Police disperse picketline using lockdown as alibi

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

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

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

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

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

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

April 11, 2020

Group condemns dispersal of picketline using lockdown as alibi

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

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

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

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

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

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

April 11, 2020

“Grinch” company in Cavite refuses to give 13th month pay

Workers slammed a Korean-owned factory in Cavite for refusing to give the mandated 13-month pay before the December 24 deadline. “The management of Sejung Apparel Inc. is the Grinch,” asserted Josephine Odchimar, president of the workers union in the company. Sejung is located in the First Cavite Industrial Estate (FCIE) in Dasmarinas.

Workers of Sejung have held protests since Thursday to demand the release of the 13^th month pay benefit. In the conciliation meeting called by the Labor Department last Friday, no agreement was reached as the company remained adamant that it will only give the benefit on March. “The 13^th month pay is for Christmas not Holy Week,” replied Odchimar.

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

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

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

December 16, 2019

PM condemns violent dispersal of NutriAsia protest

Partido Manggagawa condemns in strongest terms the violent dispersal of PNP forces on the peaceful protest action of workers and their supporters which has resulted into scores of injuries and arrests.

The issue of the protest action is a legitimate one—the demand for regularization of hundreds of workers employed by manpower agencies for many years to the principal employer, the NutriAsia.

We call on the people, especially workers, to boycott NutriAsia products until the labor dispute is resolved. The boycott will not only support the legitimate struggle of workers, but more importantly, send a strong message by the public to NutriAsia, that consumers will not patronize products sold and profited by a company that is violating workers’ rights.

We call on the Commission on Human Rights to investigate the incident and file appropriate actions to those found violating worker’s constitutional right to peaceful concerted action including the right to strike.

We also call on the Department of Labor and Employment to step up their effort in mediating the labor dispute in NutriAsia with the end in view of strictly enforcing compliance with labor laws and regulations pertaining to labor contracting.

Finally, we call on the Senate to prioritize the deliberation of Senate Bill 1826 in order for Congress to finally legislate a new law governing labor contracting in the country. A new law that clearly upholds worker’s right to security of tenure and effectively address widespread use of contractual labor would surely help in averting labor disputes such as in NutriAsia.

July 31, 2018

PEZA slammed as 2 women workers hurt in picketline attack

Security guards contracted by the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) joined surprise attacks on a picketline at the Cavite Economic Zone that resulted in injuries to two women workers. Maricar Orque and Magdalena Peña, both workers of Lakepower Converter Inc., a Taiwanese-owned electronics company, were hurt in the commotion that followed the dismantling of the picketline around 11:30 pm last night. The workers union and the group Partido Manggagawa (PM) slammed the PEZA for conniving with management in four separate instances of violent harassment of the strike.

“Company guards, personnel of the Jantro Security Agency hired by PEZA and other men wearing ski masks but clad in PEZA police uniforms repeatedly tore down placards and makeshift tents at the picketline last night and early morning. They first attacked at 7:00 pm, again at 11:30 pm, once more at 1:00 am and finally at 5:00 am. The men arrived in motorcycles and bearing side arms. Two of the motorcycles used had plate numbers DA 21752 and DC 86314,” explained Mercy Tanginan, president of the Samahan ng Manggagawa sa Lakepower Converter Inc.

The strike at Lakepower started at 3:00 pm yesterday after mediation meetings convened by the National Conciliation and Mediation Board collapsed as management refused workers demands that the termination and suspension of union officers and members be stopped.

Tanginan added that “A PEZA firetruck along with Jantro guards went to the picketline area. The Jantro also set up barricades at two points leading to the factory and refused entry to workers going to the picketline.”

Rene Magtubo, PM national chair, declared that “All these are violations of the DOLE-PEZA-PNP Guidelines on the Conduct of Personnel During Labor Disputes. We hold the PEZA and Atty. Norma Tañag, administrator ng Cavite ecozone, responsible for the violent attacks on the women workers strike. Aside from the direct involvement of PEZA police, firefighters and Jantro guards in the harassment and attacks, PEZA has administrative control of the ecozone and is liable for such repeated incidents of violence.”

