The workers and their families held a silent picket in front of the Panabo City Council to solicit support. They were retrenched after DITFI-Dole Stanfilco arbitrarily announced “closure” on Oct. 8. But no help came from any of the councilors, prompting the workers to go back to the picket line at the entrance of the container yard. There, soldiers confronted them.
BY DAVAO TODAY
Posted by Bulatlat
Vol. VII, No. 38, October 28-November 3, 2007
PANABO CITY — Following their failure to get the support of this city’s City Council, around 120 retrenched workers of the Davao Integrated Transport Facilities, Inc. (DITFI) and their families decided to barricade the entrance of the company’s container yard around 11:30 Oct. 22.
The workers and their families held a silent picket in front of the Panabo City Council to solicit support. They were retrenched after DITFI-Dole Stanfilco arbitrarily announced “closure” on Oct. 8. But no help came from any of the councilors, prompting the workers to go back to the picket line at the entrance of the container yard.
Around 30 members of the military were quick to arrive at the scene as workers refused to allow any more hauling trucks and refrigerated vans to enter and leave the container yard. Suspicious men in plain clothes were also seen some meters away from the picket line.
The number of workers and sympathizers reached a peak of about 300 people between 6:00 and 10:00 pm. The workers stayed and slept at the entrance of the container yard. “We are livid to see our trucks being driven by outside haulers, as the company continues with its operation while we are outside asking to be let back to work. DITFI and Dole Stanfilco have no remorse depriving us of our only means of living,” said Noel Morales, president of Nagkahiusang Mamumuo sa DITFI, the union of rank and file workers.
“They [DITFI and Dole Stanfilco] are the ones who put the barricades first. They are the ones who would not allow us to work even when the operations of the company continued. We cannot stand and watch while this transnational company rob us of our dignity and step on our rights,” he said.
“We are in a peaceful demonstration. The military is not deputized to be anywhere near us. Their continued presence will only spark violence if they try to use force to break our unity in the picket line. We still call on the local government unit to help us in our demands since it is their sworn mandate,” Morales added.
“We call on people to visit us in the picket lines. We are the victims here; our struggle is just and reasonable and we want nothing but to be given our jobs back. Our families and sympathizers have vowed to remain with us and we are resolved to fight this through,” Morales ended.
Earlier, Morales said the workers are preparing to fight it through until DITFI and Dole-Stanfilco reinstate them and continue with the negotiations for their collective bargaining agreement (CBA).
“Their non-appearance in the hearing and continued disregard to our just demands only show how resolved they are in keeping our families hungry. Our families have already joined us in the picketline and more and more people in Panabo are understanding our struggle. This has become a people’s struggle against the exploitation of transnational Dole-Stanfilco,” he explained.
Morales also berated the “shameless campaign” of the AFP against their legitimate struggle. “The continued presence of members of the military in the picketline, the open smear campaign of Maj. Medel Aguilar, and the daily ungrounded tirades of agents of the AFP in a local radio show will never wane our unity,” said Morales. Right after the announcement of “closure” on October 8, elements of the military in full battle gear have frequented the picketline.
“The AFP has again unmasked itself of all its pretensions,” added Omar Bantayan, secretary general of Kilusang Mayo Uno-Southern Mindanao Region (KMU-SMR). “The pronouncements of Maj. Aguilar only manifests the trademark of the putrid AFP system—lapdogs to the greed of capitalists and enemy to the interests of workers and the people. It only galvanized the truth that workers have come to realize in the picketline: that they can depend on nothing but their unity and the support of the people.”
Earlier this week, Aguilar openly blamed the workers and KMU for the “closure” of management.
Dole Stanfilco arbitrarily declared closure of DITFI, its hauling and transport services company, on October 8, effecting the illegal termination of its 270-odd workforce. However, operations in the company has carried on, as haulers still transport Dole-Stanfilco’s products and facilities inside the container yard continued to run.
“Not only did Dole-Stanfilco not comply with lawful requirements regarding the closure of DITFI, but is also trying to wash its hand clean of its responsibility to us,” declared Morales. In a press conference last week, Dole Stanfilco declared that a company called Saranggani Realty Corporation owned DITFI.
Senior workers reiterated that during the 15 years of their employment in DITFI, they have always known that Dole Stanfilco owned the company and have never heard of a Saranggani Realty Corporation before. At the picketline they mounted in front of the company, workers showed daily time records, certificates and uniforms as proof that Dole Stanfilco was their real employer. Davao Today / (Bulatlat.com)
