Workers’ Rights Trampled Upon by GMA’s Total War
64 labor leaders and
unionists slain since 2001
The Arroyo regime’s
“total war” is not only victimizing progressive party lists, lawyers,
church workers, teachers, students, and peasants. It is also victimizing
workers who are peacefully exercising their union rights as the experience
of the Samahan ng mga Manggagawa sa Console Farms (SAMACOFA or the Union
of Workers at Console Farms) in
Central Luzon
would show.
BY MAUREEN HERMITANIO
Contributed to Bulatlat
The Arroyo regime’s “total war” is not
only victimizing progressive party lists, lawyers, church workers,
teachers, students, and peasants. It is also victimizing workers who are
peacefully exercising their union rights. Sixty four labor leaders and
unionists have been killed since 2001. Fifteen were from Central Luzon.
As
more troops are deployed in Central Luzon, numbering 10,000
soldiers as of the last count, even workers peacefully exercising their
trade union rights are harassed.
Military takeover of union activities
A fact-finding mission (FFM)
composed of 200 persons from the
Center of Trade
Union and Human Rights (CTUHR), National Coalition for the Protection of
Workers Rights (NCPWR), Religious of Good Shepherd Sisters and various
unions and federations from Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU or May 1st
Movement) went to Bulacan, on Sept. 12, to investigate reports of
harassments of workers at Console Farms. The FFM team had to pass through
two military checkpoints on their way to the farm.
The situation was
tense as the team arrived at the area. Heavily armed military men were
stationed at the barangay hall. But as several union members and workers
of Console Farms related their experiences, earlier reports of
infringement of union rights and harassments of workers were confirmed.
According to the
workers, the frequent visits of soldiers at Console Farms began last
November 2005, two months after Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan was deployed as
commanding officer of the 7th Infantry Division operating in
Central Luzon. The soldiers conducted a census of the workers and
residents in the farm. They also convened weekly union meetings where the
workers were required to report all their union activities.
Workers and union
officers were also visited by soldiers at their homes. They were subjected
to interrogations and mental torture during these visits.
The military also
"requested" them to elect a
temporary president for their
union, the Samahan ng mga Manggagawa sa Console Farms (SAMACOFA or the
Union of Workers at Console Farms), and to disaffiliate from their
federation, the Alliance of Nationalists and Genuine Labor Organizations
(ANGLO), which is affiliated with the Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU or May 1st
Movement).
The CTUHR
received reports that most of the union officers
have resigned from their work
in the factory because of these harassments.
Reynaldo Pizon,
acting union vice-president, said that 11 soldiers once
visited him at his house and
accused him of letting NPA (New People’s Army) guerillas sleep
in his hut.
"Hindi
na namin magawa ang mga trabaho sa unyon.
Masyadong
mahigpit ang sitwasyon ngayon,"
(We could not do our union work. The situation is too hot. ) said
Francis Paraon,
union treasurer. The military is also “encouraging” the union to refrain
from asking for
higher wages and benefits from
management.
Earning only an
average of P190 ($3.78 at an exchange rate of $1= P50.26) daily, the
workers said that their wages are usually delayed and they don’t receive
enough benefits even though most of them have worked at Console Farms for
over a decade.
Another resident who asked not to be named said, “Noong
miniting kami, nagbanta sila na hwag tutulong sa NPA kundi papatayin nila.
Wala kaming magagawa, papatay talaga sila. Gagawin talaga nila yon kapag
sumuway sa kanilang kagustuhan.”
(In one of the meetings presided by the military, they threatened us not
to extend assistance to the NPA otherwise we would be killed. We really
cannot do anything because they really kill people. They will no hesitate
to kill you if you go against their wishes.
Paraon said that
he personally experienced being harassed by the military. Soldiers took
him from the farm on Dec. 28 last year.
He was interrogated by five
military men who wore civilian clothes.
"Alam mo Francis, kung
nagsisinungaling ka, pwede kitang patayin sa
bahay niyo!"(You
know Francis, if you lie to us, we could easily kill you inside your own
home.), Paraon quoted one of his abductors.
