Pagpupugay sa Uring Manggagawa
(Pahayag ng Churchpeople Workers Solidarity sa Araw ng Paggawa)
Wakasan ang Kontraktwalisasyon, Isulong ang pakikibakang dagdag – sahod!
Ilang dekada nang nagdurusa ang mga manggagawa sa buong bansa bunga ng mga neo-liberal na patakaran at polisiya na ipinatupad ng mga nakaraang administrasyon na laganap pa rin hanggang sa ngayon.
Sa kasalukuyan, kalakhan sa mga manggagawa ay kontraktwal. Ayon mismo sa datos ng Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) ay aabot na sa 43.7% ang kabuuang kontraktwal sa bansa habang nananatiling napakababa ang sahod ng mga manggagawa maging sa Metro Manila.
Pangunahing layunin ng kontraktwalisasyon ay todo-todong baratin ang sahod ng mga manggagawa, alisan ng mga benepisyo, tanggalan ng mga batayang karapatan na kaseguraduhan sa trabaho at mag unyon. Mismong batas ang nagsisilbing legal na batayan ng kontraktwalisasyon kagaya na lamang ng Labor Code ng 1974 na sinasabing bawal ang Labor-Only Contracting habang legal ang tinatawag na Job Contracting. Sa pakahulugan ay tinutukoy ng Labor-Only Contracting ang kalagayan kung saan ang isang kompanya ang tunay na may kontrol sa mga manggagawa at dummy lang nito ang agency. Habang ang Job Contracting ay kung saan ang agency umano ang tunay na may kontrol sa mga manggagawa at nagagawa nito ang gawain nang walang pakikialam ng kompanya.
Ang mga nagdaang mga pangulo ay nagpatupad ng iba’t ibang porma ng kontraktwalisasyon. Ang Republic Act 6715 o mas kilalang “Herrera Law” na nagpalala ng kontraktwalisasyon ay ipinatupad sa panahon ni Cory Aquino. Sa panahon ni Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, ipinatupad ang D.O. 18-12 at pinalitan sa ilalim ni Noynoy Aquino ng D.O. 18-A Series of 2011 na pabor sa mga kapitalistang namumuhunan sa ating bansa, lokal man at dayuhan.
Sa kasalukuyan, ang D.O. 174 o “win-win solution” ang nagbibigay basbas sa kontraktwalisasyon. Ito ay sa pangunguna ng Employers Confederation of the Philippines o ECOP na sinang–ayunan ng DOLE. Tulad ng D.O. 18-A Series of 2011, itinatakda ng D.O. 174 ang pagreregular sa mga manggagawa sa agency na kung saan magpapatuloy ang kontratang manggagawa-agency kahit matapos ang kontratang agency-kapitalista na pawang panlilinlang sa karapatan at dignidad ng mga manggagawa sa ating bansa.
Sa usapin naman ng sahod, kulang na kulang ang P491.00 arawang sahod ng mga manggagawa sa Metro Manila. Napakalayo nito sa itinakdang P1,119.00 Family Living Wage upang mabuhay ng marangal at maayos ang isang pamilyang Pilipino. Sa NCR, ang tunay na halaga ng minimum na sahod ay katumbas lamang ng P373.16 ayon sa National Wage Productivity Commission – Philippine Statistics Authority habang patuloy ang pagbaba ng halaga ng piso sa rehiyon dahil sa mabilis na pagtaas ng mga presyo ng bilihin, langis, kuryente, tubig at iba pang batayang pangangailangan ng isang pamilya.
Malinaw na nasasadlak sa kahirapan ang ating mga manggagawa. Hindi lamang sila api at kaawa-awa. Ang karapatan nila bilang manggagawa ay patuloy na inaabuso at nilalabag. Kaya’t malinaw ang panawagan ng sambayanan kay Pangulong Rodrigo Duterte na wakasan ang lahat ng porma ng kontraktwalisasyon at pagsasabatas ng National Minimum Wage (P750/daily) para sa pribado at P16,000/monthly para sa mga kawani. Panawagan sa ating pangulo na tapusin na ang deka-dekadang paghihirap ng mga manggagawa at ipatupad ang mga reporma para sa tunay at ganap na pagbabago sa ating bansa.
Ngunit malinaw sa ating karanasan na sa pamamagitan lamang ng sama-samang pagkilos at pag-oorganisa makakamit ang makabuluhang pagbabago.
Wakasan ang lahat ng porma ng kontraktwalisasyon!
Ibasura ang DO 174!
Manggagawang kontraktwal, gawing regular!
Taong simabahan KILOS NA!
Makibaka kasama ang mamamayan para sa makabuluhang pagbabago!
Ilang dekada nang nagdurusa ang mga manggagawa sa buong bansa bunga ng mga neo-liberal na patakaran at polisiya na ipinatupad ng mga nakaraang administrasyon na laganap pa rin hanggang sa ngayon.
Sa kasalukuyan, kalakhan sa mga manggagawa ay kontraktwal. Ayon mismo sa datos ng Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) ay aabot na sa 43.7% ang kabuuang kontraktwal sa bansa habang nananatiling napakababa ang sahod ng mga manggagawa maging sa Metro Manila.
Pangunahing layunin ng kontraktwalisasyon ay todo-todong baratin ang sahod ng mga manggagawa, alisan ng mga benepisyo, tanggalan ng mga batayang karapatan na kaseguraduhan sa trabaho at mag unyon. Mismong batas ang nagsisilbing legal na batayan ng kontraktwalisasyon kagaya na lamang ng Labor Code ng 1974 na sinasabing bawal ang Labor-Only Contracting habang legal ang tinatawag na Job Contracting. Sa pakahulugan ay tinutukoy ng Labor-Only Contracting ang kalagayan kung saan ang isang kompanya ang tunay na may kontrol sa mga manggagawa at dummy lang nito ang agency. Habang ang Job Contracting ay kung saan ang agency umano ang tunay na may kontrol sa mga manggagawa at nagagawa nito ang gawain nang walang pakikialam ng kompanya.
Ang mga nagdaang mga pangulo ay nagpatupad ng iba’t ibang porma ng kontraktwalisasyon. Ang Republic Act 6715 o mas kilalang “Herrera Law” na nagpalala ng kontraktwalisasyon ay ipinatupad sa panahon ni Cory Aquino. Sa panahon ni Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, ipinatupad ang D.O. 18-12 at pinalitan sa ilalim ni Noynoy Aquino ng D.O. 18-A Series of 2011 na pabor sa mga kapitalistang namumuhunan sa ating bansa, lokal man at dayuhan.
Sa kasalukuyan, ang D.O. 174 o “win-win solution” ang nagbibigay basbas sa kontraktwalisasyon. Ito ay sa pangunguna ng Employers Confederation of the Philippines o ECOP na sinang–ayunan ng DOLE. Tulad ng D.O. 18-A Series of 2011, itinatakda ng D.O. 174 ang pagreregular sa mga manggagawa sa agency na kung saan magpapatuloy ang kontratang manggagawa-agency kahit matapos ang kontratang agency-kapitalista na pawang panlilinlang sa karapatan at dignidad ng mga manggagawa sa ating bansa.
