Labor group Defend Coca-Cola Workers reported cases of harassment against as early as January of this year, when Coca-Cola management brought workers to Fort Sto. Domingo, Santa Rosa, and Camp Vicente Lim, Calamba, for anti-union seminars.
“We mourn behind the face mask. We rage over the token relief promised but not received. We rage despite the physical and social distance.”
Since the declaration of the Luzon-wide enhanced community quarantine (ECQ), BIEN has been calling out on BPO companies and the government to protect the safety of the workers. Still the lack of proper transport service, inadequate near site accommodation and limited work-from-home arrangement continue to threaten many BPO workers from job loss or even in being forced to be on a “floating status.”
Defend Coca-Cola Workers described the incident as a “clear case of harassment and anti-union practice”, calling it “shameful and infuriating” that Coca-Cola would “collude with the AFP and PNP to take advantage of the hunger, fear and struggle faced by many due to the COVID-19 pandemic.”
“It’s disheartening that while workers are uniting to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, towards just compensation, and against widespread lay-offs, NTF-ELCAC is hard at work oppressing workers’ rights.”
“They are using the crisis to worsen the workers’ condition and exploit them, knowing that they have nowhere else to turn to.”
Four in ten of the almost 2,000 respondents on their online survey claimed they haven’t received any assistance yet from DOLE due to inefficiencies in its process, while 23 percent claimed their applications were not processed by their respective employers.
“TAG expresses its strong disappointment at this lousy treatment of the network’s talents, our colleagues, the network’s biggest assets, and yet, these are the very same people with no hazard pay nor allowance during these times.”
The workers need economic packages such as a month’s worth of salary that should be subsidized by the government or their company, moratorium on electricity and water bill collections or one month subsidy for these utilities.
“It is not the government – who belittled the impact of Honda Cars’ closure – but the strength of workers’ unity that is key in achieving a better separation package in order to start again.”
“The capitalists at Honda backstabbed the workers whose livelihoods are on the line. It’s clear that they’re sidestepping and twisting the law in order to serve their own interests.”