Season of discontent as unions file notices of strike over CBA deadlocks

 

An increasing number of unions are filing notices of strike over deadlocks with management over negotiations for a collective bargaining agreement (CBA). “This is a season of discontent as workers fight for increases in wages and benefits against companies which are acting like Scrooges. The recent wage orders in different regions do not impact unionized workers who earn more than the minimum wage,” stated Judy Miranda, secretary general of Partido Manggagawa (PM).

 

A case in point is Union Motor Corporation in Otis, Manila, a dealer of Mitsubishi cars. The union filed a notice of strike over deadlock in CBA talks last November 12. Union members also voted overwhelmingly in favor of a strike on November 22. Cyrus Salamon, president of the Union Motor Sales Corporation Employees Association, explained that “Since November 28, we are negotiating with management under the auspices of the National Conciliation and Mediation Board. Management has finally offered a counter proposal, so we are hopeful for an agreement that is acceptable to union members. Still, the notice of strike remains as we continue to fight for our just demands.”

 

Miranda bared that aside from Union Motor, the faculty union of a big university in the Visayas also has a pending notice of strike due to a CBA deadlock. She added that the dispute at the logistic company J&T Express was also on the brink of a strike but was recently averted through a timely agreement. “Last month, the provincial bus company Mark Eve’s Transport was hit by a strike over refusal of management to bargain with the union. The strike ended with management’s recognition of the union and an offer for the CBA. All these disputes reveal seething labor unrest over employers’ refusal to share with their workers the fruits of production,” Miranda elaborated.

 

Salamon clarified that the union is asking for improvements in the salary, rice subsidy, retirement pay and signing bonus. “Our demands are realistic and based upon the company’s financial capability,” he insisted.

 

Miranda said that a union and management of a tobacco factory is also having CBA talks and while talks have not reached a deadlock, the two sides are still far apart in terms of the union proposal and management counterproposal. “Again, economic demands by workers for improved wages and benefits mirror the difficulties faced by workers due to the high cost of living. Capitalists can easily afford these worker demands as labor productivity has increased by more than 50% over the last two decades while real wages have remained stagnant. In other words, the economic pie has become bigger, but the slice received by workers has remained the same,” she expounded.

 

PM and the Nagkaisa labor coalition are pushing for a P150 legislated wage hike as one pathway for workers to recover the lost purchasing power of their salaries. This was one of the main demands in the recent Bonifacio Day mobilizations across the country. 

Countdown to strike at cigarette firm begins with protest at DOLE today

The countdown to the looming strike at the leading cigarette firm in the country begins today with workers holding a picket while the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) convenes another mediation hearing. Protests at the Marikina factory of the Philip Morris Fortune Tobacco Corp. are scheduled every change of shift tomorrow. On Thursday afternoon, workers will march from the factory to the Concepcion, Marikina church to advocate their cause to city residents.

The company is on the brink of a strike as a large majority of members of the Philip Morris Fortune Tobacco Corp Labor Union (PMFTCLU-NAFLU) voted yes in strike balloting. In a vote conducted last Friday at Vigan, Ilocos Sur and Marikina City, 73% of union members authorized a strike. According to the rules, an actual strike can be launched seven days after the vote was submitted to the DOLE last Saturday.

“It is not too late for the company to resolve the dispute. We call on management to heed the workers’ demand for the reinstatement of 184 workers terminated as a result of the sudden closure of the Vigan redrying plant and the mass layoff at the Marikina factory,” stated Rey Almendras, union president of PMFTCLU-NAFLU.

The labor dispute at the leading cigarette manufacturer is part of a rising wave of workers unrest. Scores of notices of strike have been filed and strikes are erupting in various companies. Last week employees of the big Japanese pharmaceutical firm Takeda Healthcare Philippines in Rockwell, Makati went on strike over a deadlock in collective bargaining negotiations.

“The Constitution mandates that workers receive their fair share of the fruits of production. But at PMFTC, retrenchment was the company’s reward for increased labor productivity and workers meeting key performance indicators,” argued Almendras.

This month the Lucio Tan Group announced a P3.63 billion total income for the first quarter of this year. Some P2.35B or 65% of the total income of the Lucio Tan Group came from its tobacco business.

The PMFTCLU is alleging unfair labor practice over the closure and retrenchment. The union slammed the bad faith and deceit attending the so-called right-sizing plan of management. The group believes that union busting is the real agenda as the non-union sister factory in Sto. Tomas, Batangas just regularized 100 contractual employees. In contrast, the Marikina and Vigan plants are both unionized factories.

