Labor group asks garment exporters group to name brand leaving the Philippines

Retrenched Mactan Apparel worker. Photo from PIO Lapu-Lapu City

 

The labor group Partido Manggagawa (PM) called on the Confederation of Wearables Exporters of the Philippines (CONWEP) to name the global brand which it said pulled its orders from the Philippines. A few days ago, CONWEP Executive Director Maritess Jocson-Agoncillo was quoted in a news story that the unnamed global brand is shifting all its orders to Vietnam and Cambodia.

 

“We ask CONWEP to name the brand so that the 4,000 workers who have lost their jobs can demand an explanation from this multinational company. Corporate social responsibility dictates that global brands be transparent to their stakeholders, especially workers who have been loyally making garments for multinational companies,” stated Dennis Derige, spokesperson of the PM Cebu chapter.

 

Last month, the PESO of Lapu-Lapu confirmed that more than 4,000 workers were retrenched by the factories Mactan Apparel and First Flory. Both are locators in the Mactan Economic Zone (MEZ) in Lapu-Lapu City, Metro City. Mactan Apparel is part of the Sports City conglomerate, the biggest employer in MEZ. Another 4,000 workers were laid off across the different Sports City garment factories at the height of the pandemic in September 2022 and then 4,000 more in September 2020.

 

“While we welcome the assistance of the Lapu-Lapu PESO and the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) so that the laid-off workers can engage in livelihood projects, we cannot hide the bitter truth. Shifting from formal regular work to vulnerable, insecure informal work is a huge step backwards. The normative goal is transitioning from informal to formal work. The decent work diagnostics of the DOLE and the International Labour Organization clearly states that for growth to be inclusive, the country needs to increase formal regular employment,” explained Derige.

 

PM has been pushing for a public employment program to generate jobs and a more robust unemployment insurance provided by the Social Security System. “For workers of Mactan Apparel and First Glory, guaranteed public employment is a better option in the short-term to self-employment as home-based workers, which is the livelihood program of DOLE. In the long-term, it is imperative that we have industrial policy that promotes the domestic economy instead of dependence on foreign investments which is footloose and unregulated. As CONWEP themselves admit, global brands can shift their orders on a whim thereby upending the jobs of thousands of workers overnight,” Derige insisted.

Press Release

August 7, 2023

 

FOA issue at electronics supplier Lakepower Converter

Women workers of the electronics company Lakepower Converter Inc. at the Cavite export zone have been on strike since December 7 and were repeatedly harassed by company and ecozone guards.

Company guards, export zone security guards and other men wearing ski masks but clad in ecozone police uniforms repeatedly tore down placards and makeshift tents at the picketline. The men arrived in motorcycles and bearing side arms. Two women workers—Maricar Orque and Magdalena Peña—were hurt in the commotion that followed the forcible dismantling of the picketline.

An ecozone firetruck along with security guards went to the picketline area. They also set up barricades at two points leading to the factory and refused entry to workers going to the picketline. All these are violations of the official “Guidelines on the Conduct of Police and Security Personnel During Labor Disputes.”

The strike commenced after management refused worker’s demands that the termination and suspension of union officers and members be stopped.

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 numerous cases of workers suffering from urinary tract infection. Workers are also complaining of excessive quota and the exclusion of unionists from receiving Christmas packages.

Workers formed a union around June this year in a bid to resolve various workplace grievances such as verbal harassment, health and safety, and excessive quota. In response, management interrogated workers individually regarding their union activity. Union leaders were given new work assignments and overtime work was denied unionists and instead given to contractual employees. Three line leaders were forced to resign since they were suspected union supporters.

The union filed a case for union busting and unfair labor practice. In the mediation proceedings convened by the Labor Department, management promised to respect freedom of association and acceded to union demands that the company post a memo that it will not interfere in the right to unionize and prohibit management personnel from talking to workers about union activities.

However, management interference did not stop but merely changed its form. A company union was formed at the instigation of management. The company union intervened in the union’s petition for certification as sole and exclusive bargaining agent. As a result, the petition was dismissed but a certification election was ordered Labor Department.

This October, a certification election was finally held and the real union garnered more votes than the company union. This was despite management interference in the elections such as granting “cash productivity bonuses” to favored workers which was effectively vote buying for the company union.

After elections, management continued its discriminatory behavior against unionists. Unionists were served disciplinary charges on flimsy grounds such as allegedly taking too much time in the restroom while members of the company union were left untouched.