Sa usapin naman ng sahod, kulang na kulang ang P491.00 arawang sahod ng mga manggagawa sa Metro Manila. Napakalayo nito sa itinakdang P1,119.00 Family Living Wage upang mabuhay ng marangal at maayos ang isang pamilyang Pilipino. Sa NCR, ang tunay na halaga ng minimum na sahod ay katumbas lamang ng P373.16 ayon sa National Wage Productivity Commission – Philippine Statistics Authority habang patuloy ang pagbaba ng halaga ng piso sa rehiyon dahil sa mabilis na pagtaas ng mga presyo ng bilihin, langis, kuryente, tubig at iba pang batayang pangangailangan ng isang pamilya.
Malinaw na nasasadlak sa kahirapan ang ating mga manggagawa. Hindi lamang sila api at kaawa-awa. Ang karapatan nila bilang manggagawa ay patuloy na inaabuso at nilalabag. Kaya’t malinaw ang panawagan ng sambayanan kay Pangulong Rodrigo Duterte na wakasan ang lahat ng porma ng kontraktwalisasyon at pagsasabatas ng National Minimum Wage (P750/daily) para sa pribado at P16,000/monthly para sa mga kawani. Panawagan sa ating pangulo na tapusin na ang deka-dekadang paghihirap ng mga manggagawa at ipatupad ang mga reporma para sa tunay at ganap na pagbabago sa ating bansa.
Ngunit malinaw sa ating karanasan na sa pamamagitan lamang ng sama-samang pagkilos at pag-oorganisa makakamit ang makabuluhang pagbabago.
Wakasan ang lahat ng porma ng kontraktwalisasyon!
Ibasura ang DO 174!
Manggagawang kontraktwal, gawing regular!
Taong simabahan KILOS NA!
Makibaka kasama ang mamamayan para sa makabuluhang pagbabago!
Workers call for independent probe on HTI factory fire tragedy
March 2, 2017
“Our fellow workers have died, and will continue dying in factories found violating labor standards and occupational and safety standards if accountability and justice continue to be elusive.”
By MARYA SALAMAT
Bulatlat.com
MANILA — A month after the massive factory fire that hit House Technology Industries (HTI) located in the Cavite Export Processing Zone, workers seeking answers concerning those believed to have been trapped in the factory rallied at the gates of the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA). But similar to what they encountered in Cavite’s Export Processing Zone when they held a fact-finding mission to the factory fire from February 2 to 4, they also encountered barriers in going to PEZA.
Upon entering Bonifacio Global City where PEZA relocated recently, security guards and policemen blocked their vehicles and accosted the drivers and workers inside. They tried to drive them out of the Bonifacio Global City, citing “lack of coordination” with the private owners of the city.
After minutes of heated discussion in the middle of the intersection across the Ayala-owned Market Market!, the workers, asserting their right to free speech, got off their vehicles and marched toward the PEZA gate surrounded and pursued by security guards and police. Some security guards seized a couple of the workers’ placards. Some of the guards shouted at the protesters.
The guards demanded to see the drivers’ licenses.
“You are not allowed here, this is a private place,” the guards told the protesters in Filipino. They said the protesters cannot be on the streets of BGC.
In frustration, Roger Soluta, KMU Vice President, said, “Where can you see a government agency that gives more importance to foreigners?”
Soluta explained that they were headed to PEZA to push for an impartial investigation into the massive HTI factory fire and to seek justice for the thousands of workers likely injured or killed but covered up by PEZA and Cavite’s local government heads. HTI is a foreign-owned locator in the government-owned Export Processing Zone in Cavite.
In front of the gates of the compound housing PEZA and the Department of Energy, Soluta said in a speech, that they came to demand action and accountability on the part of PEZA.
While he was speaking, a group of policemen continued interrupting and accosting him. Soluta questioned the PEZA announcement that HTI was compliant with health and safety standards. He cited the results of the National Fact-Finding Mission held by labor NGO’s and labor advocates even as the HTI was still burning in Cavite.
Formed by teams from the Center for Trade Union and Human Rights, Ecumenical Institute for Labor Education and Research, Kilusang Mayo Uno, Kadamay and Gabriela, the mission validated earlier streaming reports from various workers who escaped the blaze that hundreds of workers were trapped and likely killed in the fire. This contradicted the official announcement of Cavite Governor Boying Remulla, who confirmed only three fatalities and concluded that “all workers had been accounted for.”
At the time the governor said it, HTI workers who shared accounts of their escape from the fire were telling the members of the fact-finding mission, on condition of anonymity, that aside from having seen unconscious workers on the ground of the rapidly burning housing factory, they were sure the HTI had not held a headcount of all workers after the fire.
“How can they say ‘all workers had been accounted for?’ asked the HTI contractual workers who claimed only the regular workers’ names were posted and probably counted by the management.
KMU and the groups who held a fact-finding mission early this month recommends an immediate, transparent, truly independent and impartial investigation into the HTI tragedy, free from intervention by the HTI management, PEZA, and Cavite LGU to lend credence to the result. They said that the investigation must pave way for full and complete disclosure of casualties so that justice can find its course.
HTI violating health, safety and labor standards
Estrellita Bagasbas, an elderly leader of urban poor group Kadamay, expressed frustration with the police and the security forces who continued to try to drive the protesters away from the gates of PEZA in BGC.
Urban poor leader Estrellita Bagasbas appeals to police and security guards to let them speak in behalf of workers in dangerous workplaces.“The foreign capitalists are probably laughing their heads off at us Filipinos,” Bagasbas said. She said Filipino workers are being intensely exploited in factories and establishments; they are being paid loose change; they are in factories violating the country’s fire and building code, yet, the police who should have been protecting the workers are instead shutting them up.
“We came here in peace. We are just here to protest the seeming government cover-up of the tragedy in HTI,” Bagasbas said.
Lito Luces, leader of Labor for National Democracy under the Kilusang Mayo Uno, said in a speech at PEZA gates: “Pinigilan nyo kami pumasok sa CEPZA, ayaw ninyo imbestigahan ng media, tapos ngayon pinipigilan din kami sa PEZA magprograma.” (You prevented us from entering CEPZA. You don’t want the media to investigate, and now you are preventing us from holding a program in front of PEZA.)
The workers appealed to the police and the BGC guards. “Our fellow workers have died, and will continue dying in factories violating labor standards and occupational and safety standards if accountability and justice continue to be elusive,” Bagasbas said.
Fact-finding missions after the factory fire tragedies in the Philippines have revealed the following grave violations of OSH standards: (1) chemicals and other easily combustible materials were not stored properly, (2) fire alarm systems were not in place, (3) workers were trapped because of locked fire exits and emergency exits leading to the burning building instead of safe and fire-resistant areas.
