This story
was taken from Bulatlat, the Philippines's alternative weekly
newsmagazine (www.bulatlat.com, www.bulatlat.net, www.bulatlat.org).
Vol. V, No. 12, May 1-7, 2005
LABOR WATCH
New Trade Secretary Has Blood In His Hands,
Unions Say
Labor unions in Laguna are
opposing the confirmation of new Trade and Industry Secretary Juan B. Santos by
the Commission on Appointments. In a sworn statement, they want Santos to
account for the death of at least 10 workers at Nestle which he headed in
1987-2003.
By
Dennis Espada CALAMBA CITY -- Militant
labor groups here are sporting their thumbs down as a sign of protest against
the appointment of Juan B. Santos as the new secretary of the Department of
Trade and Industry (DTI). The new trade and industry
secretary served as president and chief executive officer of Nestle Philippines,
Inc. (NPI) from 1987 to 2003 and was commended in 1994 as "Management Man of the
Year" by the Management Association of the Philippines (MAP). In a joint affidavit filed
last March before the Commission on Appointments (CoA) by the officers of Union
of Filipino Employees-Drug, Food Allied Workers-Kilusang Mayo Uno (UFE-DFA-KMU),
labor leaders argued that with Santos' record as president and CEO of NPI and in
connection with the bloody dispersals at the company's Cabuyao factory
picketline, he "does not deserve to be appointed" to the DTI post. To date, the strikers have
experienced three violent
dispersals in their picketline enforced by security guards, police and the
military. As a reprisal to the strikes, the management © 2004 Bulatlat
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Bulatlat
They want Santos to account for the “violent dispersals” of strikes at the
Nestle Philippines’ Cabuyao factory which resulted in the death of at least 10
workers and injuries to several others.
The CoA, chaired by Senate President Franklin Drilon, has yet to confirm the
appointment of Santos, who assumed the post last February 15.
Union-buster
In 2003, the Court of Appeals in 2003 ruled as valid the Nestle workers' stand
in holding that the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) provision on
retirement benefits is a negotiable item. The Supreme Court had previously
upheld the unions’ position in 1991.
Apparently, Nestle ignored the court rulings thus precipitating a series of
strikes during the period and until today.
filed criminal cases against 200 workers which led to the arrest of 28 strikers,
with three of them detained. At least 10 workers have died in various strike
periods, union leaders said.
In their March statement, the Nestle workers said that in 1987 the company
management sent one of its ten-wheeler trucks to ram the workers’ picketline in
Cabuyao. The workers were able to evade the attack but a new medical graduate
and two by-standers were killed.
Then on Jan. 20, 1989, the president of the worker's union, Meliton Roxas, was
shot dead in cold-blood in front of the factory gate. Workers believe that the
NPI management, led by Santos, was responsible for the killing.
The union officers also charged Santos of bankrolling the expenses of Department
of Labor and Employment (DoLE) Secretary Patricia Santo Tomas for her
chauffeur's service from Geneva, Switzerland to Italy and back on June 15 to 16,
2002. The company had a case then pending before the DoLE.
Labor-only contracting
The Nestle workers also said that with Santos at the helm of NPI, Nestle
employees began to lose their right to security of tenure through the
implementation of subcontracting, outsourcing, retrenchment and redundancy
programs.
Noel Alemania, spokesperson of the Cabuyao Workers' Alliance (CAWAL) and one of
the oppositors, said that the management has hired more than 20 co-packers while
5,400 contractual workers have taken over the functions of regular employees in
the company.
"Because they're hired for only five months, contractual workers lack the
expertise and dedication to produce high quality products," Alemania told
Bulatlat. "The co-packing scheme clearly violates the Labor Code which
prohibits labor-only contracting
(LOC)."
One co-packer firm -- Antonina Industrial Corporation
located in Santa Rosa, Laguna -- is long engaged in the repacking of instant
coffee, noodles, seasoning and iced tea products.
Alemania underscored that labor must oppose the LOC scheme because it threatens
workers’ security of tenure and also pave the way for the repression of trade
unionism in the country.
"Kung naisagawa ni Santos ang LOC kahit siya'y nasa private sector pa nang di
man lang kinokondena o iwinawasto ng DOLE at gobyerno, lalo na ngayong siya'y
secretary ng DTI kung saan malaya niya itong maipapatupad sa lahat ng mga
kumpanya" (If Santos was able to enforce LOC while in the private sector
without the DoLE and government condemning or rectifying it, how much more now
that he is the DTI secretary and is free to implement the scheme in all
companies), Alemania said. Bulatlat