owned metal factory in the Cavite economic zone, the biggest in the country, are restive once more because of a series of dismissals and suspensions of union members. The Tae Sung Employees Association, the labor union at Tae Sung Philippines Co. Inc., filed a notice of strike last Friday as it alleged unfair labor practices of the management.

In the three weeks since the settlement of a previous strike by the Tae Sung union, management has dismissed two union members and suspended six more, including one union officer. The Tae Sung union is alleging that the terminations and suspensions of active unionists are retaliatory acts and thus a violation of a settlement agreement that no such actions should be undertaken.

The National Conciliation and Mediation Board of Region IV-A has called for a meeting tomorrow between union and management in a bid to settle the new labor dispute. Just last February the Tae Sung workers launched a two-day strike over a deadlock in collective bargaining negotiations that has lasted for six months without an agreement between the union and management. The strike was settled with workers winning a wage hike and added benefits.

The Tae Sung union is citing the case of three workers in the spray department who were all charged with a case for eating in the production area. Two of them, who are active union members, were fired as a result but the third worker, who scabbed during the February strike, was given a “slap in the wrist” of just a five-day suspension.

The union is arguing that minor infractions by workers have been meted the maximum of 30-day suspensions thus constituting discriminatory acts. A 30-day long suspension means the loss of a month’s wage for the concerned workers.

Further, the union is complaining that management has delayed by a month the signing of the collective bargaining agreement even though the settlement provided it shall be finished in just one week.

The Partido Manggagawa warned of protests to support the embattled Tae Sung workers in case there is no breakthrough in the mediation meeting tomorrow. The union is also planning to hold a strike vote among its members.

Strike at Korean factory exposes bankruptcy of new wage system in Calabarzon

Press Release

February 11, 2015

A strike broke out today at a Korean-owned metal factory inside the Cavite Economic Zone, the biggest in the country, due to a dispute over wage increases during collective bargaining negotiations. The militant Partido Manggagawa (PM) explained that the dispute exposes the bankruptcy of the two-tiered wage system being implemented in Calabarzon for the past few years.

“The two-tiered system pioneered in Calabarzon sets a very low floor wage—the new name for the minimum wage—and only productivity-based schemes allow workers to receive above the floor wage. But at Tae Sung and other export zone factories, despite yearly profits, capitalists refuse to share productivity gains to its workers. Thus most Tae Sung workers earn no more than the floor wage despite their company supplying metal parts to big electronics and auto multinationals like American Power Conversion, Honda, Caterpillar, Mitsubishi, Siemens and Deif of Denmark,” argued Wilson Fortaleza, PM national spokesperson.

Production at Tae Sung is now paralyzed as all regular workers for the 6:00 a.m. morning shift are now picketing company gates. Tae Sung's human resource manager has talked to the picketing workers and she was told that only a collective bargaining agreement will make them go back to work.

Fortaleza added that “How can a two-tiered wage system work—in which productivity-based pay are dependent on negotiations—when the vast majority of workers are unorganized and the few unionized are disadvantaged by weak enforcement of labor laws and the willing connivance of government officials—from the Labor Department to the local government units—with foreign and local capitalists? No wonder inclusive growth remains elusive and instead inequalities prosper despite the much-vaunted economic growth that is monopolized by big capitalists.”

The Tae Sung Employees Association, the union at the Korean factory, alleges that the company has been engaged in bad faith bargaining for the past seven months of negotiations. The union has reduced its wage demand from P100 each year for three years to P25 in a bid to reach an agreement but the Tae Sung management has barely moved from insisting on no increases to offering merely P5 each year for three years. Aside from wages, almost all provisions in the union contract proposal have been rejected by Tae Sung. Since 2011, Tae Sung has been earning annually more than USD 10 million, according to the union.

Aside from being hardline in negotiations, the union claims that Tae Sung is attempting to weaken the union by firing eight union members, including one union officer, and suspending others including the union president and vice president.