“When will the government learn?” asked Nadia De Leon, Institute for Occupational Health and Safety Development (IOHSAD) advocacy officer in a statement.
IOHSAD has said that industrial fires can be prevented through regular and strict inspection of compliance with OSH standards by business establishments, particularly those that are considered hazardous and fire-prone. It said that the government should conduct a mandatory inspection of all workplaces regardless of size and kind of operation.
Fact-finding missions after factory fires (such as in Kentex and now in HTI) revealed the danger of the government’s policy of ceding the responsibility to inspect the factories on the management itself.
Makabayan lawmakers have previously filed a proposed law to ensure that the government will strictly inspect and ensure safety in workplaces.
By MARYA SALAMAT
Bulatlat.com
MANILA — A month after the massive factory fire that hit House Technology Industries (HTI) located in the Cavite Export Processing Zone, workers seeking answers concerning those believed to have been trapped in the factory rallied at the gates of the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA). But similar to what they encountered in Cavite’s Export Processing Zone when they held a fact-finding mission to the factory fire from February 2 to 4, they also encountered barriers in going to PEZA.
Upon entering Bonifacio Global City where PEZA relocated recently, security guards and policemen blocked their vehicles and accosted the drivers and workers inside. They tried to drive them out of the Bonifacio Global City, citing “lack of coordination” with the private owners of the city.
After minutes of heated discussion in the middle of the intersection across the Ayala-owned Market Market!, the workers, asserting their right to free speech, got off their vehicles and marched toward the PEZA gate surrounded and pursued by security guards and police. Some security guards seized a couple of the workers’ placards. Some of the guards shouted at the protesters.
The guards demanded to see the drivers’ licenses.
“You are not allowed here, this is a private place,” the guards told the protesters in Filipino. They said the protesters cannot be on the streets of BGC.
In frustration, Roger Soluta, KMU Vice President, said, “Where can you see a government agency that gives more importance to foreigners?”
Soluta explained that they were headed to PEZA to push for an impartial investigation into the massive HTI factory fire and to seek justice for the thousands of workers likely injured or killed but covered up by PEZA and Cavite’s local government heads. HTI is a foreign-owned locator in the government-owned Export Processing Zone in Cavite.
In front of the gates of the compound housing PEZA and the Department of Energy, Soluta said in a speech, that they came to demand action and accountability on the part of PEZA.
While he was speaking, a group of policemen continued interrupting and accosting him. Soluta questioned the PEZA announcement that HTI was compliant with health and safety standards. He cited the results of the National Fact-Finding Mission held by labor NGO’s and labor advocates even as the HTI was still burning in Cavite.
Formed by teams from the Center for Trade Union and Human Rights, Ecumenical Institute for Labor Education and Research, Kilusang Mayo Uno, Kadamay and Gabriela, the mission validated earlier streaming reports from various workers who escaped the blaze that hundreds of workers were trapped and likely killed in the fire. This contradicted the official announcement of Cavite Governor Boying Remulla, who confirmed only three fatalities and concluded that “all workers had been accounted for.”
At the time the governor said it, HTI workers who shared accounts of their escape from the fire were telling the members of the fact-finding mission, on condition of anonymity, that aside from having seen unconscious workers on the ground of the rapidly burning housing factory, they were sure the HTI had not held a headcount of all workers after the fire.
“How can they say ‘all workers had been accounted for?’ asked the HTI contractual workers who claimed only the regular workers’ names were posted and probably counted by the management.
KMU and the groups who held a fact-finding mission early this month recommends an immediate, transparent, truly independent and impartial investigation into the HTI tragedy, free from intervention by the HTI management, PEZA, and Cavite LGU to lend credence to the result. They said that the investigation must pave way for full and complete disclosure of casualties so that justice can find its course.
HTI violating health, safety and labor standards
Estrellita Bagasbas, an elderly leader of urban poor group Kadamay, expressed frustration with the police and the security forces who continued to try to drive the protesters away from the gates of PEZA in BGC.
Urban poor leader Estrellita Bagasbas appeals to police and security guards to let them speak in behalf of workers in dangerous workplaces.“The foreign capitalists are probably laughing their heads off at us Filipinos,” Bagasbas said. She said Filipino workers are being intensely exploited in factories and establishments; they are being paid loose change; they are in factories violating the country’s fire and building code, yet, the police who should have been protecting the workers are instead shutting them up.
“We came here in peace. We are just here to protest the seeming government cover-up of the tragedy in HTI,” Bagasbas said.
Lito Luces, leader of Labor for National Democracy under the Kilusang Mayo Uno, said in a speech at PEZA gates: “Pinigilan nyo kami pumasok sa CEPZA, ayaw ninyo imbestigahan ng media, tapos ngayon pinipigilan din kami sa PEZA magprograma.” (You prevented us from entering CEPZA. You don’t want the media to investigate, and now you are preventing us from holding a program in front of PEZA.)
The workers appealed to the police and the BGC guards. “Our fellow workers have died, and will continue dying in factories violating labor standards and occupational and safety standards if accountability and justice continue to be elusive,” Bagasbas said.
Fact-finding missions after the factory fire tragedies in the Philippines have revealed the following grave violations of OSH standards: (1) chemicals and other easily combustible materials were not stored properly, (2) fire alarm systems were not in place, (3) workers were trapped because of locked fire exits and emergency exits leading to the burning building instead of safe and fire-resistant areas.
“When will the government learn?” asked Nadia De Leon, Institute for Occupational Health and Safety Development (IOHSAD) advocacy officer in a statement.
IOHSAD has said that industrial fires can be prevented through regular and strict inspection of compliance with OSH standards by business establishments, particularly those that are considered hazardous and fire-prone. It said that the government should conduct a mandatory inspection of all workplaces regardless of size and kind of operation.
Fact-finding missions after factory fires (such as in Kentex and now in HTI) revealed the danger of the government’s policy of ceding the responsibility to inspect the factories on the management itself.
Makabayan lawmakers have previously filed a proposed law to ensure that the government will strictly inspect and ensure safety in workplaces.
Statement of the National Fact Finding Mission on the HTI tragedy
February 7, 2017
Statement of the National Fact Finding Mission on the HTI tragedy
In light of the apparent information blackout concerning the fire that devoured the House Technology Industries main building (HTI) inside the Cavite Export Processing Zone, various labor institutions and people’s organization initiated a National Fact Finding Mission to probe the extent of casualties, the circumstances of the incident and possible labor standards violations that resulted in one of the worst workplace tragedies in history.
The initial findings of the Quick Response Team on February 2 and the NFFM conducted on February 4 and 5, indicate the following:
1. There remains a public doubt on the statement issued by Cavite local government as to the number of injuries and zero casualty, prior to the death of Jerome Sismaet. Majority of the survivors and witnesses interviewed by the NFFM team claimed that there were more workers trapped and feared to have died inside the HTI building. Others said that they either saw or even crawled over dead bodies of co-workers as they were escaping from the burning building. This is in consonance with the testimonials of survivors interviewed by the media. The actual number of workers trapped and feared dead inside the building remains unconfirmed as the company, the Cavite local government unit, PEZA, and DOLE have all failed to impart official records to the media and the public.
