Workers protest as DOLE mediates dispute at leading cigarette firm

Workers of Philip Morris-Fortune Tobacco Corp. (PMFTC) picketed this afternoon the Intramuros office of the National Conciliation and Mediation Board while mediation was ongoing between management and the union. Members of the Philip Morris-Fortune Tobacco Corp. Labor Union (PMFTCLU-NAFLU) and their supporters carried placards that said “Job security not redundancy” and “Welga sagot sa tanggalan.”

The leading cigarette manufacturer shut down its Vigan, Ilocos Sur redrying plant affecting 90 workers and also laid off 220 workers (a third of the 600 workforce) at Marikina factory last week. In response the union filed notice of strike last Thursday and started protests.

“The Constitution mandates that workers receive their fair share of the fruits of production. But at Philip Morris-Fortune Tobacco, retrenchment was the company’s reward for increased labor productivity and workers meeting key performance indicators. What kind of system is this?,” argued Rene Magtubo, chair of Partido Manggagawa and former president of the Marikina union.

Yesterday 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 last week, 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,” Magtubo elaborated.

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

August 15, 2018

Leading cigarette firm threatened by strike over mass layoff

The workers of Philip Morris-Fortune Tobacco Corp. (PMFTC), the leading cigarette manufacturer in the country, are preparing to strike in response to the mass layoff in its Marikina factory and the shutdown of its Vigan plant. The Philip Morris-Fortune Tobacco Corp. Labor Union (PMFTCLU-NAFLU) today filed a notice of strike over the termination of a third of the workforce of the Parang, Marikina factory and the closure of the Vigan, Ilocos Sur tobacco redrying plant.

“PMFTC is highly profitable and workers have met the key performance indicators so why are 90 union members in Vigan and another 220 in Marikina being retrenched? After being productive and efficient, workers are now being made to sacrifice? What kind of system is this?,” argued Rene Magtubo, chair of Partido Manggagawa and former president of the Marikina union.

Both the Vigan and Marikina plants were closed since yesterday and no employees were allowed to work. The union held an emergency mass meeting yesterday that was attended by a majority of the work force. A protest at the Marikina factory gate was launched after the assembly. Today, a morning and afternoon picket-protest was again held.

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.

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

“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,” Rivera insisted.

“PMFTC management has been absolutely opaque behind the misnamed right-sizing plan. When management first discussed the plan before the union two days ago, 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,” Magtubo elaborated.

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

9 August 2018

Militant workers slam shipyard management for “blackmail and sabotage”

Press Release
May 8, 2009

The labor group Partido ng Manggagawa (PM) today lambasted the management of Keppel Phils. for implementing a two-day workweek in order to force its workers to agree to its redundancy offer. A labor dispute has been festering in the Keppel shipyard since March with workers alleging management is out to bust the union Nagkahiusang Mamumuo sa Baradero (NMB) Keppel Shipyard-National Federation of Labor (NFL).

“In the one month since an agreement was forged last April 8 between management and the union, Keppel has consistently tried to sabotage the settlement by blackmailing the workers into submitting to the redundancy plan by shortening the workweek. At the height of the dispute in March, Keppel workers were working just three days in a week. Now it is just two days in a week thus workers’ take home pay has been reduced to a third,” explained Dennis Derige, spokesperson of PM in Cebu.

PM is arguing that Keppel’s reduction in workdays is tantamount to a violation of the April 8 agreement. Section 3 of the agreement stipulates that neither side will engage in actions that will exacerbate the situation.

Derige answered management’s alibi that theirs is no work to be done. “The ship repair business was strong but they shifted to ship building thus forcing former clients to smaller shipyards in Cebu. Why then did they go into ship building when there is no marker for it? It only makes business sense because management wants to bust the union and replace regular workers with cheap and docile contractual labor,” he insisted.

Derige added that “Keppel is trying to starve the workers so they will agree to surrender their rights. We warn management that their blackmail will not work. Keppel workers are not alone. The labor movement will support Keppel workers in their fight.”

PM also criticized the DOLE for lying about the real status of the labor situation. “For several weeks the DOLE has kept on repeating the marketing line that companies are rehiring and layoffs are ebbing. But the unresolved dispute at Keppel and other struggles at MEPZ belie the DOLE’s propaganda,” Derige stated.

The Keppel union still has a pending notice of strike that it has not withdrawn. Since a majority of the work force has voted for the strike, the union can go on strike at any moment.