Unrest has festered at Lakepower for the last few months. Among workers grievances is the removal of the door of the women’s restroom so that the company can spy on workers. Almost all of the 200 workers in the factory are women. They are also outraged at the unreasonable limits on the use of the restroom which has led to cases of workers suffering from urinary tract infection. Workers are also complaining of excessive quota and the exclusion of unionists from receiving Christmas packages.

Last November 16, the Lakepower workers held a protest at the Cavite ecozone against company abuses. The protest was the third such picket over the last month at the country’s biggest export processing zone. Earlier, garments workers held protest actions against “factory shutdown-cum-union busting.” After two protests and a strike threat, the union leaders at the Korean-owned garments factory Sein Together Phils. Inc. were eventually accepted back to work.

“Workers are unionizing to improve their working conditions but are being met by extreme interference from capitalists unwilling to share the fruits of production,” asserted Magtubo.

December 8, 2017

Welga ng kababaihang manggagawa inatake, 2 sugatan

Tatlong beses na inatake kagabi at ngayong madaling araw ng mga gwardiya at naka-ski mask na kalalakihan ang welga ng mga kababaihang manggagawa sa Cavite ecozone. Sugatan sina Maricar Orque at Magdalena Peña, parehong manggagawa ng Lakepower Converter Inc., isang Taiwanese-owned electronics company sa loob ng Cavite Economic Zone sa bayan ng Rosario.

“Pinagtulungan ng mga gwardiya ng kompanya, Jantro Security Agency at kalalakihang nakatakip ang mukha pero nakasuot ng uniporme ng pulis na hablutin ang mga placards at trapal sa aming picketline. Una silang sumugod noong 7:00 ng gabi, umulit uli ng 11:30 ng gabi at muli nitong 1:00 ng madaling araw. Nakasakay sila mga motor, may dalang mga baril at umatras lang nang kinuhanan ng litrato ng mga manggagawa. Ang isa sa motor na ginamit ay may plakang DA 21752,” paliwanag ni Mercy Tanginan, presidente ng Samahan ng Manggagawa sa Lakepower Converter Inc.

Nagsimula kahapon ng 3:00 ng hapon ang welga ng mga manggagawa matapos na walang kasunduang maabot sa miting na ipinatawag ng Labor Department. Hiling ng mga manggagawa na itigil ang tanggalan at suspensyon ng mga officers at members ng unyon. Subalit ayaw pumayag ng management.

Dagdag ni Tanginan, “Pumunta din sa picketline ang firetruck ng PEZA at Jantro guards na inuupahan ng PEZA (Philippine Economic Zone Authority). Nagbarikada din ang Jantro sa paligid ng pabrika at tinaboy ang mga manggagawang pupunta sa picketline.”

“Paglabag sa DOLE-PEZA-PNP guidelines ang mga ito. Pananagutan ng PEZA at ni Atty. Norma Tuñag, administrator ng Cavite ecozone, ang marahas na pag-atake sa mapayapang welga ng mga kababaihang manggagawa. Bukod sa tauhan ng PEZA ang Jantro guards, sila ang may kontrol sa lahat ng nangyayari sa loob ng ecozone,” giit ni Rene Magtubo, tagapangulo ng Partido Manggagawa (PM), na sumusuporta sa mga kababaihang manggagawa.

Ilang buwang nang kumukulo ang diskuntento ng mga kababaihang manggagawa sa Lakepower bunga ng mga pang-aabuso. Nirereklamo nila ang pagtanggal sa pintuan ng banyo upang tiktikan ang mga manggagawa. Gayundin ang mahigpit na patakaran sa pag-ihi na naging sanhi ng maraming kaso ng urinary tract infection. Halos lahat ng manggagawa sa Lakepower ay kababaihan.