2. According to the survivors, witnesses and workers who were off-duty but were at the compound, the fire started around 6 PM when a panel machine sparked in the second floor, reached and caught fire from the sawdusts scattered in the production area.
a. The fire quickly spread as the vacuum used for absorbing sawdust, absorbs the flaming dust instead. It only took two minutes for the fire to reach the flammable chemicals inside, thick black smoke covered the entire building followed by explosions. Workers note that some of the chemicals used in the production in 2nd floor are hydraulic oil, sealant, thinner, paint, 100%alcohol, and other volatile chemicals for casting and curing. Moreover, there are also accounts of the burning fire exit close to where the fire started, while others claimed of locked exits at the other end.
b. It was also noted that during the fire, the workers got out through the two main staircases used as the regular employees’ entrance to and exit from the building. The stairs, survivors noted were 1.5-2 meters wide and too narrow to accommodate the huge number of panicking employees desperately trying to get out of the burning building. Thus, most of them were forced to break the windows and jump from the third and second floors, including a pregnant woman. There were more women workers in the third floor working the quality control/checkers and balcony. The LGU announced that all workers were accounted for, or are they only regular workers of HTI? What about the agency-hired workers?
3. There is an atmosphere of fear and intimidation among HTI workers as they remain unusually silent and hesitant to speak about the circumstances of the tragedy. The NFFM learned that HTI management asked the workers to report to one of the company building close to CEPZ Gate 5 for headcount and “orientations” on February 2, and went on until February 4. Survivors and witnesses affirm that they were indeed called to report. However, upon timing-in, they were told not to talk to anyone and withhold any information about the fire. A worker interviewed who claimed having photos of the fire and the bodies presumed dead being taken out of the building was instructed to erase the photos and videos from the mobile phone. Other workers corroborated this but requested complete anonymity for fear of losing jobs or any form of reprisal.
4. Since February 1, the management of HTI, PEZA and the LGU barred the media from entering the CEPZ. The LGU was the only one speaking about the incident. The two hospitals where the injured are confined have restricted entry and access to victims and information was limited to hospital official bulletins. On the afternoon of February 4, the NFFM team member said that media were finally allowed to enter the HTI compound but were instructed to remain inside their vehicle and barred from communicating with anyone on site. During this period, Cavite Governor Boying Remulla announced that it would take two weeks to map out the building complex and the need for more manpower and heavy equipment like cranes and bulldozers for the clearing operations, alluding that SOCO investigation will proceed afterwards. Such clearing operation will tamper the scene and cast more doubts on the credibility of their own investigation.
5. HTI management and authorities kept the public guessing about the company’s total workforce as they refuse to release the official records. Accounts gathered during the interviews, revealed that the workers are mostly young, ranging from 18-35 years old. There are around 8,000 regular out of the 13,000 employees while the remaining 5,000 are contractual, casual, or agency-hired. Most interviewees who are regular workers attest receiving mandated wage, but a contractual of three years under one of 6 manpower agencies said he is only paid P200/day and pays P180 for his uniforms.
The initial findings of the NFFM suggests that there is an apparent attempt on the part of the HTI management, the PEZA and the Cavite LGU to hide the actual number of casualties and the possible OHS and labor standards violations.
Having said the above, the NFFM recommends an immediate, transparent, truly independent and impartial investigation on the HTI tragedy free from intervention by the HTI management, PEZA and Cavite LGU to lend credence to the result. To the very least, the investigation must pave way for full and complete disclosure of casualties so that justice can find its course.
The full report of the National Fact Finding Mission will be released in the next few days. The NFFM is composed of Center for Trade Union and Human Rights (CTUHR), Workers Assistance Center (WAC), Institute for Occupational Health and Safety for Development (IOHSAD), Ecumenical Institute for Labor Education and Research (EILER), KARAPATAN, BAYAN, AlterMidya, MIGRANTE, GABRIELA, Kilusang Mayo Uno, and community volunteers.###
In light of the apparent information blackout concerning the fire that devoured the House Technology Industries main building (HTI) inside the Cavite Export Processing Zone, various labor institutions and people’s organization initiated a National Fact Finding Mission to probe the extent of casualties, the circumstances of the incident and possible labor standards violations that resulted in one of the worst workplace tragedies in history.
The initial findings of the Quick Response Team on February 2 and the NFFM conducted on February 4 and 5, indicate the following:
1. There remains a public doubt on the statement issued by Cavite local government as to the number of injuries and zero casualty, prior to the death of Jerome Sismaet. Majority of the survivors and witnesses interviewed by the NFFM team claimed that there were more workers trapped and feared to have died inside the HTI building. Others said that they either saw or even crawled over dead bodies of co-workers as they were escaping from the burning building. This is in consonance with the testimonials of survivors interviewed by the media. The actual number of workers trapped and feared dead inside the building remains unconfirmed as the company, the Cavite local government unit, PEZA, and DOLE have all failed to impart official records to the media and the public.
2. According to the survivors, witnesses and workers who were off-duty but were at the compound, the fire started around 6 PM when a panel machine sparked in the second floor, reached and caught fire from the sawdusts scattered in the production area.
a. The fire quickly spread as the vacuum used for absorbing sawdust, absorbs the flaming dust instead. It only took two minutes for the fire to reach the flammable chemicals inside, thick black smoke covered the entire building followed by explosions. Workers note that some of the chemicals used in the production in 2nd floor are hydraulic oil, sealant, thinner, paint, 100%alcohol, and other volatile chemicals for casting and curing. Moreover, there are also accounts of the burning fire exit close to where the fire started, while others claimed of locked exits at the other end.
b. It was also noted that during the fire, the workers got out through the two main staircases used as the regular employees’ entrance to and exit from the building. The stairs, survivors noted were 1.5-2 meters wide and too narrow to accommodate the huge number of panicking employees desperately trying to get out of the burning building. Thus, most of them were forced to break the windows and jump from the third and second floors, including a pregnant woman. There were more women workers in the third floor working the quality control/checkers and balcony. The LGU announced that all workers were accounted for, or are they only regular workers of HTI? What about the agency-hired workers?
3. There is an atmosphere of fear and intimidation among HTI workers as they remain unusually silent and hesitant to speak about the circumstances of the tragedy. The NFFM learned that HTI management asked the workers to report to one of the company building close to CEPZ Gate 5 for headcount and “orientations” on February 2, and went on until February 4. Survivors and witnesses affirm that they were indeed called to report. However, upon timing-in, they were told not to talk to anyone and withhold any information about the fire. A worker interviewed who claimed having photos of the fire and the bodies presumed dead being taken out of the building was instructed to erase the photos and videos from the mobile phone. Other workers corroborated this but requested complete anonymity for fear of losing jobs or any form of reprisal.