With the looming declaration of the real union as the certified bargaining agent for the workers, the company then terminated the union president and five other union officers and members on the basis of flimsy reasons. Afterwards management also suspended scores of other union officers and members for alleged infractions going back months ago. These discriminatory acts precipitated the December 7 strike.

Lakepower is 100% Taiwanese owned according to the records of the Philippine Economic Zone Authority and exports all of its production to Coil Technology Corporation (CTC) that is based in Kaohsiung City, Taiwan.

Lakepower and CTC are suppliers to Texas Instruments, Arrow Electronics, Recom Power and A.M. Components. Striking women workers are calling on these companies to enforce their commitment to respect the right to unionize and freedom from discrimination all along their supply chain.

December 30, 2017

Stop union busting at an electronics parts supplier to Apple and car companies

Labor rights are under threat at an electronics parts supplier to Apple and car companies Delphi, Mitsubishi, Hyundai and Lamborghini, among other big companies. The bosses at NT Philippines Inc., a Japanese-owned company in the biggest export zone in the Philippines, are trying to bust the newly formed union.

The union president has been removed from the factory and assigned to a sister company located miles away. Other union officers have been transferred to another plant of the factory in a bid to isolate them from fellow workers. Workers are being harassed and intimidated, and told that the company will close once its customers know of the unionization.

The labor union at NT Phils. calls for solidarity from its brothers and sisters in the international workers movement. Likewise it calls upon Apple, Delphi and other electronics and automobile manufacturers that source parts from NT Phils. to uphold their supply chain code of conduct and commitment to freedom of association.

In response to union busting, the union has initiated a complaint at the Labor Department and is demanding the return of the union president and other officers to their former assignments, a stop to the campaign of harassment and intimidation, and other forms of management interference, and a public declaration of NT Phils. to respect freedom of association.

Workers formed a union in order to better their working conditions and have a voice in the workplace. But they now face a concerted effort by the bosses to derail unionization to keep wages cheap, jobs insecure and workers docile.

This is the first serious test of freedom of association under the new administration of President Rodrigo Duterte. The Philippines has recently come under scrutiny by the International Labor Organization for violation of Conventions 87 and 98 on the right to organize and bargain collectively.

NT Phils. Inc. has some 900 regular workers but including contract employees, has a total workforce of more than 1,000. It is located at the Cavite Economic Zone, the largest state-administered export zone in the Philippines.

The factory produces flexible printed circuits for use in cellphones, spark plugs and other car parts. The mother company is Nampow Trading Company of Osaka, Japan. NT Phils. exports to China, US, Japan and Korea.

Among the direct customers are:

Flextronics of Singapore, US-owned, one of largest electronics contract manufacturers, supplies to Apple;

Jabil Circuit of US, a global electronics manufacturer and service provider; supplies to Apple

Delphi of UK, one of the world’s largest automotive parts manufacturer;

Valeo of France, a multinational automotive supplier, among them Mitsubishi;

Yura of Korea, an automotive electronics parts supplier, among them Hyundai;

NGK of Japan, the world biggest supplier of spark plugs;

Visteon of US, a spinoff of the Ford Motor Company;

TRW Automotive of US, a parts supplier now owned by ZF Friedrichshafen AG of Germany;

Midtronics of US, a battery management company;

Zollner Elektronik AG of Germany, a top electronics contract manufacturer;

Hella of Germany, an electronics and lighting company;

Temic of Germany, an automotive electronics manufacturer;

Integrated Micro-Electronics Inc., part of the Ayala Group of Companies in the Philippines.

August 3, 2016

Cavite EPZA workers picket factory anew to protest lockout

The restive workers of an electronics subcon in the Cavite EPZA, the country’s biggest export zone, have once more setup a picketline in protest at the lockout of union members and union busting. The Seung Yeun Techonology Industries Corp. (SYTIC) was supposed to have shutdown yesterday but starting last night, non-union workers went back to work at the factory.

“We want our jobs back as regular workers. Management has admitted in a conciliation meeting that SYTIC has existing orders to fulfill from its multinational electronics customers for the next several months and thus there is no valid reason to shutdown. The closure of SYTIC is feigned not real, is temporary not permanent. It is just a maneuver to bust the union, deny us our regular jobs and continue its violations of labor standards on payment of wages, overtime pay, health and safety, and illegal deductions,” averred Frederick Bayot, president of the SYTIC Workers Association.

