North Harbor workers still on guard vs scabs, takeover; Memo on takeover postponement a management tactic

Tension continues to grip Manila North Harbor as port workers stay on tight guard against the scheduled private takeover of the port today and protest actions are held at various points along the port.

Workers have remained on guard since last night in at least five terminal gates, on the lookout for the entry of scabs, which the new management may have hired as their replacement. Community residents, meanwhile, have staged coordinated noise barrage and programs since the break of dawn to thwart the demolition of their homes.

“Today, we are sending a strong message to the Philippine Ports Authority and the winning bidders: The united action of port workers and residents is strong and cannot be ignored! Any move that will displace us from our jobs and homes are bound to be met with a quake of protest,” said Jake Azores, president of the Alliance of Port/Transport Workers and Porters in North Harbor (APTWP-NH).

Around 5,000 port workers are on the brink of retrenchment while around 30,000 fear demolition of houses due to the port’s privatization, which is scheduled to be completed today.

At 8 p.m. last night, the Philippine Ports Authority released a memorandum which states that the takeover will be rescheduled to Feb. 15. Azores said the move is just a tactic of the management to loosen the vigilance of port workers and residents.

“Instead of dampening our resolve to remain vigilant, the memo has intensified our watch, for believing in it might create a crack among our ranks where their takeover may slip through. Without any indication from the winning bidders that they will accede to our demands, this postponement can only mean that they are still maneuvering to have their way,” Azores said.

“We do not need an extension of our woes. We simply demand a new Terms of Reference that will ensure job security, union recognition and security of residents from displacement,” he added.

Azores said at least two military trucks remain stationed in Manila Harbor Centre where Harbor Centre Inc., a winning bidder in the port’s modernization project, operates. The compound is just a few kilometers away from North Harbor.

“The military’s presence hints at how the Arroyo regime connives with big business in violently reinforcing job massacres and demolition. We remain unfazed. The regime and the winning bidders must remember that we can shut down the port’s entire operations if we are forced to,” Azores warned. #