Press Release
October 31, 2014
The Partido ng Manggagawa (PM) today condemned the arrest
of the union leader at the Carmen Copper Corp. in Toledo
City , Cebu, one of the biggest mines
in Asia . Tony Cuizon, president of the
Panaghiusa sa Mamumuo sa Carmen Copper (PAMCC-AGLO), was arrested last October
25, 2014 in Cavite
on the strength of warrants for illegal possession of firearms and explosives.
Renato Magtubo,
PM national chairperson, called for the release of Cuizon, a PM national
council member, as the arrest warrants, criminal cases and police raids were in
violation of existing guidelines in the conduct of police during labor
disputes.
“Once again the Philippines rivals Colombia
Dennis Derige,
PM-Cebu spokesperson, stated that on Cuizon’s
first day at the Toledo
jail, the latter had a high blood attack and was only brought to a clinic.
“Cuizon is a senior citizen who suffers from severe hypertension, diabetes and
arthritis, arguably work-related illnesses borne out of decades working in the
copper mines of Toledo ,”
he insisted.
Derige averred
that “The arrest of Ka Tony is part of Carmen Copper management’s continuing
effort to bust the genuine union at the mine and leave the workers defenseless
in the face of attempts to downgrade wages and benefits, and impose
contractualization among mine workers. The police and the courts are being used
as instruments of capitalists.”
PM insists that the warrants were flawed since they were
the product of illegal raids conducted in March 2013 on the PAMCC office, and the
houses of Cuizon and the union treasurer. The union avers that the firearms and
a grenade allegedly found in the raid at the PAMCC office were planted by the
police.
Derige explained
that Cuizon’s arrest followed on the heels of the decertification of PAMCC as
the sole and exclusive bargaining union at the mine, and the formation of a
management-backed yellow union.
Carmen Copper has recently been hit by spate of labor disputes as mine workers resist corporate attacks on working conditions. Last February, PAMCC filed a notice of strike for management’s unfair labor practices and violation of the collective bargaining agreement. Also this year, workers contracted to haul and dispose of Carmen Copper’s mine wastes were derailed in forming a union because of the intervention of the huge manpower contractor Asiapro but the case remains pending at the Labor Department. Unions have condemned Asiapro as an illegal labor-only contractor.