The SYTIC workers are demanding the reopening of the factory, their return to work as regular employees and recognition of the newly-formed union. They are manning a picketline round the clock to protest the illegal lockout and guard against an attempt to runaway shop.

Management announced that there was no more work at the SYTIC factory starting yesterday. However, SYTIC union members refused to accept the separation pay offered by management and were escorted out of the factory while non-union workers were later allowed back to work in the night.

Bayot added that “We suspect that management will try to transfer machines and tools to a non-union location. Management has already shipped out half-finished goods to a warehouse where scabs will work on them for the next few days.”

“We won the first round of the fight. We will win the second as well,” he insisted. An earlier five-day strike in April by SYTIC workers ended in a victory with 18 workers, who were illegally terminated for union activities, reinstated back to work. However, the company later filed for permanent closure which the union is contesting is a union busting scheme.

Cavite EPZA workers who participated in the Labor Day mobilizaton pledged support for the “round two” of the fight of SYTIC workers. “Ang laban ng SYTIC workers ay laban ng lahat ng EPZA workers,” insisted Rene Magtubo, chair of the militant Partido Manggagawa and its partylist nominee. The former union president of Fortune Tobacco Corp. committed to mobilize solidarity from the labor movement in the country and abroad.

SYTIC manufactures plastic products that provide protection to integrated circuits and electronic components from physical and electrostatic discharge during storage and shipping. Its three biggest customers are ON Semiconductor Philippines Inc. in Carmona, Cavite, Analog Devices General Trias Inc. in the Gateway Business Park in General Trias, Cavite and Texas Instruments factories in Baguio and Clark ecozones. All are local subsidiaries of US multinational companies. ON Semiconductor is a spinoff of Motorola. SYTIC also supplies to Cavite-based factories of local subsidiaries of US electronics companies Maxim Integrated and Cypress. It exports part of its production to C-Pak Cergas in Malaysia.

May 5, 2016

Cavite EPZA electronics subcon on verge of strike anew

A factory in the Cavite EPZA, the country’s biggest export zone, which supplies parts for big US electronics companies is on the verge of another strike as workers voted to authorize a work stoppage. A majority of the union members at the Korean-owned Seung Yeun Technology Industries Corp. (SYTIC) voted yes in the strike ballot yesterday.

Just after participating in the Labor Day commemoration held by the militant Partido Manggagawa (PM) in the town of Rosario, a stone’s throw away from the Cavite EPZA, SYTIC workers authorized the holding of a strike in response to union busting and illegal closure by management.

An earlier five-day strike in April by SYTIC workers ended in a victory with 18 workers, who were illegally terminated for union activities, reinstated back to work. However, the company later filed for permanent closure which the union is contesting is a union busting scheme.

“In the conciliation meeting called by the Department of Labor and Employment last Thursday, it was manifested by management that SYTIC has orders from its multinational electronics customers for the next several months and thus there is no valid reason to shutdown. It is as clear as the summer sun that closure is a maneuver to break the newly-formed union. We won the first round of the fight. We will win the second as well,” averred Frederick Bayot, president of the SYTIC Workers Association.

“Management is offering a separation package and then rehiring of the present workforce as contractuals for the succeeding months of operation. SYTIC workers are now dealing with the complex crime of union busting and labor contractualization,” Bayot eleborated.

Rene Magtubo, PM chair and partyist nominees, added that “Would the presidentiables who all promised to end endo offer their help to the SYTIC workers facing the threat of contractualization? Sino ang may tapang, may puso may talino at may malasakit para sa mga manggagawang bagong biktima ng epidemya ng kontraktwalisasyon?”

In the commemoration of Labor Day by the PM chapter in Cavite yesterday, some 1,000 factory workers and urban poor assembled to demand regular jobs, a living wage, lower prices and decent social services. The four workers’ demands is dubbed by PM as “Apat na Dapat.”

Cavite EPZA workers who participated in the Labor Day activity pledged support for the “round two” of the fight of SYTIC workers. “Ang laban ng SYTIC workers ay laban ng lahat ng EPZA workers,” insisted Magtubo. The former union president of Fortune Tobacco Corp. committed to mobilize solidarity from the labor movement in the country and abroad.