“Management told the union that the Vigan plant will be closed and sold to another entity. No other details were given. This raises the suspicion that this is another outsourcing program similar to the contractualization scheme at Philippine Airlines,” declared Gerry Rivera, president of the Philippine Airlines Employees Association (PALEA-TUCP) and head of the newly formed Kapatiran ng mga Unyon at Samahang Manggagawa. Both PALEA and PMFTCLU are members of the Kapatiran.

He declared that “We express support for the fight of PMFTCLU for job security and against union busting. Ang laban ng isa ay laban ng lahat.”

“PMFTC management has been absolutely opaque behind the misnamed right-sizing plan. When management first discussed the plan before the union, they withheld the names of workers affected, they did not disclose how the termination process will proceed and finally they did not give any solid basis for the closure and redundancy. And then just hours after the meeting with the union, management unveiled its surprise gift to unsuspecting workers who were cajoled into signing separation without the presence of union officers who barred from entering the factory,” Almendras elaborated.

Photos of the protests can be accessed at PMFTCLU’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/zpipsamonte/

4 September 2018

Labor group welcomes 300,000 new regular workers

Photo from Rappler.com

The labor group Partido Manggagawa (PM) welcomed the announcement of Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello that the employers group ECOP has pledged to make 300,000 contractual workers as regulars. The group though asked for details of the commitment.

“Good news is always welcome. We would like to believe that the statement of Sec. Bello is true but we do ask that the DOLE and ECOP reveal the terms of the commitment to regularize 300,000 endo employees. The devil is in the details. We have to read the fine print,” declared Rene Magtubo, national chair of Partido Manggagawa.

The declaration of President Rodrigo Duterte in his last SONA that the DOLE had already regularized 300,000 workers this year provoked a heated exchange between workers groups and the DOLE about the veracity of the figure. At the heart of the controversy is whether the workers were regularized in the principal companies or merely in the contracting agencies.

Magtubo also insisted that “We also call on ECOP to persuade employers like PLDT, NutriAsia and Wyeth to follow the compliance orders of the DOLE to regularize in their companies contractual workers previously dispatched to them by manpower agencies.”

He asserted that “It would be good if ECOP and Sec. Bello would divulge their agreement to the public in order for other employers’ group to follow suit. We would like to be appraised of the terms of the agreement so we can assess that it is within the framework of the present law and regulation which provides that dispatched workers performing jobs or functions directly related to the principal business of the employer should become its employees.”

Magtubo also reminded the DOLE that workers unrest is brewing as labor disputes and concerted actions have hit companies like PLDT, NutriAsia, Philip Morris-Fortune Tobacco and companies in the Cavite export processing zones.

Tomorrow a meeting is being convened by the National Conciliation and Mediation Board office in Intramuros between the management and union of Philip Morris-Fortune Tobacco Corp. A notice of strike was filed by the Philip Morris-Fortune Tobacco Corp. Labor Union (PMFTCLU-NAFLU) last Thursday over the closure of its Vigan, Ilocos Sur redrying plant and the mass layoff at the Parang, Marikina factory that led to the loss of 90 and 220 jobs respectively. The union is alleging unfair labor practice for the opacity of the basis and process of the termination.

“Retrenchment was the company’s reward for increased labor productivity and workers meeting efficiency targets. Instead, shouldn’t workers receive their fair share of the fruits of production as stipulated in the Constitution,” averred Magtubo who was former local president of PMFTCLU-NAFLU.

August 14, 2018

Strike notice filed anew as Cavite factory fires unionists en masse

A notice of strike has been filed again by workers of a garments factory in the Cavite ecozone in response to the mass termination of 16 union officers. The strike notice was filed yesterday by the union at the Dong Seung Inc., a Korean-owned apparel manufacturer inside the Cavite Economic Zone, the country’s biggest government-run export processing estate.

“The firing of all 16 union officers, including the union president, is just the latest in a series of union busting moves by management. Moreover it is a maneuver done in bad faith as the union just withdrew a notice of strike earlier filed. The retraction of the strike was part of an agreement mediated by the Labor Department wherein workers will be accepted back to work after an investigation by management,” explained Dennis Sequena, coordinator of Partido Manggagawa (PM), which is assisting the Dong Seung workers.

