The union president and seven other union officers of the Korean-owned
garments factory Sein Together Philippines were finally allowed to return to
work starting November 2. They, together with around 500 workers, were laid off
when the factory temporarily shutdown in late August. All the workers were
forced or cajoled into resigning and accepting separation pay, except for 20
union officers and members who fought the shutdown as a union busting scheme by
the company.
When the factory reopened in late October, the 20 were not allowed to
return to work even as some 200 of the retrenched workers, all non-union, were
rehired by Sein Together. In a hearing at the labor court in the last week of
October, the company stood pat on its refusal to reinstate the union officers. Twelve
of the 20 union officers finally accepted the separation offer, believing that
that company will never allow them back to work. The labor court hearing was a
result of the illegal shutdown complaint filed by the union.
The reinstatement of the remaining eight union officers was the outcome
of a series of protests by the union and their suporters, and actions by
brands, specifically Disney, on the alleged freedom of association violations
at Sein Together. The union expresses its gratitude to their allies in the workers
movement, to the International Labor Rights Forum and Disney.
In a mediation meeting facilitated by the Labor Department on November
3, the company formally declared that the eight union officers are reinstated
to their former positions. The union asked that all retrenched workers, whether
union or non-union members, be rehired. The company refused on the grounds that
they have sole discretion to hire workers.
The union’s complaint at the labor court for illegal shutdown remains
pending and the workers are demanding backwages for the one-month period of the
temporary closure of the factory from late August to late October. The company
averred that the closure was due to lack of orders but the union asserts the
shutdown was merely a ruse to force workers to resign and bust the union. The shutdown
was the culmination of a series of moves by the company to subvert freedom of
association since the workers started organizing a union.
The union reports that Disney-branded products are not being
manufactured at Sein Together at the present time.
19 November 2017
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