He was asked
regarding the whereabouts of
NPA guerillas."May kasamang
pananakot at paninindak.
Naglagay pa sila ng
alas sa mesa. Akala ko nga
totortyurin na ako.
Ang gusto nilang
mangyari, mayron [akong]
ituturo na tao kahit di ko alam"
(I was threatened. They even placed an ace of cards on the table. I
thought I would be tortured. They wanted me to finger anybody even if I
don’t know anything.), he said.
CTUHR Executive
Director Daisy Arago said that at Console Farms there is virtually a
military takeover of the union. "Out of
fear, some workers in the farm
refused to talk to us as the military
warned that their lives will be
endangered if they interact and cooperate with ‘communists’. It took a
while before workers of Console and residents within the area agreed to
talk to FFM participants," she
said.
Arago added that
the deployment of more military troops in the region
caused complete disrespect of
human rights of innocent people,
non-combatants or
non-insurgents. "The
military and the Arroyo
government said that they are there to uphold the constitutional and
inherent rights of the people
although what has been happening for the
past years and months is
entirely the opposite," she said.
Barangay Defense
System
Members and union
officers were also forced to join the Barangay (village) Defense System or
BDS. As members of the BDS, they are required to help the military
in the information drive
against the insurgency and to report directly to Lt.
Col. Noel Clement,
commanding officer of
the 56th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army.
One of the workers said, "Nagbuo ng barangay
defense system mula sa mga manggagawa at
residente.
Miyembro ako ng
BDS kahit labag sa kalooban
ko."
(They organized a village defense system from the workers
and residents. I am a member of the BDS even if it is against my will.)
Complicity
Workers confirmed
that the management of Console Farms allows the military to freely
roam within the farm.
“Minsan sa isang linggo pumapasok sila sa poultry at humihingi ng manok
pang-ulam. Madalas din ang patawag ng miting.
Kapag natatakot ang mga manggagawa, ang
management ang nagpapatawag sa
manggagawa para kausapin ng military.
May kaso na kapag
pinapatawag at di sumipot, niratrat ng militar ang
bahay"
(Once a week
soldiers enter the poultry farm and ask for chickens for their meals.
They also call for a meeting. Whenever the workers do not attend the
meetings out of fear, the management calls the workers to talk with the
military. There were times when soldiers fire their guns at the houses of
workers who refuse to attend the meetings.), one of the workers said.
When the FFM team
held a dialogue with officials of the regional office of the Department of
Labor and Employment (DoLE) regarding the reported harassments, the latter
said they could not do anything about it. DoLE Region 3 representative
Efren Reyes said that the cases of "military
intrusion" at Console and
Robina are beyond their jurisdiction. He said that they can only act on
cases of disputes between workers and management.
Elmer Labog, KMU
chairperson, castigated the DoLE for failing to act on the cases of
harassments
and the "military takeover" of
Console Farms. "Expectedly, the DoLE is
inutile to stop these wanton
violations of human and union rights and
unfair labor practices. It
seems they are waiting for this issue to
get nationwide attention before
they act like in the case of the
Hacienda Luisita massacre. The
DoLE is without pretensions on its
inability to protect workers
from the intense militarization in Region 3," Labog said.
LGU officials
promise to act
Even before going
to the farm, the FFM went to the office of the governor of Bulacan in
Malolos (44 kms north of Manila). They were met by Raul Mendoza, head of
the Bulacan Committee on Labor and Human Rights and Provincial Board
Member Patrocinio Laderas. Representatives from the Commission on Human
Rights were also there.
When asked if the
local government can pass a resolution ordering the
military to pull out from
Barangay Sta. Ines where Console farms is
located, Mendoza said that they
will do what is necessary to act on
complaints of military
harassment and interference in Console Farm’s union
activities.
KMU said they are
planning to file complaints before the International
Labor
Organization (ILO) regarding the plight of the workers of Console Farms.
Bulatlat
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