PM announced that a big rally of some 1,000 workers is to be held on April 28 at the Cavite ecozone to protest the union busting at Dong Seung and other factories.

Sequena declared that “Tama na. Sobra na. Oras na para igalang ang karapatang mag-unyon para mapabuti ang kalagayan ng mga manggagawa. Workers in the Cavite ecozone are organizing to improve their wages and working conditions but the response of companies is to bust unions and harass workers.”

The Dong Seung union officers were served notices of termination in their houses by an HR officer of the company last Thursday. They were supposed to back to work yesterday as part of the agreement. The original strike notice was caused by the one-month suspension of the 16 union officers.

The union had filed a petition for certification elections in the company last December. Immediately after, the union alleged that management started harassing officers and members. Unionists were denied loans or were forced to withdraw support for the union in return for access to loans. Union leaders were transferred to different production lines and a union officer was demoted from mechanic to sewer.

Then in the latter part of March, management suspended for 30 days all union officers on the pretext that they smeared the company by seeking action from the factory customers regarding violations of freedom of association and labor standards.

Dong Seung produces garments for global brands Macy’s and Ann Taylor. The company  is owned by the Korean multinational Suy Co. which also owns LS Phils. and Lee & Choi in the Cavite ecozone and other factories in Indonesia, Vietnam and Guatemala.

April 21, 2018

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

Daily protests at Cavite EPZA factory as countdown to strike begins

MEDIA ADVISORY

April 6, 2016

Contact: Dennis Sequena @ 09301803072

At Korean-owned factory in Cavite EPZA:

Daily protests as countdown to strike begins

Wednesday-Friday (April 6-8): Workers to hold daily protests from 1:00 p.m. onwards at Seung Yeun Technology Industries Corp., Cavite ecozone, Rosario, Cavite

Friday (April 8): Mediation meeting between management and union at NCMB Imus (MYP GBY Building, Bayan Luma 7, Aguinaldo Highway, Cavite)

After a majority of union members authorized the holding of a work stoppage in a strike vote last Saturday, workers of Seung Yeun Technology Industries Corp. (SYTIC) will hold daily protests this week as buildup. The law provides that the union should wait for seven days after the holding of a strike vote before actually launching a work stoppage.

The SYTIC workers union had filed a notice of strike due to union busting. Twenty SYTIC workers, majority of whom are elected union officers and the rest union members, have been retrenched in a blatant attempt at union busting in the country’s biggest export zone, the Cavite ecozone in the town of Rosario.

The workers have recently formed a union in an effort to address workplace problems including violations of labor standards.  Among the most egregious violations are that part of their wages are not paid in cash but in the form of meals, non-payment of overtime due to an illegal compressed workweek schedule and the lack of a company nurse, doctor and hospital bed.

SYTIC is a Korean-owned plastics company that is part of the electronics industry supply chain. SYTIC’s main customers are local subsidiaries of big US multinationals like ON Semiconductor, Analog Devices, Texas Instruments, Maxim Integrated and Cypress.

Strike vote today at Korean-owned Cavite factory

SYTIC workers in protest against union busting

MEDIA ADVISORY

April 2, 2016

Contact: Dennis Sequena @ 09301803072

WHAT: Workers of Korean-owned factory to hold strike vote

WHEN: Today, April 2, 2016

WHERE: Seung Yeun Technology Industries Corp., Cavite ecozone, Rosario, Cavite

DETAILS: After launching a protest yesterday against union busting, mass termination of union officers and members, and violations of labor standards, workers of Seung Yuen Technology Industries Corp. (SYTIC) will hold a strike vote today. DOLE representatives will oversee the strike vote. The SYTIC workers union had filed a notice of strike due to union busting.

Twenty two SYTIC workers, majority of whom are elected union officers and the rest union members, have been retrenched in a blatant attempt at union busting in the country’s biggest export zone, the Cavite ecozone in the town of Rosario.

The workers have recently formed a union in an effort to address workplace problems including violations of labor standards.  Among the most egregious violations are that part of their wages are not paid in cash but in the form of meals, non-payment of overtime due to an illegal compressed workweek schedule and the lack of a company nurse, doctor and hospital bed.

SYTIC is a Korean-owned plastics company that is part of the electronics industry supply chain. The two biggest customers of SYTIC are ON Semiconductor Philippines Inc. in Carmona, Cavite and Analog Devices General Trias Inc. in the Gateway Business Park in General Trias, Cavite. Both are local subsidiaries of US multinational companies.