4. Since February 1, the management of HTI, PEZA and the LGU barred the media from entering the CEPZ. The LGU was the only one speaking about the incident. The two hospitals where the injured are confined have restricted entry and access to victims and information was limited to hospital official bulletins. On the afternoon of February 4, the NFFM team member said that media were finally allowed to enter the HTI compound but were instructed to remain inside their vehicle and barred from communicating with anyone on site. During this period, Cavite Governor Boying Remulla announced that it would take two weeks to map out the building complex and the need for more manpower and heavy equipment like cranes and bulldozers for the clearing operations, alluding that SOCO investigation will proceed afterwards. Such clearing operation will tamper the scene and cast more doubts on the credibility of their own investigation.
5. HTI management and authorities kept the public guessing about the company’s total workforce as they refuse to release the official records. Accounts gathered during the interviews, revealed that the workers are mostly young, ranging from 18-35 years old. There are around 8,000 regular out of the 13,000 employees while the remaining 5,000 are contractual, casual, or agency-hired. Most interviewees who are regular workers attest receiving mandated wage, but a contractual of three years under one of 6 manpower agencies said he is only paid P200/day and pays P180 for his uniforms.
The initial findings of the NFFM suggests that there is an apparent attempt on the part of the HTI management, the PEZA and the Cavite LGU to hide the actual number of casualties and the possible OHS and labor standards violations.
Having said the above, the NFFM recommends an immediate, transparent, truly independent and impartial investigation on the HTI tragedy free from intervention by the HTI management, PEZA and Cavite LGU to lend credence to the result. To the very least, the investigation must pave way for full and complete disclosure of casualties so that justice can find its course.
The full report of the National Fact Finding Mission will be released in the next few days. The NFFM is composed of Center for Trade Union and Human Rights (CTUHR), Workers Assistance Center (WAC), Institute for Occupational Health and Safety for Development (IOHSAD), Ecumenical Institute for Labor Education and Research (EILER), KARAPATAN, BAYAN, AlterMidya, MIGRANTE, GABRIELA, Kilusang Mayo Uno, and community volunteers.###
On 30th year of Mendiola massacre, farmers demand justice, land reform
January 20, 2017
“All of us are hopeful that the Duterte administration will reopen the case.”
By RONALYN V. OLEA
Bulatlat.com
MANILA — As expected, 58- year-old Teresita Arjona came to the foot of Chino Roces (formerly Mendiola) bridge. For the past 30 years, Arjona has been seeking justice for the death of her husband Danilo and 12 other farmers who were killed when police opened fire at 22,000 farmers on Jan. 22, 1987.
Arjona was the only relative of the 13 martyrs present during the demonstration this afternoon, Jan. 20. She said the other relatives were either ill or too old to travel. She exchanged text messages with them before she left Liliw, Laguna yesterday.
“All of us are hopeful that the Duterte administration will reopen the case,” Arjona told Bulatlat in an interview. “We want justice and land reform.”
Teresita Arjona, whose husband was among the 13 killed on Jan. 22, 1987, hopes that the Duterte administration will reopen their case. (Photo by Ronalyn V. Olea / Bulatlat)The victims’ families and the survivors filed a class suit against the government and certain police and military officers on Jan. 20, 1988. Among the respondents were former President Fidel Ramos, who was, at that time, the defense secretary; former Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief of Staff Gen. Renato de Villa; the Western Police District (WPD) Superintendent then Alfredo Lim; Sen. Rodolfo Biazon, then chief of the Philippine Marines; B/Gen. Brigido Paredes, former Marines commandant; Col. Edgar dela Torre and Col. Romeo Monfort; and former Philippine National Police Chief Cesar Nazareno, then WPD deputy superintendent.
The following month, the House Committee on Human Rights recommended the expeditious payment of compensation to the victims.
In May of the same year, however, the Manila regional trial court dismissed the class suit. The petitioners filed a motion for reconsideration but were denied, with the court citing that the State did not file a waiver of immunity from suit.
On March 19, 1993, the Supreme Court upheld the lower court’s decision, citing government’s immunity from suit.
Antonio Flores, secretary general of the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas, said the police and military officials involved in the violent dispersal were all promoted.
Moreover, the victims’ families did not receive any compensation.
Joining the protest action, Anakpawis Party-list Rep. Ariel Casilao urged President Rodrigo Duterte to recognize and compensate the victims by issuing
an executive order or presidential proclamation.
Casilao also called for the enactment of House Bill 555 or the Genuine Agrarian Reform Bill, which seeks to distribute land to the tillers for free.
KMP’s Flores lamented that 30 years after the massacre, landlords are still in control of vast tracts of land.
In his speech during the program, Antonio Tuyak, 62, said his family and 159 other agrarian reform beneficiaries have encamped outside the 450 hectares of land in Tagum City, Davao del Norte since December 2016. The land, which was awarded to them in 1987, is now controlled by Lapanday Food Corporation (LFC).
Tuyak said they are only asserting their right to their own land but security guards of the LFC fired at them in separate incidents in December.
Despite a cease and desist order issued by the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR), Tuyak said the LFC has not left. “The police, and even the local officials of Tagum are controlled by the Lorenzos,” Tuyak told Bulatlat, referring to the owner of LFC.
Include land reform in peace talks
The KMP took the opportunity to express support to the ongoing third round of peace talks between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) in Rome, Italy.
Both panels announced they prepared their respective drafts on the Comprehensive Agreement on Socioeconomic Reforms (Caser).
Joseph Canlas, KMP chairperson, said, “…we want a CASER that will address our most basic concerns — land, food and social justice. We want resolutions to the centuries-old problem of farmers and the people,” Canlas said.
By RONALYN V. OLEA
Bulatlat.com
MANILA — As expected, 58- year-old Teresita Arjona came to the foot of Chino Roces (formerly Mendiola) bridge. For the past 30 years, Arjona has been seeking justice for the death of her husband Danilo and 12 other farmers who were killed when police opened fire at 22,000 farmers on Jan. 22, 1987.
Arjona was the only relative of the 13 martyrs present during the demonstration this afternoon, Jan. 20. She said the other relatives were either ill or too old to travel. She exchanged text messages with them before she left Liliw, Laguna yesterday.
“All of us are hopeful that the Duterte administration will reopen the case,” Arjona told Bulatlat in an interview. “We want justice and land reform.”
Teresita Arjona, whose husband was among the 13 killed on Jan. 22, 1987, hopes that the Duterte administration will reopen their case. (Photo by Ronalyn V. Olea / Bulatlat)The victims’ families and the survivors filed a class suit against the government and certain police and military officers on Jan. 20, 1988. Among the respondents were former President Fidel Ramos, who was, at that time, the defense secretary; former Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief of Staff Gen. Renato de Villa; the Western Police District (WPD) Superintendent then Alfredo Lim; Sen. Rodolfo Biazon, then chief of the Philippine Marines; B/Gen. Brigido Paredes, former Marines commandant; Col. Edgar dela Torre and Col. Romeo Monfort; and former Philippine National Police Chief Cesar Nazareno, then WPD deputy superintendent.
