Dear friends,
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received disturbing information that the union members on strike at Chong Won Fashion Inc. (CWFI) in Rosario, Cavite are being denied access to food. It is reported that following failed attempts by elements of the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) police and Jantro security guards to forcibly disperse the workers on strike, they have now drastically resorted to blocking food supplies, water and clothing for workers at the picket line.
According to a report from the labour group Workers Assistance Center (WAC) in Rosario, Cavite, the PEZA police and guards are denying permission to union members to reenter once they go outside the picket line. The PEZA police and guards have already set-up a blocking point on both ends of the roads leading to the picket line. It is reported that at least 70 union members are holed-up at the picket line and are facing serious threats of hunger.
Following a violent dispersal on September 25, (please see our previous appeal for details: UA-314-2006) the management of the Korean-owned factory have allegedly resorted on urging scab workers to fight it out with the strikers. They also urged them to carry pointed defense tools when attacking the strikers. Such action has effectively used the scab workers as thugs in inciting further violence to take place. One of the scab workers has already been accosted for carrying pointed weapons.
As the tension is increasing at the picket line, it is reported that the officials of the national office of PEZA are failing to effectively respond to the incident to prevent further violence from occurring. They have likewise failed to act on appeals to withdraw their PEZA policemen and security guards in the field for continuously committing illegal acts. It is alleged that the presence of the PEZA police and guard and the actions they are taking against the workers are alleged to be upon the request of the factorys management.
It is also reported that those injured union members have not been afforded with medical assistance or treatment by the concerned government agencies.
No immediate sanctions have also been imposed upon the PEZA police and guards who are involved in the violent dispersal of the workers that wounded ten of them, two of whom we identified as Solomon Noceda and Benigno Terante. Under the existing rules and guidelines on strike, police and guards are prohibited from positioning themselves within the 50 meters of the picket line. The use of violence and excessive force is also prohibited once the workers on strike have complied with the legal procedures for holding the strike.
SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write letters to the agencies asking their immediate intervention to ensure that union members on strike are not denied with access to food and other basic supplies they require as they carry on their strike peacefully. Immediate sanctions and punishment on the PEZA police and security guards must be imposed for committing such violations.
Additionally, please urge the concerned agencies, in particular the PEZA to effectively intervene into the labour conflict to avoid further violence from occurring. It must intervene to purposely ensure that the labour conflict is resolved without delay. Allegations of the managements having engaged and incited scab workers to fight it out with strikers must be looked into.
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SAMPLE LETTER
Dear ____________,
PHILIPPINES: Food blockade imposed on workers on strike
Number of workers affected by food blockade: 70 union members of the Nagkakaisang Manggagawa sa Chong Won
Alleged perpetrators: Elements of the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) police and Jantro security guards
Place of incident: In front of the Chong Won Fashion Inc. (CWFI) factory inside the Cavite Export Processing Zone (CEPZ) Rosario, Cavite
Date of incident: 25 September 2006 to present
I am writing once again to draw your attention to the plight of the workers on strike at the Chong Won Fashion Inc (CWFI) in Rosario, Cavite. According to information I have received, the elements of the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) police and the Jantro security guards are denying the union members on strike of access to food supplies, water, clothing and other basic things they require at the picket line.
I have also learned that that once the union members go outside the picket line, the PEZA police and guards prohibit them from going back to their picket. The alleged perpetrators reportedly blocked the two entry point roads heading to the picket line thereby effectively preventing any supplies or support from coming in. Not only have they imposed a food blockade, they likewise effectively denied workers of their right of peaceful assembly– in this case their constitutional right to strike.
I am aware that the union members have already complied with the rules and procedures for a lawful strike and picket line, but I am extremely disappointed that despite this the policemen and guards are resorting to committing illegal acts. On September 25, at least ten workers were wounded after the PEZA police and guards violently dispersed them.
As you are aware, to deny the workers of access to food, water and clothing is completely unacceptable. As I strongly condemn the continued harassment and violence against the workers, I am extremely shocked at the inadequate action on the part of the PEZA national office to effectively address this situation.