Sanofi med reps win wage hike, conclude CBA after four days of natiowide protests:

After days of nationwide protests and bringing the company on the verge brink of a strike, the med reps of pharmaceutical giant Sanofi Aventis (Phils) Inc. won their demand for a wage hike and concluded their new collective bargaining agreement (CBA). The CBA was signed by the union and management late last night after a marathon whole-day mediation meeting called by Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz to avert a planned strike.

“What we were not able to achieve in four months of protracted negotiations at the table, we won in four days of nationwide protests in the streets. We owe this victory to the unity and activism of the union members, first of all, and then next to the solidarity of our sisters and brothers in the labor movement. Ang panalo ng Sanofi med reps ay panalo ng lahat ng manggagawa,” declared Lei Lucido, president of the Sanofi Aventis Employees Union (SAEU).

SAEU members with a tenure of 10 years and above will get a P2,800 monthly salary increase every year for three years and a merit pay increase of P600, equivalent to a 9% hike in average monthly wages. Employees with less than 10 years tenure will get P1,800 per year for the duration of the CBA and a merit pay hike of P400.

“The salary hike we obtained will ensure we remain at the living wage and that our compensation is competitive with our labor productivity and company profitability. Further, the CBA we have attained will hopefully set a benchmark that will benefit all workers in the pharmaceutical industry,” averred Joseph Corpuz, a SEAU officer.

Sanofi had been in the news recently because the Department of Health had ordered just for this year some P3 billion worth of anti-dengue vaccines that is solely manufactured by Sanofi. According to media reports, executives of the French-owned global company met President Benigno Aquino III on the sidelines of the Paris climate change talks ostensibly over the vaccine contract.

CBA negotiations between SAEU and Sanofi were deadlocked in October last year which led to a notice of strike. After the strike notice matured more than a week ago, SAEU organized daily protests in the Sanofi office in Makati and the cities of Angeles in Pampanga, Calamba in Laguna, Cebu, Iloilo, Bacolod and Davao. The mediation yesterday was billed by the union as a make-or-break meeting which would have led to a strike if no “fair deal” was reached.

Renato Magtubo, chair of Partido Manggagawa (PM), among the groups which supported SAEU, said that “The hard-won victory of SAEU is an inspiration and a lesson to colleagues in the labor movement. SAEU the David slayed the goliath Sanofi through unity and action. Sanofi blinked when it was brought to the brink of a strike that SAEU had prepared well.”

Aside from PM, labor groups such as the Philippine Airlines Employees Association (PALEA), Bayer Philippines union, Federation of Free Workers and Industri-ALL global union had participated in the Sanofi med reps mass actions. 

January 26, 2016

SAEU

Sanofi med reps all set for strike if “fair deal” not reached

Sanofi med reps prayer rally at DOLE Calabarzon in Calamba, Laguna

The restive med reps of pharmaceutical firm Sanofi Aventis declared their readiness to go on strike should the make or break mediation meeting today produce no breakthrough in the deadlocked collective bargaining negotiations. Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz called for the mediation in  bid to avert a work stoppage at the Philippine subsidiary of the French-owned global giant.

“If it takes a strike to make management realize that it is the labor of their employees that creates their profit, then we are all set for it. Still we hope that Secretary Baldoz can broker a fair deal today. A fair deal, a decent collective bargaining agreement should mean a salary that we deserve,” insisted Lei Lucido, president of the Sanofi Aventis Employees Union (SAEU).

While SAEU representatives attended the mediation at the Department of Labor and Employment, scores of union members with their supporters picketed outside. The highlight of the protest was a flash mob by several med reps who danced while wearing Guy Fawkes masks. The masks have become an icon of anti-corporate protests since it was popularized in the movie “V.”

Since October last year, bargaining talks have been deadlocked over ten items from salary hike to hospitalization plan. The notice of strike filed by the med reps union matured two weeks ago.

“A strike is the Rx for deadlocked negotiations over a wage increase. This may be our first time to go on strike but we are ready as ever. We appeal to management to hear our reasonable demand for a salary hike which is a mere drop in the bucket of Sanofi’s income,” argued Joseph Corpuz, SAEU officer.

