Two Simultaneous Strikes Expose Union Busting on Compostela Banana Plantations

Nagkahiusang Mamumuo sa OsMiguel (NAMAOS-NAFLU-KMU) launched a strike early Monday morning on a Compostela banana plantation on the grounds of Collective Bargaining Agreement Negotiations Deadlock. The union of workers at Packing Plant 98 – Fresh Banana Agricultural Corporation (FBAC) conducted a second strike vote on Tuesday on the grounds of union busting. This is the second strike to hit an FBAC plantation in the last two months. Workers of Packing Plant 95 in Compostela launched a strike on August 18.

Beginning September 20, workers of Packing Plant 98 have not been able to work. Packing operations for the bananas have been transferred to ‘modified packing units’ (MPUs) scattered throughout the plantation, and operations at Packing Plant 98 have ceased. The workers were given not any prior notice regarding the shift to the MPU scheme.

“The shift to the MPUs is a clear attempt to bust our union. We have done initial studies on the cost affectivity. It actually is more costly to have the bananas packed in the MPUs, while the quality of the product will decrease,” said Danny Jacinto, President of NAMAOS. “There can be no other motivation for this shift other than to break our union.”

NAMAOS officers recounted the previous attempts to weaken their union, including a history of harassments by the Armed Forces of the Philippines. Union officers are under constant surveillance. Elements of the 404th Infantry Brigade are currently based in Barangay Osmena where Packing Plant 98 is located. After NAMAOS launched its strike on Monday, the 404th IB approached the union to question them about their activities.

“FBAC represents capitalists of the worst kind. They have employed a production scheme in which they can deny any responsibility to the workers by passing it on to the growers. Meanwhile they give the growers such a low price for their bananas that growers can’t afford to provide the wages and benefits required by law. When we organize, they maximize the armed forces to harass us. Now the management is shifting to the MPUs throughout Compostela in order to break the genuine unions that are winning concrete improvements for the workers,” Jacinto said.

“FBAC is part of the gigantic Japanese transnational corporation Sumitomo that makes millions of dollars a year in profit in one of the largest global industries, yet they refuse to respect Philippine laws which uphold the basic rights of workers for just wages and to organize. We know what our rights are, and we will continue to fight for them,” Jacinto concluded.