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LABOR
WATCH
Nestle
Workers Condemn Two Years of Injustice and Violence
“Good
food, good life”— thus goes the tag line of the food giant Nestlé
Philippines Inc. in its advertisements. Apparently, these words are not
for the company's own workers, as more than 300 of them continue to decry making do
with “bad food” and suffering a “bad life” since they went on
strike two years ago.
BY
DENNIS ESPADA
Bulatlat.com
CABUYAO, Laguna — In this town 50 kms south of Manila, at least 300 workers
and urban poor dwellers led by the militant workers alliance Pagkakaisa ng mga
Manggagawa sa Timog Katagalugan (Unity of Workers in Southern Tagalog) or
Pamantik stormed the gates of Nestle Philippines Incorporated (Nestlé) in
Barangay (village) Niugan last Jan. 14, condemning the company for committing
the worst violations of trade union rights in the region.
Contrary to its “good food, good life” image in television and print
commercials, Nestlé comes into view as the bad guys as far as the workers and
their families are concerned.
Luz Baculo, secretary general of Pamantik, said Nestle is responsible for recent
four incidents of violent dispersals of strikes and two incidents of dismantling
picket lines leaving scores of workers injured.
“In
the union’s two years of strike, Nestle used goons and the Philippine National
Police (PNP), including the Regional Special Action Force (RSAF), to inflict
violence against the workers who were only exercising their democratic rights
for their demands,” Baculo also said.
One of the strikers, Vicente Batayon, suffered a broken clavicle when a
policeman struck him with a truncheon in a dispersal operation on June 3, 2002.
Eighteen others were hurt. In another incident that took place on June 23 last
year, the military used bladed clubs and water cannons against close to a
hundred strikers and bystanders.
Forty-seven
year old Emma Ylagan says the pain inflicted by Nestle on her family still
hurts. Her husband Nestor, who served the company for over 20 years, died in
mid-2003 of a heart attack brought on by hypertension which excessive overtime
work caused. Nestor was one of the six workers who died in the course of the
strike.
When
Emma and her children went to the company to ask for support in their livelihood
but the guards told them to leave. “Nagmamakaawa kami, di raw pupwede dahil
striker nga raw siya (Nestor),” a sobbing Emma told Bulatlat.com.
“Parang di sila nakinabang sa asawa ko sa matagal na panahon.”
Aside
from the bloody confrontations at the picket lines, many of the workers,
especially the union leaders, have experienced harassment and surveillance. Noel
Alemania, vice-president of the Union of Filipro Employees (UFE), the union of
Nestle workers, for one has relocated to another place after an unidentified
vehicle was parking outside his house day after day.
Meanwhile, photojournalist Ferdinand Roldan of the local newspaper Newsflash
reported being trailed by men in motorcycle while on his way home. He was hit at
the back by a rock during a violent dispersal in 2002.
Retirement plan
A Swiss multinational food giant, Nestle is widely-known for its milk, coffee,
energy drink and other products.
Factory workers said that the Nestle management in Cabuyao has rejected to
include the workers’ retirement plan in the negotiations for a collective
bargaining agreement (CBA) despite a ruling by the Supreme Court (SC) in 1991.
In its ruling, the SC upheld the National Labor Relations Commission’s (NLRC)
decision in 1989 that the retirement plan must be part of the benefits given by
the company to its workers.
In
the CBA negotiations held last June 2001, the Nestle management denied the
retirement plan arguing that it is a unilateral grant of the company. In 2002,
exactly two years ago, around 600 workers left their workplaces to go on strike
while at the same time called on the public to boycott all products of Nestle.
In February last year, the Court of Appeals affirmed the SC ruling. Since then,
the case was raised to, and is currently at the SC upon the appeal of both the
management and union with the workers seeking SC to affirm its 1991 ruling and
declare Nestle guilty of unfair labor practice.
Baculo said former Nestle CEO Juan B. Santos’ use of influence and wealth was
the reason for the unwarranted delay to resolve the prolonged labor dispute as
this “attracts favor from the government including Department of Labor and
Employment (DoLE) Secretary Patricia Sto. Tomas, PNP and even, that from
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.”
Black
propaganda
Last week, an unsigned leaflet was circulated in the entire town, discrediting
the union leaders and urging the workers to file illegal dismissal case against
the management.
Alemania explained that the capitalists are desperately trying to deceive them
or weaken their commitment to the strike.
“Essentially,
what they want is to tie up the workers in the legal process – a process which
capitalists control,” Alemania told Bulatlat.com. “In fact, 42 of the
workers already succumbed to this and in the end, were themselves terminated.”
Appeals
and support
In an urgent letter last December, the UFE asked President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
to take action on the plight of the workers. The letter was also signed by
Cardinal Gaudencio Rosales of Manila together with Bishops Julio Labayen of
Infanta and Luis Antonio Tagle of Imus.
Public support to the workers, particularly in the form of a boycott campaign
has swelled.
One of the staunch supporters of the workers is movie actor and DZRB radio
commentator Vic Felipe who has unceasingly called on his listeners not to buy
Nestle products. In December last year, Radyo Konggreso Foundation, an
organization of radio listeners, sponsored a gift-giving revel for the workers
and their children which aimed to strengthen their unity and commitment to the
struggle until justice is attained. Bulatlat.com
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