This story
was taken from Bulatlat, the Philippines's alternative weekly
newsmagazine (www.bulatlat.com, www.bulatlat.net, www.bulatlat.org).
Vol. V, No. 21, July 3-9, 2005
LABOR WATCH
On 4th week of
strike A
march-rally led by the Lepanto Employees Union (LEU) belied the claims of the
Lepanto Consolidated Mining Company (Lepanto) that 80 percent of the strikers
want to return to work.
BY Kim Quitasol and Abi Bengwayan
MANKAYAN, Benguet – A march-rally led
by the Lepanto Employees Union (LEU) belied the claims of the Lepanto
Consolidated Mining Company (Lepanto) that 80 percent of the strikers want to
return to work. Over 3,000 workers, along
with their wives and children, marched from the town center of Mankayan (348 kms
north of Manila) to the company’s general office, also here in Mankayan, to
condemn Lepanto’s statement claiming such, the arrest of four strikers and its
recruitment of new workers despite unfinished negotiations with the union. Mankayan farmers, members
of the MAQUITACDG (Mankayan, Quirino, Tadian, Cervantes, Danggayan a Gunglo) and
peasants from Mt. Province also joined the march-rally. In a short program July 2,
LEU president Ninian Lang-agan condemned Lepanto’s recruitment saying that it is
taking place in the guise of “project employment.” Project workers are hired to
work under a separate contract, which means their employment ends with their
contracts. However, according to Lang-agan,
instead of terminating the project workers Lepanto actually hires them as
permanent employees to replace the striking workers. He said some 80 “project
employees” have already entered the mine site.
In an interview, Kilusang Mayo Uno (May First
Movement or KMU-Cordillera) spokesperson James Tulipa said the ongoing
recruitment shows Lepanto’s insincerity in the negotiations.
“By hiring new workers with the labor dispute
still unsettled, management only intends to end the negotiations and abandon the
issues the workers are raising. The workers will not allow this,” he said.
Lang-agan said that union officers are currently
talking to Lepanto’s recruiters, explaining that they could not hire other
mineworkers until the demands are settled. Recruitment has reportedly reached as
far as Cebu, where Assistant Resident Manager Engr. Ernesto Laoagan formerly
worked, particularly in Atlas Mining.
Arrest
At around 2 a.m., July 2, 15 workers manning the
Carlos Palanca Jr. Hall were arrested and detained by the police. The order
reportedly came from company security head Col. Wilhelm Doromal. The Nayak gate
then was forcibly opened by policemen and four more strikers were arrested and
detained.
Eight hours later, local residents held an
indignation rally in front of the municipal hall and demanded the immediate
release of the workers. Union officers also held a dialogue with town officials.
As of presstime, the workers have still not been released.
Like the dispersals carried out by the police on
June 18 and 21, the arrests took place at dawn.
Recruitment of workers
Tulipa said LEU officials and the KMU spoke to
the Cebuano recruits and explained to them their plight. It was then they found
out that the recruited workers were not informed that the company is on strike.
As of June 30, said Tulipa, the Cebuano recruits
number 27, while another group of 42 is expected to arrive, including 30
mineworkers from Philex Mines in Itogon, Benguet. Recruitment is also ongoing in
Kalinga, Mt. Province, and Baguio City.
Twenty new recruits from the Visayas arrived in
Mankayan on July 1, and were blocked at the Tubo gate when they tried to enter.
Tulipa said the workers explained their situation to the Visayan recruits,
brought them to the picketline and offered them food.
Also on July 1, Cebuano workers signed a paper
with the striking workers that they were not at all harmed while at the
picketline. The Cebuano recruits are now on their way home, KMU said.
Lang-agan, who is a native of Guinaang village
in Bontoc, Mt. Province, said that officers have gone as far as their hometowns
to explain to their kakailyan (barriomates) the company’s intentions when
it recruits new mineworkers in the middle of the strike.
“The response in Bontoc is positive. The
kakailyan even committed to go to Lepanto if management remains stiff in its
position,” he said.
Ban
On June 28, Nordis sources in Mankayan said that
strike supporters have been banned from joining the workers in the picketlines.
“Management has no business preventing these
individuals and organizations from supporting us,” Lang-agan said.
Meanwhile, also on June 28, workers picketing
the Tubo gate prevented the entry of some 12 scabs aboard an L-300 van.
Some women leaders also reported seeing some
scabs dressed in police uniforms headed toward the Buaki mine portal, which is a
ploy to discourage the workers form confronting them, they said.
Tulipa said the workers have now doubled their
efforts in manning the entry of people and vehicles at the picketed gates.
Counter arguments
At Lepanto’s general office, the strikers
confronted the management on standing issues.
Lepanto counsel Weldy Manlong came out to face
the workers and explained that given the company’s dire financial straits, it
could not grant LEU’s wage proposal, which is P29 for the first and second years
and P33 for the third year. But he said that if the workers would return to
work, the wage increase proposed by the labor department, which is P25-P27-P29,
would be implemented.
Manlong also said that the company is just
complying with the DoLE order. He said the recruitment process is an option DoLE
has granted them given the situation where production is paralyzed.
He added that Lepanto would have to close down
in two years if it gives in to the union’s demands. In an earlier interview, LEU
Auditor and spokesperson Ronald Maslian said that such scenario is impossible
since the company has already applied for expansion and have opened doors for
investors.
“The difference between the DoLE order and
Lepanto proposal is a mere P10 in the housing allowance. We cannot afford to
lower our P29-P29-P33 proposal since it is the lowest adjustment we can afford.
Company’s proposal is very meager compared to the billions they have raked in
through our sweat,” Maslian said.
During the first bout of negotiations in
February 2005, LEU proposed for P100-P100-P100, which Lepanto counter-proposed
with P0-P10-P11. LEU officers reiterated other issues, which include Lepanto’s
non-remittance of Social Security Service (SSS) and loan deductions and human
rights violations by PNP elements and company security during picketline
dispersals.
Lang-agan further criticized Lepanto for using
the children to discourage the workers from pursuing the strike. He said Lepanto
representatives went to the schools and told the children that they would go
hungry and would not be able to finish school if their fathers go on with the
strike.
“If Lepanto really means well for our children,
they would yield to our demands,” he said.
Maslian further condemned DoLE for favoring
Lepanto, adding that DoLE should guide the workers for the advancement of their
rights and welfare. In a position paper after
the multipartite talks at the Benguet Provincial Capitol last week, the union
reiterated its proposal that pending negotiations on wages and other benefits,
the company shall reconsider, recall or withdraw the Notice of Termination
issued to some 75 workers, including criminal cases filed against union
officers; that until the issues are resolved, workers who choose not to report
shall not be dismissed; and that the company shall not employ retaliatory moves
against the union. Northern Dispatch / Posted by Bulatlat © 2004 Bulatlat
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3,000 March vs Lepanto
Northern dispatch
Posted by Bulatlat