He added that “Aside from robust revenues due to sales quotas achieved by med reps for the past two years, Sanofi has bagged the contract for anti-dengue vaccines. For this year alone, the government is buying PhP 3 billion worth of vaccines from Sanofi. Health Secretary Janet Garin has been quoted as saying that the anti-dengue vaccine is expensive because it is a monopoly of Sanofi.”

Renato Magtubo, chair of Partido Manggagawa (PM), explained that “Labor groups are supporting the fight of Sanofi med reps not just because their demand for a wage hike is justified given employee productivity and company profitability. But also because the fight for a living wage is a cause of all workers. Ang laban ng Sanofi med reps ay laban ng lahat ng manggagawa.”

PM and the Philippine Airlines Employees Association (PALEA) were among the groups which joined SAEU in the protest today at DOLE. Other labor groups like the Bayer Philippines union, Federation of Free Workers and the Industri-ALL global union have also participated in the Sanofi med reps mass actions.

Since last week, SAEU has held daily protests in cities across the country in preparation for the strike. Pickets and prayer rallies have been organized in the Sanofi office in Makati, and the cities of Angeles in Pampanga, Calamba in Laguna, Cebu, Bacolod, Iloilo and Davao.

Photos and videos of protests and events can be accesses at Facebook page "Sanofi Aventis Employees Union"

January 25, 2016

Sanofi Aventis Employees Union (SAEU)

Make or break mediation meeting tomorrow: Sanofi med reps call on Baldoz to broker a fair deal

SAEU members hold flash mob @ Sanofi office @ Makati

With a mediation meeting tomorrow between the union and management of pharmaceutical firm Sanofi Aventis (Phils) Inc. called by Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz herself, the med reps are calling on the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to broker a “fair deal.” The mediation is a make or break meeting as the notice of strike has already matured last week and the union has already been preparing for a work stoppage for the past several days through sustained protests.

Lei Lucido, president of the Sanofi Aventis Employees Union (SAEU), stated that “We have already reduced our demands, including for a wage increase, in a bid to break the collective bargaining deadlock. But since October, management has refused to meet its employees halfway. We just hope Secretary Baldoz can exercise moral suasion on management to open up to the union’s just and fair demand.”

“We are simply asking for salary we deserve. We are just claiming a wage increase proportionate to labor productivity and company profitability,” Lucido added.

SAEU is planning a big protest tomorrow to coincide with the mediation. The highlight will be a flash mob by several SAEU members who will dance while wearing Guy Fawkes (movie “V”) masks as expression of their determination to fight for a wage increase and decent benefits.

“We have met demanding sales quotas for two years back to back. Revenues are expanding while med reps are dwindling. Still labor costs are a mere 2% of Sanofi’s operational costs. Such productivity increases deserve a salary increase,” insisted Joseph Corpuz, a SAEU officer.

“The labor movement supports SAEU’s fight for a salary hike. All workers deserve a living wage. Ang laban ng isa ay laban ng lahat,” averred Renato Magtubo, chair of Partido Manggagawa (PM).

In the latest protest on Friday, SAEU members previewed the flash mob/dance that they will perform tomorrow. Since Wednesday SAEU has organized daily protests in cities across the country. On the first day of protests, pickets were held in the Sanofi office in Makati and the DOLE regional offices in the cities of Angeles in Pampanga, Cebu, Bacolod and Davao. Last Thursday, prayer rallies were held in the cities of Makati, Calamba in Laguna, Angeles, Cebu, Iloilo, Bacolod and Davao.

The fight of the Sanofi med reps has already gained support from various labor unions and groups. Aside from PM, members of the Bayer Philippines labor union, Philippine Airlines Employees Association, Federation of Free Workers and Industri-ALL global union have participated in the SAEU daily protests.

Photos and videos of the SAEU activities/protests can be accessed at the Facebook page "Sanofi Aventis Employees Union"

January 24, 2016

Sanofi Aventis Employees Union

Advisory: Sanofi med reps protest/flash mob @ DOLE during make or break mediation tomorrow

MEDIA ADVISORY

January 25 2016

Contact: Joseph Corpuz @ 09175451276

   To coincide with make or break mediation today:

Sanofi med reps protest/flash mob @ DOLE

WHAT: Med reps of pharmaceutical giant Sanofi-Aventis to hold picket-protest and flash mob/dance

WHEN: Today, January 25, 2016, 11:00 a.m.

WHERE: Department of Labor and Employment main, Intramuros

DETAILS: The mediation today called by Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz between the union and management of Sanofi Aventis (Phils) Inc. is a make or break meeting as the notice of strike has already matured last week and the union has already been preparing for a work stoppage for the past several days through sustained protests.