The following month, the House Committee on Human Rights recommended the expeditious payment of compensation to the victims.
In May of the same year, however, the Manila regional trial court dismissed the class suit. The petitioners filed a motion for reconsideration but were denied, with the court citing that the State did not file a waiver of immunity from suit.
On March 19, 1993, the Supreme Court upheld the lower court’s decision, citing government’s immunity from suit.
Antonio Flores, secretary general of the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas, said the police and military officials involved in the violent dispersal were all promoted.
Moreover, the victims’ families did not receive any compensation.
Joining the protest action, Anakpawis Party-list Rep. Ariel Casilao urged President Rodrigo Duterte to recognize and compensate the victims by issuing
an executive order or presidential proclamation.
Casilao also called for the enactment of House Bill 555 or the Genuine Agrarian Reform Bill, which seeks to distribute land to the tillers for free.
KMP’s Flores lamented that 30 years after the massacre, landlords are still in control of vast tracts of land.
In his speech during the program, Antonio Tuyak, 62, said his family and 159 other agrarian reform beneficiaries have encamped outside the 450 hectares of land in Tagum City, Davao del Norte since December 2016. The land, which was awarded to them in 1987, is now controlled by Lapanday Food Corporation (LFC).
Tuyak said they are only asserting their right to their own land but security guards of the LFC fired at them in separate incidents in December.
Despite a cease and desist order issued by the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR), Tuyak said the LFC has not left. “The police, and even the local officials of Tagum are controlled by the Lorenzos,” Tuyak told Bulatlat, referring to the owner of LFC.
Include land reform in peace talks
The KMP took the opportunity to express support to the ongoing third round of peace talks between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) in Rome, Italy.
Both panels announced they prepared their respective drafts on the Comprehensive Agreement on Socioeconomic Reforms (Caser).
Joseph Canlas, KMP chairperson, said, “…we want a CASER that will address our most basic concerns — land, food and social justice. We want resolutions to the centuries-old problem of farmers and the people,” Canlas said.
Sakadas bare ‘slave-like conditions’ in Hacienda Luisita
January 6, 2017
The sakadas worked from 4 a.m. until 5 p.m. for a pay way below the minimum wage of P334 per day in Tarlac. They received P9 to P128 (US$0.18 to $2.6) per day due to numerous deductions.
By RONALYN V. OLEA
Bulatlat.com
MANILA – Some 200 sakadas or seasonal agricultural workers from Bukidnon left for Hacienda Luisita in November with the hope of getting higher wages and better working conditions.
They were duped.
A copy of the contract between the Greenhand Labor Service Cooperative and the workers showed that the sakadas were to be paid P220 per ton of sugarcane. They would be provided with free lodging, water and electricity, and health and accident insurance. Not one of these promises had been fulfilled.
Based on weekly payrolls obtained by Unyon ng Manggagawa sa Agrikultura (Uma), the sakadas got P9 to P128 per day due to numerous deductions.
Deductions were for food and other provisions, including plates, rice cooker, and even the bolo they used to cut sugar canes.
The sakadas worked from 4 a.m. until 5 p.m. for a pay way below the minimum wage of P334 ($7) per day in Tarlac. They were housed in cramped, poorly ventilated bunkhouses in barangay Mapalacsiao near the Central Azucarera de Tarlac.
Mario Bagnaran, 58, is one of the 52 sakadas who escaped from their supervisors in Hacienda Luisita. Bagnaran used to work in one of DOLE’s pineapple plantations in Bukidnon. His P6,000 monthly salary was not enough for a family of nine, especially with four children still in grade school.
Bagnaran and seven of his relatives left Maramag, Bukidnon on Nov. 5, hoping to send higher income to their families. After more than a month, they were not able to send any money home.
His brother, Brixcio, 62, fell ill while working in the hacienda. Bagnaran said Brixcio was only given medicines for fever and transportation for his trip back home. He went back to Bukidnon on Dec. 18. Without any money, Brixcio did not go to a hospital for checkup. He died yesterday, Jan. 4, at around 1 p.m., leaving behind his wife and eight children.
Bagnaran said his brother, who seemed healthy before they left Bukidnon, succumbed to tuberculosis. The backbreaking work was so tiring, Bagnaran said.
Nine of the sakadas just escaped from Hacienda Luisita last night. Risking their remaining cash, they rode a bus to Cubao. From the bus station, they travelled on foot going to the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) to join their colleagues.
Rosalito Ravo, 40, said their conditions forced them to leave. Often, they worked with empty stomach. “Sometimes, we would catch frogs just to fill our stomach.”
Victims of trafficking, labor violations
Labor lawyer Remigio Saladero Jr. of Pro-Labor Assistance Center (Place) said the Greenhand Labor Service Cooperative and the Agrikulto Inc. and CAT, which are the primary employers of the sakadas, should be held accountable for violating the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act.
Four of the 52 rescued sakadas are minors. One is a woman and 24 are Lumad.
Saladero added that Greenhand, Agrikulto and CAT violated several labor laws for not paying the minimum wage and the overtime pay; making illegal deductions; and, not ensuring occupational health and safety of the workers, among others.
Saladero said the victims are set to file the criminal charges soon.
The sakadas, accompanied by their lawyers, went to the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Region 3 office in San Fernando, Pampanga yesterday to seek redress. A conciliation-mediation hearing was set Jan. 25.
Agrikulto Inc. was bought by CAT and now jointly owned and managed by Martin Lorenzo, a scion of the landlord clan in Mindanao and Fernando Cojuangco. According to Uma, Agrikulto is also the biggest proprietor of the illicit aryendo or leaseback system victimizing agrarian reform beneficiaries in Hacienda Luisita.
Danilo Ramos, Uma secretary general, noted that the measly wage received by the sakadas was the same pay received by Hacienda Luisita workers who went on strike in November 2004.
Challenge to Duterte
Flores said landless agricultural workers would not be forced to work in slave-like conditions if they have their own land to till. He called for the passage of House Bill 555 or the Genuine Agrarian Reform Bill.
Anakpawis Rep. Ariel Casilao, meanwhile, challenged President Duterte to go after the oligarchs – the Lorenzos and Cojuangcos—and hold them accountable for committing human trafficking on a massive scale.
Casilao also called on DOLE to do an onsite investigation and cease the operations of Agrikulto Inc. and CAT. #
By RONALYN V. OLEA
Bulatlat.com
MANILA – Some 200 sakadas or seasonal agricultural workers from Bukidnon left for Hacienda Luisita in November with the hope of getting higher wages and better working conditions.
They were duped.
A copy of the contract between the Greenhand Labor Service Cooperative and the workers showed that the sakadas were to be paid P220 per ton of sugarcane. They would be provided with free lodging, water and electricity, and health and accident insurance. Not one of these promises had been fulfilled.
Based on weekly payrolls obtained by Unyon ng Manggagawa sa Agrikultura (Uma), the sakadas got P9 to P128 per day due to numerous deductions.