Ayon kay Magtubo, “Nagbubuo ng unyon ang mga manggagawa upang mapabuti ang kanilang kalagayan sa paggawa. Subalit tinatapatan sila ng walang habas na union busting ng mga kompanya na ayaw partihan ang mga manggagawa ng bunga ng kanilang pagpapawis.”

December 8, 2017

Media Advisory: TENSE STANDOFF AT FAREMO PICKETLINE

ATM: TENSE STANDOFF AT FAREMO PICKETLINE

Contact Dennis Sequena @ 09301803072

A container van leaving the garments factory Faremo International Inc. (located at the Cavite export zone in Rosario, Cavite) was found full of computerized sewing machines after it was inspected by picketing workers. Two container vans had already left the factory earlier today.

Philippine Ecozone Authority (PEZA) labor relations head Allan Datahan and PEZA police came to the rescue, drove away supporters from the picketline, threatened the workers with charges for allegedly delaying the shipment and warned them that they would be dispersed by water from a firetruck. Workers stood their ground, insisting on an agreement last October during a Labor Department mediation that Faremo will not take out machines from the factory. The workers are also arguing that the police cannot meddle in a labor dispute as per provisions of the DOLE-PNP-PEZA Guidelines of 2011.

Faremo filed for closure last October due to alleged lack of orders and laid off some 1,000 workers. The workers alleges that the closure was meant to bust the union. A client of Faremo, the global garments brand Gap, has already admitted that it did not cancel orders and in fact, increased its purchase. Faremo also supplies to garments brands JC Penney and Kohl's. The union has been calling on Gap, JC Penney and Kohl's to remediate the code of conduct violations at their supplier factory Faremo.

Advisory: Undas at picketline: Workers remember their dead by fighting for the living

MEDIA ADVISORY

November 1, 2016

Contact: Dennis Sequena @ 09301803072

Workers remember their dead by fighting for the living

WHAT: Laidoff and locked out workers will spend Undas at the picketline outside the garments firm Faremo

WHEN: Today, November 1 , 2016

WHERE: Picketline at Faremo International Inc., Cavite ecozone, Rosario

DETAILS:  Workers of the garments factory Faremo International Inc. at Cavite EPZA in Rosario are spending undas at the picketline. They are now on their 6th day at the picketline. Some 1,000 workers were laidoff last October 27 as the factory shutdown and have been locked out despite their demand that the factory remain open.

Another mediation meeting is scheduled on Friday, November 4, 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 this 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.

Militants win PALEA elections anew

Press Release

February 28, 2015

Militants again won the elections for leadership of the Philippine Airlines Employees Association (PALEA), the union for ground crew of the national flag carrier. Since 2010, PALEA has been locked in a bitter dispute with Philippine Airlines (PAL) over outsourcing and contractualization. After more than two years in the picketlines, PALEA settled the dispute with PAL in November 2013.

A slate led by Gerry Rivera, incumbent PALEA president and vice chair of Partido Manggagawa (PM), won all the top executive positions and most of the union board officers in elections held over several days this week at PAL offices nationwide. They won on a platform of pushing for negotiations for a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) and the full implementation of the settlement agreement.

After handily winning the PALEA elections, the Rivera-led leadership is extending the hand of cooperation to all groups in the union. “We appeal to all PALEA members, including candidates for the elections, to move forward and unite for our common interests as PAL employees. Its time to leave partisan politics behind and respect the will of the majority as the union faces the challenge of securing a pay hike, other benefits and job security,” Rivera stated.

He also called on management to work with PALEA in attaining the industrial peace needed in PAL’s corporate plans. “PALEA is more than willing to ensure industrial peace based on respect for labor rights and decent work, as we have formally communicated to PAL President and COO Jaime Bautista,” Rivera explained.

After the buyback by the Lucio Tan group of PAL, PALEA wrote the new management in December last year about reopening talks for a CBA and realizing the reinstatement provision of the settlement agreement.

