Kaisahan ng mga Manggagawa sa Phils-Jeon, Independent
(Union of the Workers in Phils-Jeon)
KMPJI Factsheet
Updated as of November 10, 2006
On September 25, the union officially declared a strike at 6am due to their company's continued refusal to begin negotiation for their Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). The DOLE on November 19, 2005 had already issued a final and executory decision proclaiming the workers’ union, KMPJI-Ind., as legitimate bargaining representative. No negotiations, however, commenced since as a result of the management's filing of repeated appeals in courts.
After the workers formally declared a strike, the management threatened to declare union members joining the strike for AWOL (absence without leave).
On September 27, at around 8:30p.m. about 50 combined elements of the PEZA police and Jantro security guards forcibly broke into the worker’s picket line and violently dispersed them. About 84 workers--most of them are women--were busy preparing dinner when they were violently attacked. It was PEZA police chief Jose Sarasua and Chief Inspector Audie Madrideo of the Rosario Municipal Police Station who heads the team. Twenty-five striking workers suffered head and body injuries. Three of the injured victims, namely Agustina Haya, Jimmy Eder, and union vice president Ricardo Cajanap, suffered several stitches on their heads and forehead, respectively. Annalyn Diaz, a pregnant striker, had a miscarriage too after a certain Sampayan of PEZA police chased her. Eder, an organiser for labor alliance Solidarity of Cavite Workers (SCW), had his upper lips ruptured. Eder is an adviser of the union. He was there to serve as one of the union panel that would help negotiate peacefully in case PEZA security forces threaten to break the picket line.
According to the PJGI striking workers, Chief Inspector Madrideo and PEZA police chief Sarasua were reeking from alcohol and when confronted by one of the union leaders, Merly Grafe, Madrideo even exhaled in her face and she smelled the strong alcohol smell. The workers have strong reasons to believed that these policemen are under the influence of prohibited drugs because of their unusual movement.
“They have no mercy. They are beast! Even those strikers that already fell down are still being beaten profusely with clubs and shields. PEZA police and guards prevented the passing vehicles to carry our injured to the hospital. We had to force our way out of the picket line as the PEZA police and guards blocked our way. Had we not been able to force our way out, our injured colleagues would have not been able to seek immediate medical attention at the hospital.” This was the description of the PJGI strikers on that violent night of September 27. The other victims too suffered bruises and injuries all over their bodies. One had one of her fingers broken. Most of the victims are female.
Instead of helping the injured victims, the police and guards refused to ferry them to the hospital. The victims had to force their way out of the picket line as the PEZA police and guards blocked their way. Had the workers not been able to force their way out, they would have not been able to seek medical attention at Savior Hospital in Rosario, Cavite.
The PJGI striking workers completely denied that they were armed of any bladed or pointed weapons at that time. The injuries that Jantro security guards alleged were maybe the same injuries they sustained from their cohorts during the September 25 assault at the CWFI strikers.
It is reported that PEZA police Chief Jose Sarasua gave orders to violently disperse the striking workers following request by the management for them to do so. The assault took place despite a status quo. Both the management and workers on strike have already agreed to hold a dialogue on September 28, to resolve the labor conflict peacefully at the office of Cavite Export Processing Zone (CEPZ). However, the strikers were attacked a day before the dialogue is held. The dialogue did not pushed through as it was overtaken by the violent dispersal.
The union members condemned such actions by the PEZA police and Jantro security guards, in particular PEZA director general lawyer Lilia de Lima for allegedly giving indirect orders to violently disperse the strikers and for tolerating violent actions of their men in the field. She also failed prevent and refrain her men from attacking the strikers.
Contrary to reports by PEZA, no WAC organizers at the PJGI on September 27. Jimmy Eder is a SCW organizer and an adviser of the union. He was there to serve as one of the union panel that would help negotiate peacefully in case PEZA security forces threaten to break the picket line. Eder strongly denied he stabbed one of the guards. This was the obvious reason why no arrest was made. PEZA police could have arrested Eder if indeed he stabbed one of the guards because he had fallen almost unconsciously when clubbed in the head.
On September 28, eight workers supportive of the workers on strike were illegally arrested and charged for trespassing while inside a warehouse inside the economic zone. Seven of them are former employers of the SP Ventures Corporation. They were Gemma Lape, Lorna Reli, Ivy Villasan, Analou Estrimos, Glaysa Layesi, Josephine Bahar, Pablito Sapata and Rodelito Amo. Armed without any arrest or search warrants, the PEZA police and Jantro security guards arrested them and subsequently briefly detained.
They admitted they had in their possessions several screw drivers, but the only bladed instruments were one scissor, and one paper cutter. The screwdrivers according to the workers were used in removing electric lighting fixture in their closed company. The gate Passes, Identification Cards, signed identification pictures of various individuals, and so forth are garbage left in their closed companies. They should have thrown it to the garbage can but were instructed by Cavite-PEZA industrial relations officer Arnold Cruz to keep it in their custody and he will get it later.
They have to guard the remaining assets of SP Ventures because the payment for unpaid wages and separation pays of 92 workers/complainants would come from these properties. They do not completely trust PEZA to safeguard these equipment and machines because they knew of one case in the past that equipment and machineries entrusted by workers of a closed Korean sweatshop to PEZA vanished without a trace despite tight guarding at the EPZ gate.
