‘Not without a fight’ seems to be the motto of many militant unions against efforts to bust their unions; they basically always put up a fight for wages, jobs and rights.
BY MARYA SALAMAT
LABOR WATCH
Contributed to Bulatlat
Vol. VIII, No. 12, April 27-May 3, 2008
In the busy street of Marcos Alvarez in Las Pinas, many vehicles would honk when they pass by the picketline of Far Eastern International Garments, Inc. (FEIGI). The reason: a placard urges them, Bumusina laban kay Gloria (Blow your horn against GMA) while another says Tanggalin si Gloria Hindi ang Manggagawa (Remove Gloria, not the workers).
There was a time when employers prohibited such placards to be posted even at picketlines for fear of offending the government. But these days, labour-intensive export-oriented companies such as FEIGI have other issues to complain about. Not least of them are decreased profits from declining orders of recession-wracked rich countries and lower value of their dollar earnings. Like other companies though, the employers’ coping mechanisms to protect their profit rates frequently put workers at a disadvantage. Early this year, thousands of long-time workers were retrenched when their employers shut down production or reduced their work force. Some relocated to industrial parks outside NCR with lower-paid contractual and non-unionized workers. These employers are just taking advantage of GMA’s come-on to investors: no-union, no strike and cheap labor.
Street of shutdown, retrenchment and full spectrum of trade unionism
‘Not without a fight’ seems to be the motto of many militant unions against efforts to bust their unions; they basically always put up a fight for wages, jobs and rights. “As soon as the management told us they’re temporarily shutting down operations while awaiting orders, we put up this picketline,” said a woman worker who’d been sewing Dockers and Eddie Bauer shirts in FEIGI for 23 years. Since April 7 they’d been protesting what they call as “illegal shutdown” and lack of financial assistance by the management. (A shutdown is deemed illegal when adequate prior notice (30 days) is not observed.) They’re also asking their long-time employers who, they said, had profited enormously from decades of their work, to give them financial assistance. Douglas Hsu, owner of FEIGI, ranks 707th in Forbes Magazine’s list of the world’s wealthiest billionaires.
But FEIGI workers have another pressing reason for holding a 24-hour picket outside their “temporarily closed” factory at Marcos Alvarez St. “Binabantayan lang namin, baka matulad kami sa iba” (We’re just guarding it, we don’t want to suffer what befell our fellow workers), confided another worker with more than 20 years of service in the company.
During similar shutdowns in large neighbouring export-oriented and foreign-owned garment factories, the employers took advantage of their workers’ absence to relocate their machineries and equipment to another factory site. “Kunwari pinagbakasyon, 'yun pala ilalabas lang mga gamit” (The workers are forced to go on vacation purportedly for lack of business so that the machines and equipment can be carted out)said the 48-year old sewing machine operator. At the end of the scheduled shutdown, long-time regular workers had no more work to return to; they’re also reduced to almost begging just to get their legally mandated separation pay.
This is what’s happening now to workers of Kelseat and Chris Garments, both in Marcos Alvarez St. neighboring FEIGI. Kelseat had about 500 workers while Chris Garments had around 1,000 when the two companies recently shut down. Unlike workers of FEIGI, workers in these two companies were led by federations other than KMU (Kilusang Mayo Uno or May 1st Movement). Kelseat workers were allied with PTGWO, a federation under the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP), while the union of Chris Garments is officially affiliated with the Bukluran ng Mangagawang Pilipino (Unity of Filipino Workers or BMP). Some federations brand TUCP’s unionism as ‘yellow’ while BMP’s as the “new yellow.”
Yellow and new yellow unionism supposedly means compromised or collaborationist (in favour of the management and the government, at the expense of workers) mode of unionism. It accuses the union officers of selling out the workers’ struggle. The two yellows’ difference lies in the new yellow’s seemingly militant tact, yet essentially still selling out to the management. On the other end of trade union spectrum is the so-called genuine trade unionism being espoused by KMU and other unions. It relies on varied democratic and militant mass actions to achieve their demands and give workers some protection against the onslaught of profit-driven exploitation of their employers in connivance with the government.
How these different unions acted
Kelseat workers had reportedly pressed their union officers to launch mass actions when their factory’s closure was still a threat, and when they saw the machineries and equipment being taken out. But their officers refused, saying the protest would only be deemed illegal, and they also lacked funds. Yet, Kelseat workers had been paying higher union dues (compared to Far Eastern union members) and without costly union programs and services, its members can’t see where their dues had gone to.