The highlight of the protest at the DOLE today is a flash mob/dance by several SAEU members wearing Guy Fawkes (movie “V”) masks as an expression of their determination to fight for a wage increase and decent benefits.

Lei Lucido, president of the Sanofi Aventis Employees Union (SAEU), stated that “We have already reduced our demands, including for a wage increase, in an effort to break the collective bargaining deadlock. But since October, management has refused to meet its employees halfway. We are simply asking for a salary we deserve. We are just claiming a wage increase proportionate to labor productivity and company profitability.”

Since last week SAEU has organized daily protests in cities across the country. On the first day of protests pickets were held in the Sanofi office in Makati and the DOLE regional offices in the cities of Angeles in Pampanga, Cebu, Bacolod and Davao. Last Thursday, prayer rallies were held in the cities of Makati, Calamba in Laguna, Angeles, Cebu, Iloilo, Bacolod and Davao.  Last Friday, SAEU members previewed in Makati the flash mob/dance that they will perform in the protest tomorrow.

Media Advisory: Sanofi med reps to hold protest over CBA deadlock

MEDIA ADVISORY

January 19, 2016

Contact: Joseph Corpuz @ 09175451276

WHAT: Med reps of pharmaceutical giant Sanofi-Aventis to hold picket-protest

WHEN: Tomorrow, January 20, 2016, 7:00 a.m.

WHERE: Sanofi-Aventis, Feliza Building, 108 V.A. Rufino St, Makati

DETAILS: Scores of Sanofi-Aventis med reps are holding the protest tomorrow to call on the company to end the deadlock over collective bargaining negotiations by meeting workers’ demands for a wage increase. Since October last year, CBA talks have been deadlocked over ten items from salary hike to hospitalization plan. Last Friday, the notice of strike filed by the med reps union matured and a strike can be launched any day according to law.

Lei Lucido, president of the Sanofi-Aventis Employees Union(SAEU) said that “We call on management to meet halfway the demands of its loyal, hardworking employees. For two straight years, med reps have met their tough sales quotas and revenues are increasing while the number of employees are decreasing. Sanofi med reps are just asking for a salary we deserve. We are appealing for a fair share of the fruits of our labor. We aim to conclude a good CBA that will be an industry benchmark which should benefit all pharmaceutical workers.”

SAEU represents some 200 med reps working for the company over the whole country. Similar pickets will be held by SAEU members in cities of Angeles, Cebu and Davao. The protest tomorrow is the start of daily actions to push for the resolution of the CBA deadlock.

Over a strike notice vs. mass layoff: PAL, union conciliation inconclusive

Press Release

October 13, 2015

PALEA

A conciliation meeting yesterday between the management of Philippine Airlines (PAL) and the union Philippine Airlines Employees’ Association (PALEA) ended without any agreement on the issue of the recent mass layoff of 117 employees. The first meeting between PAL and PALEA was called by the National Conciliation and Mediation Board-NCR after the union filed a notice of strike last October 8, allegedly unfair labor practice due to the retrenchment and management interference in the right to unionize. The law gives PALEA 15 days after filing before it can actually hold a strike.

“PAL, through the industrial relations lawyers who attended in behalf of management, was non-committal on the union demand to recall the separation of the 117 employees and their immediate reinstatement. Thus PALEA’s notice of strike stays,” stated Gerry Rivera, PALE president and vice chair of Partido Manggagawa.

Another conciliation meeting is set for Thursday, October 15. PALEA asked that PAL President Jaime Bautista attend the meeting to facilitate resolution of the dispute. As part of its weekly protests, tomorrow PALEA will picket PAL offices around the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

PAL sent termination notices to 117 employees, almost all PALEA members and working in domestic airports around the country last September 2. The notice cited an organizational restructuring which had rendered “several positions in the Company redundant.”

However Rivera argued that “No redundancy exists since the workers retrenched were replaced by agency employees. The new round of layoffs is just another wave of contractualization, changing regular unionized workers with contractual employees who will be paid less in wages and benefits.”

He added that “The mass layoff is not only illegal but immoral. PAL is firing workers though it is wallowing in profits. PAL’s parent company, PAL Holdings, reported a net income of P5.8 billion ($126.20 million) for the first half of 2015, soaring nearly ten-fold from P560 million ($12.18 million) during the same period last year.”

