Advisory: Protest at Cavite ecozone tomorrow to call for resignation of administrator, stop to harassment

Media Advisory

December 10, 2017

Partido Manggagawa

Contacy Dennis Sequena @ 09301803072

Protest at Cavite ecozone tomorrow

to call for resignation of administrator, stop to harassment

WHAT: Protest by labor groups and ecozone workers vs. violent attacks on striking women workers

WHEN: Tomorrow, December 11 (Monday), 8:00 am

WHERE: Cavite Economic Zone, Rosario, Cavite, Gate 1

DETAILS:

The groups Partido Manggagawa, Sentro and Katipunan ng Manggagawang Pilipino will call for the resignation of the head of the Cavite Economic Zone for being responsible for the harassment of striking women workers that resulted in injuries to two strikers and the imposition of “martial law” in the country’s biggest export processing zone.  

The protesters assert that the violent attacks on women strikers by armed security guards contracted by the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) lie squarely in the hands of Atty. Norma Tañag, head of the Cavite ecozone.

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 last Thursday night. Lakepower workers went on strike that afternoon 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.

The protesters contend that Tañag has imposed martial law in the Cavite ecozone with guards of the Jantro security agency and the PEZA police as her goons and thugs. Workers and supporters who want to bring food, water and supplies to the strikers are stopped and prevented from proceeding to the picketline. Jantro guards repeatedly intimidated strikers who put up protest placards and signs at the picketline. All of these are blatant transgressions of the DOLE-PEZA-PNP Guidelines on the Conduct of Personnel During Labor Disputes.

Video of PEZA guards harassing women workers this afternoon: https://www.facebook.com/partidomanggagawa/videos/10155838242124323/?hc_ref=ARTGypM3p48CRjse-_uPZYsqundw5Bja8V4QKZ6JgPFUcZBa0q3fvFxumrimkjxVOUg&pnref=story