SYTIC manufactures plastic products that provide protection to integrated circuits and electronic components from physical and electrostatic discharge during storage and shipping. Its three biggest customers are ON Semiconductor Philippines Inc. in Carmona, Cavite, Analog Devices General Trias Inc. in the Gateway Business Park in General Trias, Cavite and Texas Instruments factories in Baguio and Clark ecozones. All are local subsidiaries of US multinational companies. ON Semiconductor is a spinoff of Motorola. SYTIC also supplies to Cavite-based factories of local subsidiaries of US electronics companies Maxim Integrated and Cypress. It exports part of its production to C-Pak Cergas in Malaysia.

May 2, 2016

Advisory: DOLE mediates brewing dispute as Cavite EPZA factory threatens closure

MEDIA ADVISORY

April 27, 2016

Contact: Dennis Sequena @ 09301803072

DOLE mediates brewing dispute

as Cavite EPZA factory workers restive anew

WHAT: Mediation meeting called by DOLE between union and management of Korean-owned factory

WHEN: Tomorrow, April 28, 2016, 10:00 a.m.

WHERE: NCMB Imus @ MYP GBY Building, Bayan Luma 7, Aguinaldo Highway

DETAILS:  With just a few days to go until Labor Day, a new labor dispute is brewing in the Seung Yeun Technology Industries Corp. (SYTIC), an electronics subcon in the Cavite EPZA. The Department of Labor and Employment is convening a meeting between the union and management to avert another strike.

After 18 workers earlier dismissed for union activities were reinstated as part of an agreement to end a five-day strike two weeks ago, the management of SYTIC is pushing through with the shutdown of the company on May 4.

The SYTIC labor union, which comprise a majority of the workers and is in the process of being certified as the sole and exclusive bargaining agent, asserts that the closure is illegal because it is intended to subvert the exercise of freedom of association and bust the union.

In response, the SYTIC union has called for negotiations with management about the impending closure and the reported takeover by its customer C-Pak Pte Ltd, a Singaporean company. Moreover the SYTIC union is calling for the absorption of the present employees into the new company, should the takeover push through. C-Pak Pte Ltd is owned by the group Dou Yee of Singapore. ###

SYTIC workers fight continues as company plans to shutdown

 

The workers of Seung Yeun Technology Industries Corp. (SYTIC), a subcontractor for big US electronics companies and is based in the Philippines’ biggest export zone, are once more facing a fight in their exercise of freedom of association. After 18 workers earlier dismissed for union activities were reinstated as part of an agreement to end a five-day strike, the management of SYTIC is pushing through with the shutdown of the company. Last April 25, management filed for permanent closure.

The SYTIC labor union , which comprise a majority of the workers and is in the process of being certified as the sole and exclusive bargaining agent, asserts that the closure is illegal because it is intended to subvert the exercise of freedom of association and bust the union.

In response, the SYTIC union has called for negotiations with management about the impending closure and the reported takeover by its customer C-Pak Pte Ltd, a Singaporean company. Moreover the SYTIC union is calling for the absorption of the present employees into the new company, should the takeover push through. C-Pak Pte Ltd is owned by the group Dou Yee of Singapore.

The Labor Department has called for a conciliation meeting on April 28 in an affort to resolve the brewing labor dispute. In the meeting, the union will table its twin demand of absorption of the present employees and their participation in the transition talks between SYTIC and C-Pak. The union’s call to participate in the transition talks is in line with the provision of the Philippine Constitution that workers shall be afforded the right to participate in policy and decision-making processes affecting their rights and benefits.

April 26, 2016

Workers reinstated in deal to end Cavite EPZA strike

The five day strike at an electronics subcon in the Cavite EPZA, the country’s biggest export zone, ended yesterday with the reinstatement of workers earlier fired for union activities. Striking workers of Seung Yeun Technology Industries Corp. (SYTIC) will go back to work next week, including eighteen illegally terminated employees, in a deal reached at a mediation meeting convened by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE). Two retrenched workers earlier accepted the separation offer of management and are not covered by the agreement.

“We will report for work with our heads held up and with our dignity as workers recognized. We owe this victory to the determination of our union members who paralyzed the operations of SYTIC for almost a week and forced management to accede to our just demand for reinstatement. We hope this is the start of management’s change of heart that it needs to give workers their due and respect their rights,” stated Frederick Bayot, president of the SYTIC workers union.