PALEA wrote PAL President Jaime Bautista last September 5 to ask for the recall of the mass layoff. In the same letter, PALEA also repeated its request for the commencement of collective bargaining negotiations, and the resumption of discussions for the implementation of the Settlement Agreement.

No collective bargaining negotiation between PAL and PALEA has happened since 1998 when a 10-year CBA suspension was imposed. After a two-year campaign, PALEA and PAL forged a deal to settle the labor dispute of 2011 yet some 600 retrenched members have not been re-employed as provided for in the agreement.

Strike at Korean factory ends with agreement on wages and benefits

Press Release

February 13, 2015

The two-day strike at Tae Sung Philippines, a Korean-owned metal factory at the Cavite economic zone, ended late last night with an agreement between the union and management for wage increases and additional benefits. Just before midnight, more than a hundred jubilant strikers held a “victory march” from the factory to the main gate of the export zone.

The union got a substantial pay hike which was the most contested part of the deadlocked bargaining. Management also agreed to other benefits demanded by the union such as additional leaves and annual Christmas package.

Since the strike broke out last Wednesday morning, marathon mediation meetings have been held by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and the National Conciliation and Mediation Board (NCMB). Apparently recognizing the importance of the Tae Sung dispute, no less than the national executive director of NCMB, Reynaldo Ubaldo, together with the OIC’s of the NCMB-NCR and NCMB-Calabarzon, and the head of the DOLE-Calabarzon, facilitated the mediation.

“The workers of Tae Sung and even other companies in the ecozone have learned a valuable lesson. That they will have to unionize and fight to get a decent share in the fruits of their labor. They cannot depend on the bankrupt two-tiered wage scheme of the government,” stated Wilson Fortaleza, spokesperson of Partido Manggagawa (PM).

In the two-tiered wage scheme implemented in Calabarzon since 2012, the minimum wage is replaced by a floor wage that is set low and unchanged for five years. Increases above the floor wage will depend on negotiated productivity-based pay.

“But at Tae Sung, despite annual profits of more than USD 14 million, management did nothing to share productivity gains to its workers. Thus before the strike, most Tae Sung workers earned 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 Fortaleza.

He added that “The Tae Sung union owes its victory to the determination of its members and to the solidarity of the labor movement in the country and abroad. The assistance of international groups was a key factor in putting pressure on Tae Sung’s multinational clients so that a fair resolution of the dispute is reached.”

Arrest of Cebu labor leader denounced

Press Release

October 31, 2014

The Partido ng Manggagawa (PM) today condemned the arrest of the union leader at the Carmen Copper Corp. in Toledo City, Cebu, one of the biggest mines in Asia. Tony Cuizon, president of the Panaghiusa sa Mamumuo sa Carmen Copper (PAMCC-AGLO), was arrested last October 25, 2014 in Cavite on the strength of warrants for illegal possession of firearms and explosives.

Renato Magtubo, PM national chairperson, called for the release of Cuizon, a PM national council member, as the arrest warrants, criminal cases and police raids were in violation of existing guidelines in the conduct of police during labor disputes.

“Once again the Philippines rivals Colombia as the most dangerous place for unionists with numerous cases of labor leaders killed, injured or harassed. Cuizon’s arrest and incarceration illustrates the double standard of justice in our country. A politician gets the privilege of hospital arrest and a US soldier gets special treatment but a worker, even if ill and elderly, has to endure the bad conditions of a city jail,” Magtubo added.

Dennis Derige, PM-Cebu spokesperson, stated that on Cuizon’s first day at the Toledo jail, the latter had a high blood attack and was only brought to a clinic. “Cuizon is a senior citizen who suffers from severe hypertension, diabetes and arthritis, arguably work-related illnesses borne out of decades working in the copper mines of Toledo,” he insisted.

Derige averred that “The arrest of Ka Tony is part of Carmen Copper management’s continuing effort to bust the genuine union at the mine and leave the workers defenseless in the face of attempts to downgrade wages and benefits, and impose contractualization among mine workers. The police and the courts are being used as instruments of capitalists.”

PM insists that the warrants were flawed since they were the product of illegal raids conducted in March 2013 on the PAMCC office, and the houses of Cuizon and the union treasurer. The union avers that the firearms and a grenade allegedly found in the raid at the PAMCC office were planted by the police.