I therefore urged you to once again have the PEZA policemen and guards involved investigated with regard to the allegations against them. Criminal charges must be filed against them for brutally beating the workers. They must also be charged for violations of the rules and guidelines for those on strike. They must be imposed with immediate sanctions and punishment. The union members must be allowed access to food, water, clothing and other basic supplies they require immediately for their subsistence.
Finally, I urged the authorities to look into allegations that the management is encouraging scab workers and that they urged them to carry pointed weapons and to fight it out with the strikers. This extra-judicial means of getting even by using violence and thugs instead of resolving the labour conflict is unacceptable. These allegations must be look into, if the management is found to have committed this offense tantamount to unfair labour practice (ULP), this must be dealt with accordingly.
I trust that you take action in this case.
Yours sincerely,
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PLEASE SEND YOU LETTERS TO:
1. Atty. Lilia B. de Lima
Director General
Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA)
Roxas Boulevard corner San Luis Street
Pasay City
PHILIPPINES
Tel No: +63 2 551 3432 / 3454 / 3455
Fax No: +63 2 551 3449 /+63 2 891 6380
Email: dglbl@peza.gov.ph
2. Mr. Peter Favila
Secretary
Department of Trade and Industry
4/F BOI Building
385 Sen. Gil J. Puyat Avenue
Makati
PHILIPPINES
Fax: +63 2 896 1166
Tel: +63 2 899 7450
3. Director General Oscar Calderon
Chief, Philippine National Police (PNP)
Camp General Rafael Crame
Quezon City
PHILIPPINES
Tel: +63 2726 4361/4366/8763
Fax: +63 2724 8763
4. Mr. Raul Gonzalez
Secretary
Department of Justice
DOJ Bldg., Padre Faura
1004 Manila
PHILIPPINES
Fax: +63 2 521 1614
5. Mr. Arturo D. Brion
Secretary
Department of Labor and Employment (Dole)
7/F DOLE Building, Intramuros
Manila NCR 1002
PHILIPPINES
Tel No: +63 2 527 2131
Email: sec_art_brion@yahoo.com.ph
6. Mrs. Persida V. Rueda-Acosta
Chief, Public Attorney Office (PAO)
DOJ Agencies Building,
NIA Road East Avenue
1104 Quezon City
PHILIPPINES
Tel. No. +63 2 929 9010 / 9436
Fax No. +63 2 927 6810 / 926 2878
Email: chiefacosta@edsamail.com.ph
7. Dr. Purificacion Quisumbing
Commissioner
Commission on Human Rights
SAAC Bldg., Commonwealth Avenue
U.P. Complex, Diliman
Quezon City
PHILIPPINES
Tel: +63 2 928 5655 / 926 6188
Fax: +63 2 929 0102
Email: drpvq@yahoo.com
8. Mr. Orlando Casimiro
Deputy Ombudsman
Office of the Deputy Ombudsman for the Military and
Other Law Enforcement Offices
3rd Floor, Ombudsman Bldg., Agham Road, Diliman (1104)
Quezon City
PHILIPPINES
Tel: +632 926 9032
Fax: +63 2 926 8747
Email: omb1@ombudsman.gov.ph
9. Prof. Manfred Nowak
Special Rapporteur on the Question of Torture
Attn: Safir Syed
C/o OHCHR-UNOG
1211 Geneva 10
SWITZERLAND
Tel: +41 22 917 9230
Fax: +41 22 917 9016 (ATTN: SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR TORTURE)
10. Mr. John Ruggie
Special Representative of the SG on human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises
c/o OHCHR-UNOG
1211 Geneva 10
SWITZERLAND
Tel: +41 22 917 9615
Fax: +41 22 917 9006 (ATTN: SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE OF THE SG ON HUMAN RIGHTS AND TRANSNATIONAL CORPORATIONS AND OTHER BUSINESS ENTERPRISES)
Thank you.
Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ahrchk@ahrchk.org)