The striking SYTIC workers earlier threatened to escalate protests inside and outside the Cavite EPZA if their demands were not met. More than a hundred members of the partylist group Partido Manggagawa (PM) and the union Philippine Airlines Employees Association (PALEA) occupied the DOLE office in Imus, Cavite while the mediation meeting was ongoing yesterday. While Thursday night the SYTIC strikers and their supporters marched around the export zone and hopped from one factory to another to solicit support from EPZA workers.

Union officers and members were fired by SYTIC management in an attempt to bust the union that was formed to address numerous workplace issues. SYTIC workers complained of wages that partly are not paid in cash but in the form of meals, illegal deduction on wages for company events, non-payment of overtime due to an illegal compressed workweek schedule, and the lack of a company nurse, doctor and hospital bed, as provided for in the Labor Code.

“We call on the DOLE to act on the complaint we earlier filed at the provincial office about labor standards violations at SYTIC to ensure that they are appropriately and promptly addressed,” Bayot insisted.

He added that “We also would not have won without the solidarity of fellow workers in other EPZA factories and labor groups like PM, PALEA and Sentro who extended moral and logistical support for our picketline. The workers united will never be defeated.”

SYTIC manufactures plastic products that provide protection to integrated circuits and electronic components from physical and electrostatic discharge during storage and shipping. Its three biggest customers are ON Semiconductor Philippines Inc. in Carmona, Cavite, Analog Devices General Trias Inc. in the Gateway Business Park in General Trias, Cavite and Texas Instruments factories in Baguio and Clark ecozones. All are local subsidiaries of US multinational companies. ON Semiconductor is a spinoff of Motorola. SYTIC also supplies to Cavite-based factories of local subsidiaries of US electronics companies Maxim Integrated and Cypress. It exports part of its production to C-Pak Cergas in Malaysia.

April 16, 2016

Back-to-back rallies held in support of strikers in Cavite EPZA

Protest rallies were held today and yesterday in support of the demand of striking workers in the country’s biggest export zone for the reinstatement of illegally fired employees. The strike entered its fifth day as the Department of Labor and Employment convened another mediation meeting today between the union and management of the strikebound Seung Yeun Techonology Industries Corp. (SYTIC).

“We demand the reinstatement of the SYTIC 21 who were terminated for their union activities and the redress of labor standards violations. If not then protests inside and outside the Cavite EPZA will escalate,” stated Frederick Bayot, union president of the SYTIC workers.

This morning more than 100 members of the partylist group Partido Manggagawa (PM) and the union Philippine Airlines Employees Association (PALEA) staged a solidarity rally to express for the striking workers while the mediation meeting was ongoing. Last night the SYTIC strikers and their supporters marched around the export zone and hopped from one factory to another to solicit support from EPZA workers.

Union officers and members were fired by SYTIC management in an attempt to bust the union that was formed to address numerous workplace issues. SYTIC workers complained of wages that partly are not paid in cash but in the form of meals, illegal deduction on wages for company events, non-payment of overtime due to an illegal compressed workweek schedule, and the lack of a company nurse, doctor and hospital bed, as provided for in the Labor Code.

“We call on SYTIC’s customers to make good on their code of conduct pledge. These big electronics companies have promised to respect freedom of association and labor standards in their supply chains, which includes SYTIC,” urged Bayot.

The three biggest customers of SYTIC are ON Semiconductor Philippines Inc. in Carmona, Cavite, Analog Devices General Trias Inc. in the Gateway Business Park in General Trias, Cavite and Texas Instruments factories in Baguio and Clark ecozones. All are local subsidiaries of US multinational companies. ON Semiconductor is a spinoff of Motorola. SYTIC also supplies to Cavite-based factories of local subsidiaries of US electronics companies Maxim Integrated and Cypress. All these companies are members of the Electronic Industry Citizenship Coalition (EICC) which pledges to uphold freedom of association and labor standards in their companies and its supply chains.

In its website, EICC avers that it is “a nonprofit coalition of electronics companies committed to supporting the rights and wellbeing of workers and communities affected by the global electronics supply chain.” EICC members are bound and accountable to a “code of conduct.” The code is a set of standards on social, environmental and ethical issues in the electronics industry supply chain.

“Partido Manggagawa (PM) through its allies and contacts have made representation to the EICC and directly to SYTIC’s customers about the ongoing dispute. We ask that they respond in accordance with the provisions of the EICC code of conduct,” explained Dennis Sequena, a PM-Cavite coordinator.

