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LABOR
WATCH
Philex
Mines Bars Miner from Work
In a brazen display
of labor discrimination and harassment of trade union organizers, Philex
Mining Company refused to pay one of its private contractors until the
latter removes one of its workers who is also an organizer for Kilusang
Mayo Uno (KMU or May 1st Movement)-Cordillera, a militant trade union
center.
BY
ALDWIN QUITASOL
Northern Dispatch
Bulatlat
Tuba, Benguet — Philex Mining Company
(Philex) refuses to pay one of its private contractors until the
latter removes one of its workers, Jaime Tulipa, a contract worker and
organizer of the Kilusang Mayo Uno or
KMU – Cordillera (May first movement), a militant trade union center.
Philex
ordered the contractor to stop hiring Tulipa citing his affiliation with
KMU-Cordillera. Philex accused Tulipa of “creating confusion among
mineworkers and organizing them to break away from the National Miners and
Allied Workers’ Union (NAMAWU-Local 101)”.
Tulipa,
on the other hand, did not deny the fact that he is an organizer and
spokesperson of KMU-Cordillera but denied promoting disarray among the
workers. Tulipa explained that he is legally working inside Philex as a
contract worker and there is nothing wrong in organizing his co-workers.
He cited the right to organize enshrined in Article III of the Philippine
Constitution.
“They
fear that the union they controlled for so long will slip from their hands
once its members and officers turn to genuine unionism,” Tulipa said
last week.
Tulipa
claimed that it is the company, and some “crooked union officials”
that create paranoia and spread lies to mineworkers that once the KMU
leads the union, it (KMU) will work for the closure of the mines.
Tulipa
learned about the move of Philex Mining Company after his contractor
informed him of the problem when he returned to work after All Saints Day.
KMU-Cordillera
Regional Coordinator Lorico Espejo expressed KMU’s full support to
Tulipa and condemned Philex for unfair labor practices. He said that
Philex’s denial of work to Tulipa is not only a case of removing a
person’s right to work, but also a violation of a worker’s right to
organize.
Meanwhile,
NAMAWU Local 101 officials have remained silent on the issue. Nordis /
Posted by Bulatlat
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