There's Blood in Your Coffee

Nestle Workers Marked 10 Years of Struggle for Justice!

2012-01-14T08:40:00.000-08:00

ICON of CORPORATE GREED
and TERROR!

Habang bumubulwak pa ang bilyun-bilyong pisong ginagastos sa magagarbong advertisements sa multi-media bilang pagdiriwang ng dambuhalang kapitalistang Nestlé sa kanilang ika-100 taon ng pananalasa sa Pilipinas (Nestlé Philippines 100 Years).Bukod pa ang normal na pagbuhos ng bilyong piso para sa advertisements para tabunan ang mga karumal-dumal nilang kasalanan sa mamamayan, piringan at gawing pipi ang media.(Nestlé Phils. Inc.’s top-grossing placement paying a cumulative P1.67 billion for just 4,319 minutes or 71.98 hours of commercials. More than 50% of ad placements for the first three months of 2011 were cornered by two leading TV networks. By research firm Nielsen Co. Published in Malaya Business Insights Apr.13,2011)
Sa Kabila nito ay isang dekada namang lugmok sa matinding kalbaryo at binabalot ng karahasan ang patuloy na nararanasan ng kanyang mga manggagawa.
Enero 14, 2002 nang magwelga upang ipagtanggol ng mga manggagawa ng Nestlé Cabuyao Factory ang kanilang kabuhayan at kinabukasan. Isang dekada nang napakailap ng katarungan sa kabila ng pagiging lehitimo, makatwiran at may moral na batayan ang ipinagtatanggol ng mga manggagawa, “Igalang at ipatupad ng dambuhalang kapitalistang Nestlé ang Supreme Court decision noong 1991”. Pinal na desisyon ito ng Korte Suprema sa panahon ni Chief Justice Andres Narvasa noong 1991 na resulta ng tagumpay ng lahat ng mga manggagawa sa Nestlé Phils. sa ilalim ng UFE-DFA-KMU sa dibisyon ng Alabang Factory, Cabuyao Factory, Cagayan de Oro Factory at Makati Admin Office.
Malaking tagumpay ito hindi lamang para sa mga manggagawa ng Nestlé Phils., kundi para sa buong uring manggagawa, pagkilala na karapatan ng uring manggagawa ang “Retirement Benefits” ay lehitimong usapin sa loob ng Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). Malinaw na ang tagumpay na ito ay resulta ng mahigpit na pagkakaisa at pagkilos ng mga manggagawa ng Nestlé laban sa marahas at mapagsamantalang Nestlé. Nagresulta ito ng illegal na pagtanggal sa 103 lider manggagawa mula sa dibisyon ng Alabang, Cabuyao, Cagayan de Oro at Makati at pagpaslang ng Nestlé sa pangulo ng unyon ng Cabuyao na si Ka Meliton Roxas noong Enero 20, 1989 sa harap ng Nestlé Cabuyao Factory Gate habang may mapayapang pagkilos noon ang mga manggagawa.( for the short history of Nestle Workers' struggle in the Phils. pls click UFE-DFA-KMU)
Hindi mapasusubaliang numero uno o “ICON” sa pagiging ganid, marahas at mapagsamantala ang dambuhalang monopolyo kapitalistang Nestlé na nangungunang kumpanya ng pagkain sa daigdig. Sa kabila ng matinding “Financial Meltdown o Global Financial Crisis” ay namintine ng Nestlé ang dambuhalang tubo nito, at noong 2010 ay may CHF 34.2 billion net profit (swissfrancs), na may 7.4% na pagtaas na kita sa bawat share, may CHF 15.5 billion cash return sa shareholders sa pamamagitan ng CHF 5.4 billion dividend at CHF 10.1 billion share buy-back, at may CHF 36.1 return on invested capital (source: Nestlé Annual Report 2010 ). Ang mga figures na ito ay malinaw na paraiso para sa kapital subalit impyerno sa hanay ng manggagawa.
Sa Pilipinas,pagpasok pa lamang ng taong 2000 ay mas tumindi ang samu’t-saring kalbaryo ang naranasan ng mga manggagawa. Todo-todo na ang pagpapatupad ng Nestlé ng “Out-sourcing” sa pamamagitan ng “Toll-manufacturing at Co-packing schemes na nag-aalis sa kaseguruhan sa regular na hanap-buhay. Di naglaon ay nagpatupad ng “Redundancy at Retrenchment program sa lahat ng kanyang mga pagawaan dito sa Pilipinas. Taong 2001, biglang isinara ang pinakamatandang pagawaan sa Alabang,.kasunod ay Pulilan noong 2002 kapalit ng out-sourcing at pagtanggal ng libong regular na manggagawa. Lantaran at aroganteng ipinatupad ang mga kontra-manggagawang patakaran tulad ng pagbawi sa mga pang-ekonomiya at pampulitikang pinagtagumpayan na ng mga manggagawa sa panahon ng CBA at mga sama-samang pagkilos. Ang pinakatampok dito ay ang pagbawi at di-pagkilala sa “Retirement Benefits” kahit pa ito ay nadesisyunan na ng Korte Suprema.
Walang hanggang kapangyarihan, ito ang katangian ng dambuhalang Nestlé sa sistema ng lipunang ang may kontrol ay kapital. Ginamit ang Assumption of Jurisdiction (AJ) sa pamamagitan ni Patricia Sto.Tomas dating sec. ng DoLE para bigyang katwiran ang pagmasaker sa buhay at kinabukasan ng mga manggagawa. Ginagamit ang PNP at military bilang goons at private armies para maghasik ng terror sa hanay ng mga manggagawang nagtatanggol para sa ating soberanya at kinabukasan.
Setyembre 22, 2005 nang muling umalingaw-ngaw ang dalawang punglo mula sa kalibre 45 ng goons ng Nestlé at kumitil sa buhay ng sumunod na pangulo ng unyon sa Nestlé Cabuyao. Isang araw matapos ang deklarasyon ni Gloria Macapagal Arroyo ng Calibrated Preemptive Response(CPR) ay nilagutan ng hininga ng 2 punglo ng kalibre.45 si Diosdado “Ka Fort” Fortuna. Lumikha ang Nestlé ng terror sa manggagawa at magsilbing babala sa patuloy na paninindigan para sa pagtatanggol sa kabuhayan at kinabukasan. Sa sampung taong pagtatanggol ng mga manggagawa ng Nestlé para sa katarungan,nagresulta na rin ito ng pagkamatay ng 49 na manggagawa dulot ng pagkakasakit at matinding kahirapan. Maraming nailitan ng tahanan at kalakhan ng mga anak ng manggagawa ay naobligang tumigil sa pag-aaral.
Marso 2008, muling naglabas ng pinal na desisyon ang Korte Suprema at muling pinagtitibay ang dati na nitong desisyon para sa manggagawa. Nanatiling bahagi ng CBA ang Retirement Benefits subalit hindi kayang papanagutin ng Korte Suprema at ideklarang “guilty” sa “Unfair Labor Practices”(ULP) ang dambuhalang kapitalistang Nestlé. Malinaw na nananalaytay din sa bawat himaymay ng bawat kalamnan ng mga mahistrado at tagos hanggang buto ang impluwensya ng kapital upang pagsilbihan ang interes nito.
Dalawang pinal na desisyon na ng Korte Suprema, halos 4 na taon na rin ang lumipas matapos ang 2008 pinal na desisyon ng Korte Suprema, halos dalawang taon na ring pinaasa ng bagong halal na si Pnoy ang sambayanan at mga manggagawa. Gamit ang kanyang mga pangakong “pagbabago, matuwid na daan at ang administrasyong hindi manhid sa daing ng taumbayan”. Maliwanag sa karanasan ng manggagawa na wala kailanmang magiging pagbabago, walang matuwid na daan para sa manggagawa at mamamayan hangga’t ang sistemang umiiral ay para sa interes ng mapagsamanatalang uri at kapital. Mananatiling bulaklak na lamang ng pananalita ng walang pinag iba kay Gloria na si Pnoy ang mga pangakong inaasahan ng mamamayan. Hangga’t ang lahat ng institusyon ng pamahalaan ay nasa kontrol at kumpas ng kapital at ng iilan,walang katarungan at tunay na demokrasya.
Kung kaya,ang paninindigan at pagtatanggol ng mga manggagawa ng Nestlé sa kabila ng lahatang atake ng estado at kapital na masahol pa sa pananalasa ng mga kalamidad ay magpapatuloy bilang ambag sa pagtatanggol para sa uri at sambayanan.