Keppel management settles dispute, union declares partial victory

Press Release
April 8, 2009

The management and union of the large Keppel Cebu shipyard this afternoon signed a memorandum of agreement spelling out the terms of a settlement over the month-long labor dispute over mass layoffs. The Keppel union considered the agreement as a “partial victory in the tactical fight against retrenchment.”

Roger Igot, president of Nagkahiusang Mamumuo sa Baradero (NMB) Keppel Shipyard-National Federation of Labor (NFL), said that “We were able to preserve the union and more than half of the regular workforce. Thus we will have a new collective bargaining negotiations come December whether under the present management or the new company that will undertake shipbuilding operations.”

The memorandum of agreement stipulates that management will not declare another redundancy and may use only persuasion in making workers accept the company’s offer for alternative employment in their other shipyards both locally and abroad. The agreement also allows any worker among the 70 that were retrenched through redundancy to contest their termination in a proper forum with the help of the union.

Renato Magtubo, chairperson of Partido ng Manggagawa, asserted that “The agreement is merely a ceasefire in the class struggle. At the moment the balance of forces tilted in favor of the workers through their militant struggle and labor solidarity among Cebu unions. The Giardini del Sole workers formula of militant struggle against mass layoffs has proved successful once more.”

In the course of more than a month, the Keppel union has engaged in sitdown protests and rallies at the shipyard gates with the support of the Solidarity of Cebu Workers (SCW). The Keppel union has a pending notice of strike and assails management for using the mass layoffs as a means to bust the union and replace the regular workforce with contractual workers. The memorandum of agreement enjoins both parties from engaging in any acts that will exacerbate the dispute. In concrete this means that the management will not push through with another redundancy while the union will follow through on the strike.

“The labor dispute at Keppel, the layoffs at Lear and other factories at the Mactan Export Processing Zone belie government claims. It is wishful thinking on the part of government to say that layoffs are over. The good news over more hiring than firings are just fairy tales. Still we call on all workers to challenge government’s promises of assistance for the displaced including the temporary unemployment insurance of P10,000 per month for six months. Workers should claim these benefits and protection through protest and struggle,” argued Magtubo.

Workers protest layoffs at Keppel

Press Release
April 4, 2009

The Keppel Cebu union with supporters from the Partido ng Manggagawa (PM) held a rally outside the shipyard’s gates in protest at the redundancy program of management. The 10 a.m. mass action was in reaction to the list of 70 workers to be terminated for redundancy that was released by management yesterday. Together with 47 workers who had earlier availed of management’s retirement program, this meant that the total 280 regular workforce will be reduced by almost half.

Roger Igot, president of Nagkahiusang Mamumuo sa Baradero (NMB) Keppel Shipyard-National Federation of Labor (NFL), said that “The redundancy announced by management is tainted with bad faith since negotiations with the union on the issue are still ongoing. This is an early Black Friday for the 70 workers who are to be jobless due to redundancy.”

Around 100 protesters picketed the Keppel Cebu shipyard with the delegation from PM coming from workers of General Milling Corp., Lami Foods, Neostone, Prince Warehouse, Giardini del Sole and residents of nearby communities of Looc and Poblacion. “The fight of Keppel workers for jobs is the fight of all Cebuano workers,” declared Dennis Derige, spokesperson for PM-Cebu.

Last March 15, the union filed a notice of strike alleging union busting and the next day an overwhelming majority of the members voted for a work stoppage. Igot also disclosed that Keppel Sing-marine Philippines, Inc. has filed with the Board of Investments for pioneer status. Keppel Sing-marine Philippines will supposedly employ 620 workers through the P590-million facility for making tugboats and support vessels.

“That means once Keppel Cebu terminates many of the 280 regular workers and union members then the remaining employees will be a minority among more than 500 contractuals of Keppel Sing-marine. The contractual workers will only be paid the minimum wage and moreover will be without the protection of a union and benefit of a collective bargaining agreement,” insisted Igot.

Derige added that “How ironic that while Keppel may receive generous perks such as tax-and duty-free importation of capital equipment, income tax holiday of up to six years and exemption from wharf dues, export tax and import fees, it demolishes regular jobs and destroy workers lives. Foreign capitalists get corporate welfare while Filipino workers are denied social protection. Any company that will get assistance from the government must be prohibited from mass layoffs.”