Deductions were for food and other provisions, including plates, rice cooker, and even the bolo they used to cut sugar canes.
The sakadas worked from 4 a.m. until 5 p.m. for a pay way below the minimum wage of P334 ($7) per day in Tarlac. They were housed in cramped, poorly ventilated bunkhouses in barangay Mapalacsiao near the Central Azucarera de Tarlac.
Mario Bagnaran, 58, is one of the 52 sakadas who escaped from their supervisors in Hacienda Luisita. Bagnaran used to work in one of DOLE’s pineapple plantations in Bukidnon. His P6,000 monthly salary was not enough for a family of nine, especially with four children still in grade school.
Bagnaran and seven of his relatives left Maramag, Bukidnon on Nov. 5, hoping to send higher income to their families. After more than a month, they were not able to send any money home.
His brother, Brixcio, 62, fell ill while working in the hacienda. Bagnaran said Brixcio was only given medicines for fever and transportation for his trip back home. He went back to Bukidnon on Dec. 18. Without any money, Brixcio did not go to a hospital for checkup. He died yesterday, Jan. 4, at around 1 p.m., leaving behind his wife and eight children.
Bagnaran said his brother, who seemed healthy before they left Bukidnon, succumbed to tuberculosis. The backbreaking work was so tiring, Bagnaran said.
Nine of the sakadas just escaped from Hacienda Luisita last night. Risking their remaining cash, they rode a bus to Cubao. From the bus station, they travelled on foot going to the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) to join their colleagues.
Rosalito Ravo, 40, said their conditions forced them to leave. Often, they worked with empty stomach. “Sometimes, we would catch frogs just to fill our stomach.”
Victims of trafficking, labor violations
Labor lawyer Remigio Saladero Jr. of Pro-Labor Assistance Center (Place) said the Greenhand Labor Service Cooperative and the Agrikulto Inc. and CAT, which are the primary employers of the sakadas, should be held accountable for violating the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act.
Four of the 52 rescued sakadas are minors. One is a woman and 24 are Lumad.
Saladero added that Greenhand, Agrikulto and CAT violated several labor laws for not paying the minimum wage and the overtime pay; making illegal deductions; and, not ensuring occupational health and safety of the workers, among others.
Saladero said the victims are set to file the criminal charges soon.
The sakadas, accompanied by their lawyers, went to the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Region 3 office in San Fernando, Pampanga yesterday to seek redress. A conciliation-mediation hearing was set Jan. 25.
Agrikulto Inc. was bought by CAT and now jointly owned and managed by Martin Lorenzo, a scion of the landlord clan in Mindanao and Fernando Cojuangco. According to Uma, Agrikulto is also the biggest proprietor of the illicit aryendo or leaseback system victimizing agrarian reform beneficiaries in Hacienda Luisita.
Danilo Ramos, Uma secretary general, noted that the measly wage received by the sakadas was the same pay received by Hacienda Luisita workers who went on strike in November 2004.
Challenge to Duterte
Flores said landless agricultural workers would not be forced to work in slave-like conditions if they have their own land to till. He called for the passage of House Bill 555 or the Genuine Agrarian Reform Bill.
Anakpawis Rep. Ariel Casilao, meanwhile, challenged President Duterte to go after the oligarchs – the Lorenzos and Cojuangcos—and hold them accountable for committing human trafficking on a massive scale.
Casilao also called on DOLE to do an onsite investigation and cease the operations of Agrikulto Inc. and CAT. #
DO168 to worsen rather than end contractualization — KMU
January 4, 2017
By MARYA SALAMAT
Bulatlat.com
“We cannot accept the continued legalization of contractualization and proliferation of agencies.”
MANILA — Workers are increasingly becoming disappointed with President Duterte’s still unrealized promises. “Six months is more than enough time for the Duterte administration to have implemented some changes,” said Jerome Adonis, KMU Secretary General. But until today, contractualization, which President Duterte promised to end, is still happening all over the country and even growing in scale. And it doesn’t seem about to end given the new contractualization policy drafted by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), according to various workers’ groups.
In a press conference Wednesday Jan 4 in Quezon City, leaders of national labor center Kilusang Mayo Uno condemned the newly minted draft policy on contractualization submitted last week to the president by the Labor Department.
The new policy called Department Order no. 168 (DO168) features provisions that, the KMU said, will never end but only worsen the exploitative employment setup.
They still have to get a copy of the said contractualization policy. There is none yet as of this writing on the website of DOLE. “We have written labor officials for a copy, but we still haven’t got a copy of DO 168,” said Lito Fadriquelan, president of Ilaw-Buklod ng Manggagawa, a federation allied with KMU.
The labor leaders asked the president to reject the said new contractualization policy and instead push Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III to implement the president’s marching orders on ending contractualization.
Contractualization to worsen under DO168 – KMU
Based on media reports, the changes in the old contractualization policy included raising the required seed capital of manpower agencies from P3million to P5 million ($60,472 to $100,786); imposing a fine on agencies found violating the DO; regularizing the workers but at the same time saying their employer-employee relationship is with the agency and not with the principal; allowing contractuals to unionize and negotiate a collective bargaining agreement. It also directs agencies to provide support to workers if their contract is not renewed and they failed to find another job in three months.
But, the KMU leaders said, these are just sugar coating to the problem of continued contractualization. “All these do not reflect the workers’ unified calls to ending contractualization; at best these are just sugar coating for an even worse implementation of contractualization,” they said.
The main problem with the new contractualization policy stems from the continued legality of manpower agencies and the legalization of employers’ claims denying the employer-employee relationship between the contractual and the principal. George San Mateo, national president of transport group PISTON, said the DO168 is worse (than DO 18-A) because it not only legitimizes contractualization, it removes the employer-employee relationship between the contractual and the principal.
“If workers can be regularized and their rights to form a union can be recognized, why not just regularize them under their principal?” asked Doods Gerodias, leader of Alliance of Democratic Labor Organizations (ADLO), a federation affiliated with the KMU.
“Regarding what they’re saying about allowing contractuals to unionize and bargain, to whom will the workers go to ask for a wage hike? Will the service provider negotiate on their behalf with the principal companies?” Gerodias asked.
KMU leaders urge workers to let their voices be heard until the DOLE junk DO168. (Bulatlat.com)
It is not the third-party manpower agencies that profit from the workers’ labor power but the principal, said Adonis. As such, workers can only truly negotiate for a wage hike with the principal and not with the agencies. Adonis explained that in fact, the agencies’ profit comes from the amount that they take out of the workers’ salaries. “They are just another layer of exploiters,” he added.
On top of being an instrument in pushing down wages, the manpower agencies facilitate the principal’s escape from its responsibility to the workers, such as ensuring their occupational health and safety, job security, benefits and retirement pay. “We cannot accept the continued legalization of contractualization and proliferation of agencies,” said Gerodias. He said these agencies are aiding principal companies in “killing off the workers’ rights to be regularized and in limiting the benefits the workers can enjoy.” In fact, he said, many labor agencies are dummies of big companies.