Derige explained that Cuizon’s arrest followed on the heels of the decertification of PAMCC as the sole and exclusive bargaining union at the mine, and the formation of a management-backed yellow union.

Carmen Copper has recently been hit by spate of labor disputes as mine workers resist corporate attacks on working conditions. Last February, PAMCC filed a notice of strike for management’s unfair labor practices and violation of the collective bargaining agreement. Also this year, workers contracted to haul and dispose of Carmen Copper’s mine wastes were derailed in forming a union because of the intervention of the huge manpower contractor Asiapro but the case remains pending at the Labor Department. Unions have condemned Asiapro as an illegal labor-only contractor. 

CARMEN COPPER UNION STATEMENT ON IMPENDING STRIKE

Press Statement

February 13, 2014

The Carmen Copper Corporation (CCC) management is creating a scenario similar to the 1980’s. An all-out attack against workers and repression of the labor union are in progress right now. But just as in the 1980’s, the old union called PAMA survived and won, we will again prove to the management that they have picked the wrong fight. We, the entire 3,000-strong membership of PAMCC, will stand our ground and we will prevail. It is because history is on our side.

It is our time to counter and fight back with all the means available to us. We will strike where it will hurt the most. Today we filed a Notice of Strike (NOS) before the NCMB on the grounds of CBA violations and unfair labor practices. We will respect the cooling off period but after that we will hold a strike! This will be a winner take all battle, its either us who will surrender or them. This is our demand. We’ve been here before and we’ve done this before. PAMA then is the PAMCC now.

During the rehabilitation stage of our Company, we fully cooperated in order for recovery to proceed. Indeed, from 2007 to 2012 not a single labor dispute took place. A harmonious relationship between labor and management existed at that time. Even though the salary was meager compared to the industry standard, we endured the sacrifice n the spirit of rehabilitation. In short, we let ourselves be used by the management in order for the company to take off.

CCC did take off after 5 years, earning P800 million pesos per shipment. The company was able to attract new investments like the Henry Sy group. CCC kept on expanding its operations with the workforce growing continuously.

But the management wants more from us. To further boost profit, the management must get rid of the genuine workers union – the PAMCC. At the final stage of rehabilitation, the management organized, supported and funded a company union – the CCWLO. It became clear that the last phase of rehabilitation meant busting the genuine union! But the management did not succeed because their own creation exploded in front of their face. CCWLO registration was cancelled and delisted from the roster of legitimate labor organizations.

The Management wants more from us. Little by little they are taking back the welfare and benefits enjoyed by the workers under our collective bargaining agreement (CBA). Medicine allowances are limited to only P6,000 per year. The next of kin provision on hiring of new employees is not being followed and instead workers not related to any of the union members are hired. Wage discrimination is rampant. Issuance of company uniforms are overdue. The Mining Act of 1995 is blatantly violated, specifically on priority hiring of residents of barangays affected by mining. Finally a double standard exists on the implementation of company rules specifically on AWOL cases.

The management wants more from us. Little by little they are contracting out jobs in the mine site that are necessary and desirable to the business of CCC while casual employees remain even beyond the six months of continued service in the company.

PAMCC will not take this sitting down. We will resist and fight back. There is no choice left to us but to end the 5 years of “harmonious relationship” between PAMCC and CCC. So far, We have been able to defend our ranks from the attacks of management but they are becoming more hard-headed and unreasonable.

Last year, management used the PNP to harass our leaders by conducting two illegal raids in the house and office of our union president and union treasurer. The raiding team planted explosives and ammunitions as manufactured evidence for the filing of criminal cases against our two union leaders. But the objective of their harassment was a complete failure. Our two leaders further deepened their resolve to fight for our union and workers. We raised the issue before the ILO, government agencies and human rights groups.

Two weeks ago, management used the DOJ thru the hoodlums in robe in the Toledo RTC to issue a warrant of arrest against our two leaders. This judge violated all protocols and process on issuing the warrants. Again, this will not succeed because all the charges are fabricated and therefore will be dismissed in due time.

We will be demonized by the management through its paid hacks in the media. That is why we are doing this media conference so that the public would understand us, the issues involved and why did we arrived at this decision.

PANAGHIUSA SA MAMUMUO SA CARMEN COPPER – ASSOCIATION OF GENUINE LABOR ORGANIZATIONS – PARTIDO NG MANGGAGAWA (PAMCC-AGLO-PM)

MEMBER: NAGKAISA