“Brion, has no moral ground to call for rejection of workers' complaint to ILO” - PAMANTIK

The militant Pagkakaisa ng Manggagawa sa Timog Katagalugan (PAMANTIK), the regional labor center of Kilusang Mayo Uno in Southern Tagalog, said DoLE Secretary Arturo Brion has no moral ground to call for the rejection of the KMU complaint filed to the International Labor Organization.

“Brion simply wants to wash his hands from the bloodstains which he is part of,” PAMANTIK strongly lashed on the labor secretary.

“We believe that DoLE is one of the notorious government institutions oppressing the Filipino workers. It has lost all the workers’ trust as it has always been partial to the interest of the capitalists. It is precisely why KMU filed a complaint to the International Labor Organization
(ILO) on October 2006,” the statement said.

The complaint included cases of gross violations of workers’ and human rights in Southern Tagalog.

“Workers and their unions have exhausted all legal means possible that their demands be addressed, including endless recourse to the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) which Brion heads. However, decisions favouring the workers were outrightly
reversed by DoLE”.

PAMANTIK cited the Nissan labor case as one of the "gross reversals" done by DoLE to Supreme Court decisions.

After nearly 5 years of strike, the Supreme Court decided on the Nissan workers' case on June 21, 2006. The decision issued a “return-to-work” order of 144 workers. However, DoLE, in its writ of execution ordered on March 14, 2007 only “27 workers are due for
reinstatement”, while 25 of which will receive full back wages.

PAMANTIK added, “DoLE execs also ridiculously filed sedition charges against Toyota workers after they were brutally dispersed and detained during a peaceful protest in front of the labor office on August 16,
2006.”

“Who will believe in the Arroyo administration after its Commission on Human Rights shelved the murder case of PAMANTIK chairperson and Nestle union president Diosdado Fortuna who was assassinated on September 22, 2005 and all unionists who were killed during the term
of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo? Who can we turn to?”

"KMU’s complaint to the highly respected ILO is valid and well-founded. And not ‘premature, forum shopping and sinister’ as Brion claimed.”

“By the end of its conference, we hope the ILO recognizes KMU's complaint, eventually push measures to address the wholesale trade union repression and political killings in the Philippines, and press
recommendations and sanctions against the Arroyo administration which is primarily held accountable for.”