LABOR WATCH

Manila Midtown Closure: 
A Case of Contractualization?
Gokongwei’s hotel workers say strike to go on no matter how long it takes

Manila Midtown Hotel’s 550 employees have been on strike since May 1. They have weathered harassment, union leaders say, by both hotel management and police but they are not about to give up however long the fight takes. This, they say, is because they are on the right side.

By Alexander Martin Remollino
Bulatlat.com

Rafael "Paeng" Quililan, 45, has been working at the Manila Midtown Hotel on Pedro Gil St., Ermita, Manila for the last 20 years. He was a bellboy there until 1996, when he began working full-time with his union, the Manila Midtown Employees Labor Union (MMELU) as president. MMELU is an independent union which nonetheless considers the people from Kilusang Mayo Uno "friends," he says.

"It is here where my hair turned white," he says with a wry smile.

Mang Paeng is married and has two children: one in college and the other in grade school. The elder one is set to graduate soon, thanks to father’s earnings from which they were able to save something enough to tide them over for a while during difficult times. Of his younger child's fate, however, Mang Paeng is uncertain.

This is because the MMELU, as of this writing, has been on strike for over five months, and there are no clear indications of where the fight is headed.

Impending closure

"It seemed to us that there was an impending closure," he said when asked why the 455-strong MMELU (83 percent of Manila Midtown's total workforce) staged the strike last May 1.

He continued: "We had advanced news, as early as January, that warned of a closure. Since January, we've been asking,

'What will become of the business?' because there were signs of a coming closure: first, they were no longer accepting bookings; then the hotel was no longer selling new stocks...

"So we asked the owners themselves, 'What will become of the business?' January, February, and March passed, and they didn't reply. By the last week of April, we had come to the conclusion that the hotel was going to close down, because the guests were advised that the long-staying ones among them would have to check out, and the payments for reservations of functions would be refunded.

"So the leadership of the union decided to stage a strike."

According to Mang Paeng, MMELU members suspect that Manila Midtown's owners would be closing the hotel down to get the present crop of employees out of the way, and then reopen it under a new name and hire contractual workers in their place.

Indeed, near the picket line there is a large sign which announces that on the very site of Manila Midtown a condominium complex will rise soon.

Mang Paeng says that the hotel's owners – the Gokongweis - cannot claim that they are closing it down for financial reasons because it was one of their top earners (they own several large businesses) during this year's first quarter.

The hotel owners finally announced last April 30 that they were closing down the hotel-that very day. "That was very illegal," says Mang Paeng, "because based on our CBA [collective bargaining agreement] the hotel cannot just be shut down without a dialogue with the union."

The 550 employees of Manila Midtown are all regulars. Before the strike, a Manila Midtown employee was earning an average of Php14,000 (US$254.54) a month – a relatively high wage attained, says Mang Paeng, through the union's previous experiences with strikes as well as through collective bargaining.

"If they are to hire contractuals in our place," says Mang Paeng, "that would be a big advantage for them."

The MMELU is fighting for the benefits due Manila Midtown's employees, as well as their job security. Manila Midtown's striking employees are demanding for each of them - as well as for every one of the non-unionized employees-a retirement pay equivalent to two month's wages and a separation pay equivalent to a month's salary. They also demand assurance that in case the hotel reopens, they would all be reemployed as regulars.

Mang Paeng notes that in their past strikes, the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) immediately assumed jurisdiction but in this case, "Secretary Sto. Tomas seems to be deaf." The MMELU has brought the case to the National Labor Relations Commission, and as of this writing is expecting a reply on Sept. 29.

"We the hotel workers are the ones who brought money to them," says Mang Paeng of the hotel owners, "and then they repay us with this."

Ignored

The MMELU president is sad that despite the gravity of the issues their union has raised, the media has largely ignored the strike. "The day we started the strike, we faxed press statements to all media outfits we know of," Mang Paeng says, "but coverage of our fight has been very negligible. The radio stations tackle our issues a bit, but from TV and print media we've had nothing of that."

Mang Paeng is convinced that the reason for the very negligible coverage of their fight is the fact that Manila Midtown is owned by the Gokongweis, who are among the largest advertising clients of mainstream media.

Manila Midtown Hotel was established in 1977. It is the first business venture of the Gokongweis. "They didn't even have to shell out money to have Manila Midtown built," says Mang Paeng. "It was funded through a loan from the Marcos government."

The Gokongweis are now among the most affluent business families in the Philippines. They are best known for their Robinson's mall chain, which includes  the Robinson's Place that stands right next to Manila Midtown. Aside from that, they also own Robinson Land, Universal Robina, and JG Summit. Mang Paeng adds that the Gokongweis also own the Ministop chain of convenience stores (which has a branch right in front of Manila Midtown), as well as Cebu-Pacific and Sun Cellular.

Harassment

Mang Paeng says the striking workers have had to put up with harassment adding that no strike takes place without cases of harassment against the workers.

The striking Manila Midtown workers have tried to sustain themselves through the long fight by selling some food, particularly goto and soft drinks, as well as "renting out" the hotel's large parking space (they do not actually charge rent, however the parkers have been friendly to them and many have been giving them small amounts of money in exchange for looking after their cars).

When they put up their three goto stalls, Manila City Hall personnel got wind of their activities and immediately accosted them for doing business illegally. So they went to the City Hall and went through the process of securing the necessary permits, thereby getting some temporary papers.

But City Hall personnel did not respect the papers they were holding, Mang Paeng said. One day City Hall sent over six trucks with some 70 armed policemen, who made short shrift of their goto stalls. The policemen have yet to return the things the strikers used for selling goto. Each of the goto stalls earned whoever was manning it (they did it by "shifts") an average of Php150 (US$2.73) a day.

Also, guards from Robinson's Place have tried to drive them out of the parking lot, saying the space is owned by Robinson's Place. However, says Mang Paeng with some pride, that time they fought back and succeeded in showing the guards that Manila Midtown has its own perimeter distinct from that of Robinson's Place. The parking lot earns whoever is manning it an average of Php100 (US$1.82) a day.

Indefinite

The Manila Midtown strike has been going on for over five months now, and according to Mang Paeng, many of their companions have been demoralized as a result. Whereas before all 455 of them showed up at the picket line everyday, now only 50 of them continue to regularly man the picket line. "We don't blame them, however, because things are indeed becoming very hard for us," Mang Paeng says.

Some of their fellow union members have been able to find new jobs, but make it a point to drop by the picket line whenever they have free time.

The loss of the three goto stalls deprived them of a considerable source of income, says Mang Paeng. But the union was able to prepare considerably for the strike, he says, and with its resources plus the "earnings" from the parking lot, they are able to get by. However, their resources are beginning to run out.

Still, the remaining picketers are determined. While they are expecting a favorable resolution of their case soon, they say, they are not giving up however long the fight takes. This, they say, is because they are on the right side. Bulatlat.com

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