Finally, without consulting the members, Kelseat’s union leaders entered into a compromise agreement with their management. According to protesting Kelseat workers, part of their union’s compromise with the management states that DOLE will act as sheriff in taking out the firm’s machineries and equipment. But based on Kelseat workers’ accounts, it’s the management and union officers they sometimes saw aboard the vehicles that took out their machineries. When the union of workers in FEIGI put up their picketline in April 7, Kelseat workers approached them to ask for help in fighting for their rights despite their union leaders’ alleged collusion with the management. More than 70 from Kelseat also joined the protest of FEIGI workers in front of DOLE last April 15 to take the Arroyo government to task for conniving with big capitalists in oppressing the workers.
In Chris Garments, the union members had a different tale but with similar ending, so far. Whenever members asked their union president or other officers about what’s happening, they’re reportedly told there’s already an agreement. But its contents were never divulged nor explained. They asked their officers if they should oppose the pull-out of machineries and equipment. But their president and officers reassured them that “The management promised us they’re just lending out the machineries.”
After hauling out Chris Garments’ machineries and equipment, it reopened in Laguna Industrial Science Park as Prince Eagle Garments Incorporated (PEGI), still owned by Tsai family from Taiwan. They took in only the agency-hired workers who aren’t unionized and are paid much lower. In fact, they’re picking up these contractual workers in front of Chris Garments for the daily drive to work at PEGI in Laguna.
When workers from Chris Garments saw FEIGI’s picket, they approached them to say “That’s right, fight. Don’t let what happened to us to happen to you. We tried to reason out with our employers, but they just relocated everything in our factory. There’s almost nothing left for us to guard there.” Still, a week after FEIGI started picketing, workers from Chris Garments also put up their own picketline to guard whatever was left in Chris Garment’s factory. But when a truck carted off the remaining items of value inside (scrap metals) last April 17, their union president dissuaded the unionists from blocking it, saying the truck had a permit to bring those metals out. Frustrated at their leaders’ seeming inutility and predilection for compromising with the management, many workers were disheartened and soon abandoned the picketline. Others remained, hoping they could still get their old jobs or at least a reasonable separation pay.
Picketline as protest center, under women’s leadership
FEIGI’s picket in Alvarez St has attracted not only its workers but also workers from neighboring factories and communities. It became a beacon for struggle even of other workers who drop by for news, sharing of experiences, coordination and plans for holding protest actions for FEIGI’s demands and their own. Since many workers would congregate there, they took to holding seminars on trade unionism and social issues. They also had video showings and books and reading materials for workers.
As women comprise the majority of the export-oriented garments industry, their strong presence is evident in their picketline. They’re the ones who lead and maintain their now multi-purpose picketline. Though its structures are simple and temporary, these are scrupulously kept clean and organized. Their picketing also doesn’t seem to conflict with some of their other socially dictated roles such as caring for their kids. Many workers have their kids with them at the picketline. They go on with their schedules like teaching them how to read or helping them review for an exam while at the picketline. According to union officers, some of their members’ kids were housed and being looked after by other members who couldn’t stay long in the picketline.
Warm support
“The support we’re getting from passersby is really heart-warming,” shared a pregnant worker at the picketline of Far Eastern. Passersby and commuters pause to take copies of their statements and to hand out financial support. Once, a construction worker amazed them with a large amount. “People seemed to appreciate it that we’re fighting for our jobs, and we know GMA’s policies had caused our predicament,” said a union officer.
Because of their concerted action, the management of FEIGI relented to giving them not financial assistance but a loan of P1,500 ($35.68 at an exchange rate of $1=P42.04) which will be deducted from their wages once work resumes. They also promised the workers the factory will reopen by April 28. The workers vowed that it would be them who would be continuing the work come the reopening.
But workers say it would be foolhardy to simply rely on the management’s promises, as their neighboring workers’ experiences showed. Salvador Carranza, their union president, shared that militancy, concerted mass action and their picketline remain as their effective weapon for defending the workers’ interests.
“The workers are challenged by employers’ excessive profit-taking in this era of cruel neo-liberal globalization, where we’re ranged against not only our employers but also our government. We can only rely on concerted mass actions to give workers some semblance of protection,” said KMU’s Bong Labog in a talk at the picketline.
A woman worker from Kelseat agreed, “Ang sarap pala sumigaw at lumaban” (It feels great to shout out and fight). Contributed to Bulatlat