Since the strike begun last Monday, strikers were joined at the picketline by supporters from PM, PALEA, the labor center Sentro and workers from nearby EPZA factories.

Advisory: Militants to rally today while DOLE mediates dispute in Cavite EPZA factory

Protest march around the Cavite export zone

MEDIA ADVISORY

April 15, 2016

Contact: Dennis Sequena @ 09301803072

Militants to rally while DOLE mediates dispute in Cavite EPZA factory

WHAT: Members of PM and PALEA to hold solidarity rally during mediation meeting called by DOLE between union and management of strikebound factory

WHEN: Today, April 15, 2016, 9:00 a.m.

WHERE: NCMB Imus @ MYP GBY Building, Bayan Luma 7, Aguinaldo Highway

DETAILS:  The Department of Labor and Employment is convening a mediation meeting today between the union and management of strikebound factory of Seung Yeun Technology Industries Corp. (SYTIC). To coincide with the meeting, more than a 100 members members of Partido Manggagawa and the union Philippine Airlines Employees Association will hold a solidarity rally to express support for the striking workers.

           Last night the SYTIC strikers and workers from other EPZA factories held a protest march around the country's biggest export zone.

The SYTIC workers are now on their fifth day on strike. They are demanding the reinstatement of 21 workers illegally fired for union activities and the redress of labor standards violations.

The workers 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, illegal deductions, 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.

Cavite EPZA strikers ask big electronics firms to uphold labor rights

As strike in Cavite EPZA factory enters second day:

Big electronics firms asked to uphold labor rights pledge in their supply chains

As the strike at an electronics subcon in the Cavite EPZA entered its second day, striking workers called on the company’s customers to uphold labor rights in their supply chains. The strikebound Seung Yeun Techonology Industries Corp. (SYTIC) supplies its products to local subsidiaries of multinational electronics companies.

“We call on SYTIC’s customers to make good on their code of conduct pledge. These companies have promised to respect freedom of association and labor standards in their supply chains, which includes SYTIC,” stated Frederick Bayot, president of the embattled SYTIC labor union.

The three biggest customers of SYTIC are ON Semiconductor Philippines Inc. in Carmona, Cavite, Analog Devices General Trias Inc. in the Gateway Business Park in General Trias, Cavite and Texas Instruments factories in Baguio and Clark ecozones. All are local subsidiaries of US multinational companies. ON Semiconductor is a spinoff of Motorola. SYTIC also supplies to Cavite-based factories of local subsidiaries of US electronics companies Maxim Integrated and Cypress. All these companies are members of the Electronic Industry Citizenship Coalition (EICC) which pledges to uphold freedom of association and labor standards in their companies and its supply chains.

Yesterday, several container trucks entered and then left the SYTIC factory to deliver to the Texas Instruments assembly plant in the Clark, Pampanga export zone. The law prohibits strikers from blocking the free ingress and egress of workers and materials except for scabs or replacement workers.

In its website, EICC avers that it is “a nonprofit coalition of electronics companies committed to supporting the rights and wellbeing of workers and communities affected by the global electronics supply chain.” EICC members are bound and accountable to a “code of conduct.” The code is a set of standards on social, environmental and ethical issues in the electronics industry supply chain.

“Partido Manggagawa (PM) through its allies and contacts have made representation to the EICC and directly to SYTIC’s customers about the ongoing dispute. We ask that they respond in accordance with the provisions of the EICC code of conduct,” explained Dennis Sequena, a PM-Cavite coordinator.

The mediation meeting facilitated by the Department of Labor and Employment yesterday ended without any agreement. The union demanded the reinstatement of workers fired for union activities but management just offered to give separation pay. Another mediation meeting is scheduled on Friday.

Production at the SYTIC factory remained paralyzed for the second day as an overwhelming majority of the workers are participating in the strike. Yesterday, strikers were joined at the picketline by supporters from PM, the labor center Sentro and workers from nearby EPZA factories.

April 12, 2016

Strike at Cavite EPZA electronics subcon erupts

Workers of an electronics subcon at the Cavite EPZA in Rosario, Cavite went on strike today, paralyzing production at the factory. The striking workers of Seung Yeun Technology Industries Corp. (SYTIC) set up their picketline just before the 6:00 a.m first shift. They are demanding the reinstatement of 20 workers fired for union activities, respect for the right to unionize, and redress of violations of labor standards on wages, overtime and health and safety.

