BAYAN berates union busting by Superstar Coco firm

Members of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan today staged a protest demonstration at the plant of Superstar Coconut Products Incorporated in Maa, Davao City to castigate the firm for its recent actions to maliciously cripple the Kahugpungan sa mga Trabahante sa Superstar (KTS) Union.

KTS, a union duly recognized by the Department of Labor and Employment, is said to be preparing a strike to demand from the management to implement labor standards and to stop union busting.

“The workers are the life and limb of the company. Without them, the entire production will come to a halt and then the company will be nothing but a dead facility,” said Franchie Buhayan, BAYAN-Southern Mindanao regional spokesperson. “That is the very reason why the company should treat the workers well, give them decent wage and benefits and respect their democratic rights particularly the right to protest and organize a genuine union,” added Buhayan.

One of the top 1000 corporations in the country and considered as the largest coconut products manufacturer in Mindanao, Superstar Coconut Products Incorporated is said to be producing and shipping ton loads of desiccated coconut worth P7.5 million per day. The company is also manufacturing other coconut-based products like coco powder and coco oil.

“Superstar is earning millions from the labor of the workers but ironically the management rewards them with unimaginable exploitation and repression. For years, the workers suffer from poor working conditions with excessive workload and received wages that are far below from the minimum wage mandated by the government. It is only logical for the workers to struggle against the company’s modus operandi,” Buhayan said.

BAYAN explained that recently, leaders and members of the KTS Union experienced different forms of harassments from the management including demotion of 26 union leaders and members, threats of dismissal, intimidation and the use of hush money.

“This is unacceptable! It is an indication that the management is not interested in resolving the problem rightfully under due process. Instead, they use cowardly dirty tactics to get rid of the union and disenfranchise the legitimate demands of the workers. This leaves the workers no option but to intensify the struggle and raise it to a higher level,” said Buhayan.

In a solidarity lunch today with the workers outside the plant of Superstar Coconut Products Inc, BAYAN expressed its total support for the workers and their families.

“If the KTS union will go on with the plan to lead a strike, we, along with our allied organizations will support it through and through,” Buhayan said.

“The city government and DOLE should not slow-foot in addressing this issue. Union busting is a critical offense against the working class and must be dealt with seriousness. And allowing these profit-hungry capitalists to continue making us their modern-day slaves and starve our families to death is a greater offense. These are important points that the government, both local and national, must consider,” added Buhayan.

Superstar company is anti-worker, anti-women - GABRIELA

Davao City – Progressive women’s organization GABRIELA manifested its support to the beleaguered workers of Superstar Coconut Products Company, Incorporated in a protest action held in front of the regional office of the Department of Labor and Employment yesterday.

“Kontra-trabahante ug kontra-kababayen-an ang kompanya sa Superstar. Angay lang nga paspasan na og pag-imbestiga sa DOLE ang reklamo sa mga mamumuo ug patubagon ang mga tao sa management nga wala nag-atiman sa kahimtang sa ilang mga trabahante nga kadaghanan mga babaye,” said Corazon Espinoza, Vice-Chairperson of GABRIELA and head of the local urban poor women’s organization, Samahan ng Maralitang Kababaihang Nagkakaisa or SAMAKANA

Around 50 women workers and support group of Superstar workers coming from progressive organizations picketed in front of DOLE Region XI and demanded to look into the complaints of the workers against the management.

For Grace Makatuna, a mother of three kids who has worked for eight years at Superstar Coconut Company, their condition as women workers are hapless and inhumane.

“Kadaghanan sa mga trabahante didto sa Superstar mga babaye nga nakasinati sa dili maayong palisiya sa kompanya,” Makatuna said.

“Kung naa mi bation sa lawas ingnan ra mi nga nag-atik-atik mi ug dili pirmahan ang among sick leave.Wala mi ka-pilian kay maka-absent mi ug gani pag mag-absent ilaha pang isuspinde, tulo kaadlaw warning. Kung muabsent na sad ka, kinse ka adlaw napud nga suspension hangtod tanggal na dayon sa trabaho,”  she said.

Workers of Superstar have long been complaining about the lack of clinic inside the company given that the firm employs more than a thousand workers.