The Rosario Municipal Police Station (RMPS) in Rosario, Cavite through the instigation of PEZA filed a complaint of inciting to sedition against the arrested workers. However, the Assistant Provincial Prosecutor Carlos Catubao was not convinced on the evidence presented in the complaint, thus it was not admitted. A charge of trespassing is laid against them in court.
The PEZA police and Jantro guards arrested them over allegations they are facilitating storage of supply of food to workers on strike nearby. They were detained for six days. Contrary to PEZA’s claim the eight workers are not intruders. They are known to the PEZA police, Jantro guards, and even by Atty. Arada and their stay at the Kohzan Warehouse was with the approval of PEZA. The arrested workers were there for several months already prior to their arrest.
In another development, the so-called “Caretaker Committee” set up in CWFI and PGJI have no legal standing in the on-going labor disputes. Both committees cannot represent the members of the striking union because their compositions are made up of management personnel and non-union members. Contractual workers and non-union members have no right to impeach any of the union officers because they are not union members.
The “Caretaker Committees” and the CWFI and PGJI managements are the same. It was named “Caretaker Committee” to confuse the non-strikers and make them believe that they have already taken over the position of the elected union officers because the latter had already been terminated. Contractual workers and scabs are being deceived of a regular status inside the company in exchange of their support to the management-created and PEZA-instigated “Caretaker Committee.”
The PEZA’s order of food and water blockade continues, and this is now being applied not only to the striking workers of CWFI but also in PGJI. Checkpoints to prevent the workers from entering their strike area also continue. To reiterate here again, all the agreed terms in the September 27 dialogue are continuously being violated by PEZA and CWFI management, applying the same force now to the striking workers of PGJI.
On October 4 at 7pm, Municipal Trial Court (MTC) in Rosario, Cavite, Judge Rita Quizon ordered the release of eight workers without bail. But the Judge required them they to appear for their first hearing schedule on January 15, 2007.
On October 5, 2006 - a fact-finding team has been conducted to look into the case of illegal arrest and detention of the eight supporters/workers of the strike; food blockade; blacklisting of the strikers and confiscation of their IDs and zone passes, and violent dispersal of the workers' picket line in Chong Won and Phils Jeon on September 27, 2006.
They only allowed the entry of a staff of Senator Jamby Madrigal and those from Center for Trade Union Union Human Rights (CTUHR) and National Coalition fro the Protection of Workers Rights (NCPWR) riding a van. As a result of this FFM, Peza returned all the confiscated items on October 6, from the eight workers who were arrested (one sack of rice and mobile phones) but they did return the cameras they have confiscated.
Since October 17, the workers has started receiving subpoenas informing them that they are being sued for slight physical injuries by PEZA policemen and Jantro security guards in connection with the September 25 and 27 incidents. The hearing was set on October 25, 2006 for preliminary conference at the Rosario Municipal Trial Court. A total of seventeen workers were charged, ten of whom were Phils. Jeon union members namely Merly Grafe, Normelita Galon, Alona Octavo, Gemma Garabato, Ricardo Cahanap, Cynthia Red, Cecille Sabela, Rosebie Remorin, Colleen Muyot, Bessie Hernandez and Jimmy Eder, an organizer for Solidarity of Cavite Workers.
October 19, simultaneous to the Chong Won incident, and using the same scheme, was the assault and demolition also of the strikers’ makeshift tents at PJGI. PEZA and PJGI management used 180 workers as a show of force and escorted by 25 PEZA police, Jantro guards, and municipal police. Not like in CWFI, the twenty-man assaulting and demolition team was headed by no less than Mr. Dong Gon Kim, the Korean plant manager of PGJI 20 strikers were stationed at the time in the strike area. After they have dismantled the picket line (makeshift tents) the striker no longer have any "roof" or tent to protect them from the heat of the sun, rain, or the dew during nighttime and dawn time. They also do not have temporary comfort rooms. This condition was very difficult and uncomfortable for the workers on strike.
Unfortunately for DG de Lima again, her hatchet woman, Atty. Jane Arada, was named by PGJI company guards’ officer-in-charge Iniego Pingal as the one who ordered the assault and demolition of the strikers at PGJI.
It is reported that it was the management of Phils Jeons and Jantro security guards dismantles their picket line. They have likewise placed two checkpoints in between Phils Jeon, similar to what they did to Chong Won strikers. Only those who are inside can maintain the picket line but they also face the same difficulties like Chong won workers, no roof, no comfort room, and no food and water.
On October 27, charges of unintentional abortion, grave coercion, slight physical injuries and less serious physical injuries were filed before the Office of the Provincial Prosecutor in Imus, Cavite against the PEZA officials and their security force, the Rosario Municipal Police Station in connection with the September 27 violent dispersal.
Prepared by:
Research, Documentation, Information, and Publication Program
Workers’ Assistance Center Inc. (WAC)
To read the previous factsheet, please click the link below:
http://wac-archives.blogspot.com/2008/03/wac-archives-factsheet-kmpji-no-02-2003.html
