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Jobert Ilarde Pahilga, the lawyer for the farm workers in Hacienda Luisita, said HLI’s compromise agreement is “the third time that the Cojuangcos-Aquinos betrayed agrarian reform and the HLI farm workers.”
his is a copy, which Sentra emailed to Bulatlat, of the compromise agreement between Hacienda Luisita Inc. and the farm workers.
By MARYA SALAMAT
The dialogue brokered by government did not address the root causes of the unrest raised by the pilots who resigned. Instead, PAL will continue to implement its massive spin-off and contractualization schemes – approved by the Arroyo regime, not yet rescinded by the Aquino government -- that will affect thousands of PAL’s cabin and ground employees.
By DABET CASTAÑEDA
In 2004, Bulatlat.com published a two-part investigative report on Hacienda Luisita, its troubled history, and the struggle of the farmers and workers for land and justice. The first part, For Land and Wages: Half a Century of Peasant Struggle in Hacienda Luisita, talks about the lives of the farmers and the events that led to the strike and massacre. The second part, Poorly Paid Workers Lose Jobs — and Homes, Too, exposes the toll the conflict had on the peasants.
Click here for more Bulatlat stories and multimedia content on Hacienda Luisita.
The Versolas continue to support the strike, visiting the picket line to watch documentaries on the massacre, help in the kitchen chores or just exchange views with anyone.
By RONALYN V. OLEA
“We never had any dialogue [with HLI management],” said Lito Bais, a leader of the Luisita union, noting that the Inquirer report on the deal came two weeks before the scheduled oral arguments before the Supreme Court on Aug. 18. Bais said the supposed agreement is meant to send a message to the members of the high court. “They want to influence the outcome of the SC decision.”
By MARYA SALAMAT
The mass resignation of PAL pilots, the notice of strike filed by the cabin crew union, the struggle of ground employees against mass termination and contractualization -- all of these are interrelated. “It all stems from Lucio Tan’s moves to increase his profits even more by intensifying the exploitation of all his employees in the aviation industry.”
Related story: As Though 11-Year CBA Suspension Not Enough, PAL Employees Face Layoffs, Contractualization
By BULATLAT STAFF
No mention of land reform, no promise of any wage hike, no hint that the budget for education and basic social services will be increased, no reference to the reality that debt servicing eats into the national budget more than the corruption at the MWSS or Napocor or NFA, and no acknowledgment of the fact that the cease-fire precondition for the resumption of the peace talks with the Communists is the same precondition that bogged down previous negotiations.
Related Items • Sidebar: Ordinary Filipinos to Noynoy: We Expect Jobs, Decent Income, Housing • Bulatlat's live coverage page of the Sona • Twitter updates • Photos • Webcasts: Reaction by Ibon Foundation | Human rights under Aquino | Condition of workers | Peasant Situation | Sovereignty issues facing Noynoy • Livestreaming of "People's SONA"
Francisco Dizon of Ambala, a union in Hacienda Luisita, talks about the plight of the farmers and workers in the sugar plantation owned by the family of President Aquino. This discussion is part of the coverage of Bulatlat.com and Kodao Productions of Aquino's first State of the Nation Address.
Leandro Gerodias, national president of the Association of Democratic Labor Ogranizations, an affiliate of the Kilusang Mayo, discusses the labor situation in the Philippines during a panel discussion hosted by Kodao Productions' Raymund Villanueva and Bulatlat.com's Benjie Oliveros, on the key issues that progressive groups say President Aquino should address. The forum was part of the coverage of Bulatlat.com and Kodao Productions of Aquino's first State of the Nation Address. Watch part 2 of the webcast here.
By MARYA SALAMAT
The network said it is “not dismissing or retrenching employees.” Instead, it describes the dismissals as an “ongoing process.”
By LYN V. RAMO
With their small parcels of land no longer producing enough for their families, peasant women and men try to make do with odd jobs.
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