“Two mediation hearings called by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) proved fruitless as SYTIC stubbornly refused to reinstate illegally terminated workers. Thus we have no recourse but to go on strike to win our demands,” explained Frederick Bayot, president of the labor union Seung Yeun Technology Industries Corp. Workers Association.

Members of the partylist group Partido Manggagawa (PM) is holding a solidarity rally for the SYTIC strikers starting at 8:00 a.m. today at the main gate of the Cavite EPZA, the country’s biggest export zone. PM is calling on EPZA workers to support the fight of SYTIC workers as their plight mirrors the concerns of the estimated 60,000 people employed in the ecozone.

In the last mediation hearing, management informed the workers that the company will shutdown on May 4. Since the mass retrenchment, SYTIC workers have been conducting protest actions. Last Friday, SYTIC workers and their supporters marched inside the Cavite ecozone to highlight their demands.

The union was formed in an effort to address numerous workplace issues. SYTIC workers complained that part of their wages are not paid in cash but in the form of meals, illegal deduction on wages for company events, non-payment of overtime due to an illegal compressed workweek schedule, and the lack of a company nurse, doctor and hospital bed, as provided for in the Labor Code.

“Unfortunately no action has been taken by the DOLE since the infractions were reported by SYTIC workers,” argued Dennis Sequena, a PM leader in Cavite and staunch supporter of the SYTIC union.

Sequena added that SYTIC workers have faced an uphill battle and an intransigent management since the union was organazed. He related that “In one incident, a union officer was physically assaulted inside the factory, interrogated at the PEZA admin office about her participation in the union and finally slapped with a case by management for the attack. But before the case could be heard she was abruptly terminated together with others for alleged reduced orders despite the fact that the factory remained on three shifts and later two shifts on forced overtime.”

“All the usual ploys in the union busting bag of tricks were thrown at the SYTIC workers. The stick of intimidation and harassment together with the carrot of separation pay were employed against the SYTIC union. But the workers stood their ground to fight for their rights,” averred Sequena.

SYTIC manufactures plastic products that provide protection to integrated circuits and electronic components from physical and electrostatic discharge during storage and shipping. It supplies to local subsidiaries of big US electronics companies like ON Semiconductor, a Motorola spinoff, Texas Instruments and Analog Devices.

April 11, 2016

Advisory: Workers at Cavite EPZA electronics subcon go on strike

MEDIA ADVISORY

April 11, 2016

Contact: Dennis Sequena @ 09301803072

Workers at Cavite EPZA electronics subcon go on strike

WHAT: Workers of Seung Yeun Technology Industries Corp (SYTIC) went on strike

WHEN: Today, April 11, 2016, started at 6:00 a.m.

WHERE: Cavite EPZA, Rosario, Cavite

DETAILS: SYTIC workers went on strike today, setting up a picketline in time for the 6:00 a.m first shift of work. Production at the factory is now paralyzed. At 8:00 a.m. PM members will hold a solidarity rally at the Cavite EPZA main gate (gate 1) in support of the SYTIC workers on strike.

SYTIC workers are demanding the reinstatement of 20 union officers and members who were terminated for their union activities, respect for the right to unionize and the redress of violations of labor standards on wages, overtime and health and safety.

Union calls for reinstatement of fired workers to avert strike

A labor union demanded the reinstatement of terminated workers to avert a strike in an electronics subcontractor in the Cavite ecozone. Last March, 20 union officers and members were terminated by the management of Korean-owned Seung Yuen Technology Industries Corp. (SYTIC). In response, the union filed a notice of strike for union busting and a majority of union members have authorized a strike in a vote conducted last week.

“We call on SYTIC management to heed the call of their workers. Reinstate the workers they illegally fired for union activities. Stop busting the union and respect freedom of association,” averred Frederick Bayot, union president.

Two mediation meetings convened by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) ended inconclusively. In the last mediation hearing, management informed the workers that the company will shutdown on May 4. SYTIC workers have been conducting protest actions for the past several days. And last Friday, some 100 SYTIC workers and their supporters from nearby factories marched inside the Cavite ecozone to drum up solidarity for the fight.

“The mass retrenchment and company closure are obvious attempts to bust the union. Non-union employees are being told they will be hired once the company opens for business again. Since the successful formation of a union, management has harassed workers, threatened them with closure, offered them separation pay, and employed other dirty tricks used to bust unions,” stated Dennis Sequena, an organizer of Partido Manggagawa, a partylist group which is assisting the SYTIC workers.