Aside from the lack of health facilities, the management also failed to supply the necessary equipment and gears to protect the workers from work related accidents.  Workers of Superstar are the ones who pay for their gloves, uniform and even the knives use by “parers” (workers who peel the thin and brownish coating from pieces of de-shelled coconuts).

“Women workers should be accorded with humane working conditions. We even have a city ordinance which comply companies to provide seats for all the women workers.  
Lingkuranan nalang gani, dili pa mahatag sa kompanya kay ang mga trabahante man ang mopalit, kung magpagamit man sila og lingkuranan panahon ra nga kung adunay bisita o inspection ang DOLE ug uban pang ahensya,” Espinoza said.

“Busa angay lang nga paspasan sa DOLE ang pagresolba sa kaso sa mga trabahante sa Superstar ug patubagon ang mga anaa sa management,” she said.

Davao labor day march draws 5 thousand; shows unrest in the labor front remains

Five thousand people took the streets of Davao City today on Labor Day pressing the Aquino government for higher wages and rejected his proposed palliative non-wage benefits.

The marchers represent organized workers in both public and private industries in the region, the plantation workers, miners, factory laborers, and those from the service sector like construction, transportation, hotel and restaurant, as well as workers from government utility offices.

Joining them are the organized victims of urban poor demolitions, out of school youths, women victims of prostitution, families of overseas workers who have been victims of various forms of exploitations, and organizations representing other sectors.

“The march is a testament that the unrest in the country’s labor front remains no matter how much this government tries hard to placate the outrage,” Franchie Buhayan, secretary general of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan Southern Mindanao Region said.

“President Aquino has offered non-wage benefits, palliatives in the form of subsidies and other dole-outs but it refuses to resolutely stem the people’s hardship by confronting outstanding issues on wage and prices,” Buhayan said in reaction to the President’s declarations at a breakfast forum with some labor groups in Malacañang today.

Instead of providing substantial wage hikes, President Aquino has offered seed money for cooperatives of labor groups, scholarships and promises of benefits from agencies like Pag-Ibig, PhilHealth, Social Security System, and Government Service Insurance System.

“He forgot that these government agencies are the same culprits of the workers’ agony through corruption of the funds that workers have religiously contributed. Besides, the greater issue here is that we have a President who could not face squarely the capitalists, and make these employers provide just wages to the workers whose toil are being exploited for profits. In that way, he could have adequately answered the people’s needs, foremost is surviving the cost of living,” Buhayan said.

“Either he is simply indifferent, or acting as a plain stooge to capitalists whose super profits depend much on making laborers work more and paying them less, one thing is sure, he is a President who lacks the bone to help his people,” Buhayan added.

Aside from deliberately evading abidance of minimum wage standards, many employers intentionally deny workers’ benefits most commonly are remittance to SSS, provision of overtime and holiday pays, allowing leave and other benefits, to save cost on labor costs.  

Buhayan added that capitalists’ exploitation is getting harsher but President has allowed it, as seen in the number of employers, getting retrenched without due cause, and the increasing number of perpetually contractual workers.  

“Other blatant violations take the form of repressing trade unionism, which is ironically provided in labor laws. But you hear many union members being victimized by coercive actions, either physical or by other means to discourage them to give up fighting for what is due,” Buhayan said.

The President’s announcement of new job openings is no good news in itself, according to Buhayan. “What kinds of jobs will these be, if capitalists can maintain exploitative terms with their workers without the slightest fear of being punished?”

“Besides, why do we see the continuing exodus of Filipinos to other countries, taking on odd jobs and ending up as victims if indeed these jobs made available in the country can adequately provide for their needs? The truth is the government has never been able to provide job opportunities that will raise the standard of living and at the same time ensure human development, and respect of dignity among most Filipinos,” Buhayan said.

Buhayan also said President Aquino’s policy pronouncements on the problem of prices indicate same cowardice to confront the perpetrators of people’s hardships.

“He feeds us with the same deception towed by oil cartel companies, such as justifying increases by way of citing oil price trends in the world market, when in fact these are schemes of deception and that he can actually decisively address price hikes in the country by regulating the way oil companies can unscrupulously set pump prices via such speculations,” he said.

“We urge the people not to be hoodwinked by these palliatives. These pronouncements could not provide the meaningful change that people need. We have got to show this government that it is the people who are decisive of the change they most need,” Buhayan said.