LABOR WATCH

On 4^th week of strike
3,000 March vs Lepanto

A march-rally led by the Lepanto Employees Union (LEU) belied the claims of the Lepanto Consolidated Mining Company (Lepanto) that 80 percent of the strikers want to return to work.

BY Kim Quitasol and Abi Bengwayan
Northern dispatch
Posted by Bulatlat

MANKAYAN, Benguet – A march-rally led by the Lepanto Employees Union (LEU) belied the claims of the Lepanto Consolidated Mining Company (Lepanto) that 80 percent of the strikers want to return to work.

Over 3,000 workers, along with their wives and children, marched from the town center of Mankayan (348 kms north of Manila) to the company’s general office, also here in Mankayan, to condemn Lepanto’s statement claiming such, the arrest of four strikers and its recruitment of new workers despite unfinished negotiations with the union.

Mankayan farmers, members of the MAQUITACDG (Mankayan, Quirino, Tadian, Cervantes, Danggayan a Gunglo) and peasants from Mt. Province also joined the march-rally.

In a short program July 2, LEU president Ninian Lang-agan condemned Lepanto’s recruitment saying that it is taking place in the guise of “project employment.” Project workers are hired to work under a separate contract, which means their employment ends with their contracts.

However, according to Lang-agan, instead of terminating the project workers Lepanto actually hires them as permanent employees to replace the striking workers. He said some 80 “project employees” have already entered the mine site.

In an interview, Kilusang Mayo Uno (May First Movement or KMU-Cordillera) spokesperson James Tulipa said the ongoing recruitment shows Lepanto’s insincerity in the negotiations.

“By hiring new workers with the labor dispute still unsettled, management only intends to end the negotiations and abandon the issues the workers are raising. The workers will not allow this,” he said.

Lang-agan said that union officers are currently talking to Lepanto’s recruiters, explaining that they could not hire other mineworkers until the demands are settled. Recruitment has reportedly reached as far as Cebu, where Assistant Resident Manager Engr. Ernesto Laoagan formerly worked, particularly in Atlas Mining.

Arrest

At around 2 a.m., July 2, 15 workers manning the Carlos Palanca Jr. Hall were arrested and detained by the police. The order reportedly came from company security head Col. Wilhelm Doromal. The Nayak gate then was forcibly opened by policemen and four more strikers were arrested and detained.

Eight hours later, local residents held an indignation rally in front of the municipal hall and demanded the immediate release of the workers. Union officers also held a dialogue with town officials. As of presstime, the workers have still not been released.

Like the dispersals carried out by the police on June 18 and 21, the arrests took place at dawn.

Recruitment of workers

Tulipa said LEU officials and the KMU spoke to the Cebuano recruits and explained to them their plight. It was then they found out that the recruited workers were not informed that the company is on strike.

As of June 30, said Tulipa, the Cebuano recruits number 27, while another group of 42 is expected to arrive, including 30 mineworkers from Philex Mines in Itogon, Benguet. Recruitment is also ongoing in Kalinga, Mt. Province, and Baguio City.

Twenty new recruits from the Visayas arrived in Mankayan on July 1, and were blocked at the Tubo gate when they tried to enter. Tulipa said the workers explained their situation to the Visayan recruits, brought them to the picketline and offered them food.

Also on July 1, Cebuano workers signed a paper with the striking workers that they were not at all harmed while at the picketline. The Cebuano recruits are now on their way home, KMU said.

Lang-agan, who is a native of Guinaang village in Bontoc, Mt. Province, said that officers have gone as far as their hometowns to explain to their kakailyan (barriomates) the company’s intentions when it recruits new mineworkers in the middle of the strike.

“The response in Bontoc is positive. The kakailyan even committed to go to Lepanto if management remains stiff in its position,” he said.

Ban

On June 28, Nordis sources in Mankayan said that strike supporters have been banned from joining the workers in the picketlines.

“Management has no business preventing these individuals and organizations from supporting us,” Lang-agan said.

Meanwhile, also on June 28, workers picketing the Tubo gate prevented the entry of some 12 scabs aboard an L-300 van.

Some women leaders also reported seeing some scabs dressed in police uniforms headed toward the Buaki mine portal, which is a ploy to discourage the workers form confronting them, they said.

Tulipa said the workers have now doubled their efforts in manning the entry of people and vehicles at the picketed gates.

Counter arguments

At Lepanto’s general office, the strikers confronted the management on standing issues.

Lepanto counsel Weldy Manlong came out to face the workers and explained that given the company’s dire financial straits, it could not grant LEU’s wage proposal, which is P29 for the first and second years and P33 for the third year. But he said that if the workers would return to work, the wage increase proposed by the labor department, which is P25-P27-P29, would be implemented.

Manlong also said that the company is just complying with the DoLE order. He said the recruitment process is an option DoLE has granted them given the situation where production is paralyzed.

He added that Lepanto would have to close down in two years if it gives in to the union’s demands. In an earlier interview, LEU Auditor and spokesperson Ronald Maslian said that such scenario is impossible since the company has already applied for expansion and have opened doors for investors.

“The difference between the DoLE order and Lepanto proposal is a mere P10 in the housing allowance. We cannot afford to lower our P29-P29-P33 proposal since it is the lowest adjustment we can afford.  Company’s proposal is very meager compared to the billions they have raked in through our sweat,” Maslian said.

During the first bout of negotiations in February 2005, LEU proposed for P100-P100-P100, which Lepanto counter-proposed with P0-P10-P11. LEU officers reiterated other issues, which include Lepanto’s non-remittance of Social Security Service (SSS) and loan deductions and human rights violations by PNP elements and company security during picketline dispersals.

Lang-agan further criticized Lepanto for using the children to discourage the workers from pursuing the strike. He said Lepanto representatives went to the schools and told the children that they would go hungry and would not be able to finish school if their fathers go on with the strike.

“If Lepanto really means well for our children, they would yield to our demands,” he said.

Maslian further condemned DoLE for favoring Lepanto, adding that DoLE should guide the workers for the advancement of their rights and welfare.

In a position paper after the multipartite talks at the Benguet Provincial Capitol last week, the union reiterated its proposal that pending negotiations on wages and other benefits, the company shall reconsider, recall or withdraw the Notice of Termination issued to some 75 workers, including criminal cases filed against union officers; that until the issues are resolved, workers who choose not to report shall not be dismissed; and that the company shall not employ retaliatory moves against the union. Northern Dispatch / Posted by Bulatlat

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