SYTIC manufactures plastic products that provide protection to integrated circuits and electronic components from physical and electrostatic discharge during storage and shipping. Its three biggest customers are ON Semiconductor Philippines Inc. in Carmona, Cavite, Analog Devices General Trias Inc. in the Gateway Business Park in General Trias, Cavite and Texas Instruments factories in Baguio and Clark ecozones. All are local subsidiaries of US multinational companies. ON Semiconductor is a spinoff of Motorola. SYTIC also supplies to Cavite-based factories of local subsidiaries of US electronics companies Maxim Integrated and Cypress. It exports part of its production to C-Pak Cergas in Malaysia.

The workers 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, as provided for in the Labor Code.

“We reported these infractions to the provincial office of the DOLE but no action has yet been taken. We just asking for what is ours according to law yet SYTIC management has stubbornly resisted recognizing the rights of their employees,” insisted Bayot.

April 10, 2016

Violations of freedom of association and labor standards in an electronics subcon in the Philippines

SYTIC workers in protest vs union busting

Workers of Seung Yuen Technology Industries Corp. (SYTIC), a Korean-owned plastics company that is part of the electronics industry supply chain, are facing issues of freedom of association and labor standards. The workers have recently formed a union in an effort to address workplace problems including violations of labor standards.

Last March, 20 union officers and members were terminated in a blatant attempt at union busting. Then a few days ago management filed for closure even as they inform non-union workers not to worry since they will be hired once the company opens for business again.

After successfully forming and registering a union in accordance with law, management started to subvert the freedom of association of SYTIC workers by talking separately to union leaders that unionization will lead to the closure of the company and thus it is better for them to accept separation now rather than wait for the shutdown. Union members were also individually met by management to be threatened with the alleged shutdown.  After which several union officers, including the duly elected union president and treasurer, were slapped with trumped up charges (about products that allegedly failed to pass quality control according to the evaluation of “trainees” and not the usual QA employees who happen to be union members or officers). Then the mass termination and later the notice of closure followed allegedly due to cancelled orders.

In response, the union has filed a complaint for union busting at the Labor Department. The FOA complaint follows an earlier compliant filed by the union for 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, as provide for in the Labor Code of the Philippines.

The three biggest customers of SYTIC are ON Semiconductor Philippines Inc. in Carmona, Cavite, Analog Devices General Trias Inc. in the Gateway Business Park in General Trias, Cavite and Texas Instruments factories in Baguio and Clark ecozones. All are local subsidiaries of US multinational companies. ON Semiconductor is a spinoff of Motorola. SYTIC also supplies to Cavite-based factories of local subsidiaries of US electronics companies Maxim Integrated and Cypress. All these companies are members of the Electronic Industry Citizenship Coalition (EICC) which pledges to uphold freedom of association and labor standards in their companies and its supply chains.

SYTIC also exports part of its production to C-Pak Cergas in Malaysia. C-Pak is owned by Dou Yee International, a Singaporean investment holding company. Dou Yee owns the Eurostat Group, which manufactures and distributes electrostatic discharge protection products and is headquartered in Pont-de-Poitte, France.

SYTIC is located in the in the Cavite Economic Zone. A majority of the 50-plus regular workforce are already union members. It manufactures carrier tapes which are plastic products that provide protection to integrated circuits and electronic components from physical and electrostatic discharge during storage and shipping. It is thus part of the electronics industry supply chain.

April 8, 2016

Advisory: DOLE mediation today of dispute in Cavite EPZA factory

MEDIA ADVISORY

April 8, 2016

Contact: Dennis Sequena @ 09301803072

DOLE mediation today of dispute in Cavite EPZA factory

WHAT: Mediation meeting called by DOLE between union and management of Korean-owned factory

WHEN: Today, April 8, 2016, 10:00 a.m.

WHERE: NCMB Imus @ MYP GBY Building, Bayan Luma 7, Aguinaldo Highway

DETAILS: The Department of Labor and Employment is convening another mediation meeting today between the union and management of Seung Yeun Technology Industries Corp. (SYTIC). This is the second after a strike vote last Saturday in which a majority of union members authorized the holding of a work stoppage. The first mediation ended inconclusively.

The SYTIC workers are holding daily protests this week as buildup for the strike. This afternoon SYTIC workers and their supporters will stage a protest march inside the Cavite EPZA.

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.

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.