The new labor policy is not the answer to the workers’ demands to end contractualization once and for all, the KMU concluded.
Serving a warning to Pres. Duterte
Jerome Adonis of KMU warned that should the president approve the new contractualization policy, then it means he is in agreement with it and is not really serious at fulfilling his promises to workers. If that were the case, “He will soon face also the workers’ growing wrath and protests,” Adonis said.
He urged Labor Secretary Bello to stop trying to wash his hands off his “betrayal” of the workers’ united position against contractualization.
Adonis said it is not true that the Labor Department has its hands tied by existing laws. If the Labor Secretary can issue a policy legalizing contractualization (as what happened in DO 18-A), then he (or she) can also withdraw it, the KMU said. Doing just that is one of the KMU’s “concrete, doable proposals toward ending contractualization” that they submitted to the Labor Department as soon as Bello took office.
The labor center is now seeking a dialogue with President Duterte.
The KMU predicts that the DO168 will result in more and more workers being hired through manpower agencies under the “legalized contractual employment schemes.” These, in turn, will result in more extreme labor exploitation as the DO’s permitted removal of employer-employee relationship “gives capitalists greater freedom to siphon super profits,” Adonis warned. He urged all workers to unite and make their voices heard “until the Labor department junks its anti-worker department order.”
On January 6, various workers’ unions are set to hold what they call as “Metrowide Breaktime Protests.” Across Metro Manila, workers will gather to protest outside their workplaces during their break. On January 11, the KMU plans to form a human barricade in front of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) main office in Intramuros, Manila.
They called on all Filipino workers to show their outrage against the Labor department’s “betrayal” of their demand for regular jobs. The “Workers are not stupid, they’re just hungry,” said Nenita Gonzaga, KMU Vice President. #
Bulatlat.com
“We cannot accept the continued legalization of contractualization and proliferation of agencies.”
MANILA — Workers are increasingly becoming disappointed with President Duterte’s still unrealized promises. “Six months is more than enough time for the Duterte administration to have implemented some changes,” said Jerome Adonis, KMU Secretary General. But until today, contractualization, which President Duterte promised to end, is still happening all over the country and even growing in scale. And it doesn’t seem about to end given the new contractualization policy drafted by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), according to various workers’ groups.
In a press conference Wednesday Jan 4 in Quezon City, leaders of national labor center Kilusang Mayo Uno condemned the newly minted draft policy on contractualization submitted last week to the president by the Labor Department.
The new policy called Department Order no. 168 (DO168) features provisions that, the KMU said, will never end but only worsen the exploitative employment setup.
They still have to get a copy of the said contractualization policy. There is none yet as of this writing on the website of DOLE. “We have written labor officials for a copy, but we still haven’t got a copy of DO 168,” said Lito Fadriquelan, president of Ilaw-Buklod ng Manggagawa, a federation allied with KMU.
The labor leaders asked the president to reject the said new contractualization policy and instead push Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III to implement the president’s marching orders on ending contractualization.
Contractualization to worsen under DO168 – KMU
Based on media reports, the changes in the old contractualization policy included raising the required seed capital of manpower agencies from P3million to P5 million ($60,472 to $100,786); imposing a fine on agencies found violating the DO; regularizing the workers but at the same time saying their employer-employee relationship is with the agency and not with the principal; allowing contractuals to unionize and negotiate a collective bargaining agreement. It also directs agencies to provide support to workers if their contract is not renewed and they failed to find another job in three months.
But, the KMU leaders said, these are just sugar coating to the problem of continued contractualization. “All these do not reflect the workers’ unified calls to ending contractualization; at best these are just sugar coating for an even worse implementation of contractualization,” they said.
The main problem with the new contractualization policy stems from the continued legality of manpower agencies and the legalization of employers’ claims denying the employer-employee relationship between the contractual and the principal. George San Mateo, national president of transport group PISTON, said the DO168 is worse (than DO 18-A) because it not only legitimizes contractualization, it removes the employer-employee relationship between the contractual and the principal.
“If workers can be regularized and their rights to form a union can be recognized, why not just regularize them under their principal?” asked Doods Gerodias, leader of Alliance of Democratic Labor Organizations (ADLO), a federation affiliated with the KMU.
“Regarding what they’re saying about allowing contractuals to unionize and bargain, to whom will the workers go to ask for a wage hike? Will the service provider negotiate on their behalf with the principal companies?” Gerodias asked.
KMU leaders urge workers to let their voices be heard until the DOLE junk DO168. (Bulatlat.com)
It is not the third-party manpower agencies that profit from the workers’ labor power but the principal, said Adonis. As such, workers can only truly negotiate for a wage hike with the principal and not with the agencies. Adonis explained that in fact, the agencies’ profit comes from the amount that they take out of the workers’ salaries. “They are just another layer of exploiters,” he added.
On top of being an instrument in pushing down wages, the manpower agencies facilitate the principal’s escape from its responsibility to the workers, such as ensuring their occupational health and safety, job security, benefits and retirement pay. “We cannot accept the continued legalization of contractualization and proliferation of agencies,” said Gerodias. He said these agencies are aiding principal companies in “killing off the workers’ rights to be regularized and in limiting the benefits the workers can enjoy.” In fact, he said, many labor agencies are dummies of big companies.
The new labor policy is not the answer to the workers’ demands to end contractualization once and for all, the KMU concluded.
Serving a warning to Pres. Duterte
Jerome Adonis of KMU warned that should the president approve the new contractualization policy, then it means he is in agreement with it and is not really serious at fulfilling his promises to workers. If that were the case, “He will soon face also the workers’ growing wrath and protests,” Adonis said.
He urged Labor Secretary Bello to stop trying to wash his hands off his “betrayal” of the workers’ united position against contractualization.
Adonis said it is not true that the Labor Department has its hands tied by existing laws. If the Labor Secretary can issue a policy legalizing contractualization (as what happened in DO 18-A), then he (or she) can also withdraw it, the KMU said. Doing just that is one of the KMU’s “concrete, doable proposals toward ending contractualization” that they submitted to the Labor Department as soon as Bello took office.
The labor center is now seeking a dialogue with President Duterte.
The KMU predicts that the DO168 will result in more and more workers being hired through manpower agencies under the “legalized contractual employment schemes.” These, in turn, will result in more extreme labor exploitation as the DO’s permitted removal of employer-employee relationship “gives capitalists greater freedom to siphon super profits,” Adonis warned. He urged all workers to unite and make their voices heard “until the Labor department junks its anti-worker department order.”
On January 6, various workers’ unions are set to hold what they call as “Metrowide Breaktime Protests.” Across Metro Manila, workers will gather to protest outside their workplaces during their break. On January 11, the KMU plans to form a human barricade in front of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) main office in Intramuros, Manila.
They called on all Filipino workers to show their outrage against the Labor department’s “betrayal” of their demand for regular jobs. The “Workers are not stupid, they’re just hungry,” said Nenita Gonzaga, KMU Vice President. #