Rivera elaborated that “Wages for PAL employees have not been increased over the past 17 years except for a few times because there have been no new bargaining negotiations since the controversial 1998 CBA suspension. After we took leadership of PALEA in 2010 we immediately proposed a new CBA but talks got stalled over PAL’s insistence that it should cover only employees that will not be outsourced. But with the resolution of the outsourcing dispute, it is high time to put the CBA negotiations back on the agenda, together with the reinstatement of the PALEA 600.”

PALEA 600 refers to the approximate number of members who opposed the outsourcing plan in 2011 and were covered by the settlement agreement in 2013. Some 2,400 PAL employees were laid off in September 2011 as a result of outsourcing but many were forced to take the separation offer over the course of the protracted dispute.

PM: Battle over outsourcing at PAL over but war vs. contractualization continues

Press Release

November 14, 2013

The labor party Partido ng Manggagawa (PM) congratulated the union Philippine Airlines Employees Association (PALEA) for the settlement agreement signed today with the management of Philippine Airlines (PAL).

“Kudos to PALEA officers and members for a hard fought struggle and a well deserved victory. The battle over outsourcing at PAL is over but war against contractualization continues. Workers should learn to heart the lesson of PALEA’s struggle—we can win as long as we fight well,” declared Renato Magtubo, PM national chair.

The most salient part of the settlement agreement provides for the re-employment of PALEA members to regular positions after receiving an improved separation package compared to that mandated by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and the Office of the President (OP).

“At every single instance PALEA lost the outsourcing case before the courts and government bodies—like DOLE and OP. Yet in the end, PALEA won its demand for regular jobs through negotiations on the basis of resistance and solidarity,” Magtubo explained.

PM along with the workers coalition Nagkaisa, labor groups, community organizations and Church institutions were among PALEA’s most determined supporters. The group said that they are ending the boycott campaign launched against PAL and its sister airline Air Philippines with the formal signing of the agreement.

He added that “The return of PALEA members to their regular jobs belies the hollow argument of government officials that outsourcing is a global trend that cannot be challenged.”

Magtubo averred that “Ang panalo ng PALEA ay panalo ng lahat. We believe that PALEA’s victory will start rolling back the epidemic of contractualization and be a turning point towards the revival of the labor movement.”

PM leaders will join PALEA members in a thanksgiving mass at 5:00 pm today at the PALEA protest camp outside the PAL Inflight Center near Terminal 2. Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo—among PALEA’s solid supporters in the Church—is scheduled to celebrate the mass.

The group will also be attending a victory march, program and concert on Saturday at the PALEA picketline.

PALEA remains defiant, won’t give up protest camp

PRESS RELEASE

04 October 2011

PALEA

The Philippine Airlines Employees Association PALEA) remains defiant on its seventh day of protest outside the PAL’s Inflight Center near the Centennial Terminal II, saying it won’t give up the camp until they win back their regular jobs.

PALEA president Gerry Rivera said they have recieved reports that the PAL management had been requesting Palace officials and the Philippine National Police to break the picketline where PALEA members have been holding out since Tuesday last week.

“Hindi namin ibibigay ang aming picketline.  Huwag nyo nang dagdagan ang napakarami nang paglabag sa aming karapatan.  Bagamat ayaw namin ditong magtagal, hindi naman namin hahayaang pati ito ay maagaw pa sa amin ni Lucio Tan,” said Rivera. 

Rivera, who is also the vice president of Partido ng Manggagawa (PM), said the protest camp is a symbol of their continuing fight against the illegal lock out and contractualization.  The camp also serves as a solidarity camp where other trade union, human rights, church, NGOs, artists, and international solidarity groups express their solidarity to the PALEA struggle.

The camp also serves as a “school” during daytime where PALEA members discuss labor rights and other issues related to their struggle against outsourcing and contractualization. Professors from the University of the Philippines have signified to their willingness to discuss relevant issues such as globalization and why firms resort to outsourcing and contractualization.

Rivera said that after seven days of protest, the fighting spirit of every Palean’s remain fully charged in contrast to the depressing environment inside the PAL terminal.

The union leader believes that the union, the PAL management, and the government with some help from other important sectors in our society, can still come up with a just and reasonable solution to this impasse.