PAGPUPUGAY SA IKA-23 TAONG KADAKILAAN NI KA MEL ROXAS!
KUNG MAY TUWID NA DAAN! MANGGAGAWA NG NESTLE
MAY MAHUSAY NA KINABUKASAN AT KATARUNGAN!
KATARUNGAN KAY KA FORT, KA MEL AT SA MANGGAGAWA NG NESTLE!
SUPORTAHAN ANG LABAN NG MGA MANGGAGAWA NG NESTLE!BOYCOTT ALL NESTLE PRODUCTS!
ISULONG ANG PAMBANSANG INDUSTRIYALISASYON
AT TUNAY NA REPORMANG AGRARYO!
MABUHAY ANG URING MANGGAGAWA!
MABUHAY ANG SAMBAYANAN!

pls click for viewing and downloading file

100 years of Nestle's Terrorism in the Philippines, Workers' Protest Action in Nestle at Rockwell Ctr, Mall of Asia, and DoLE (May 27, 2011)

2011-05-28T06:51:00.000-07:00

Statements of Solidarity in Arkibong Bayan , Pinoy in Austrian Society For Integrity, Reforms and Social Transformation (PINAS FIRST)

100 Years of Nestle's Terrorism Against the Working Class

2011-05-25T10:55:00.000-07:00

PAMANTIK Statement on Nestle's 100 years in the Philippines here

Good Food? with SALMONELA plus MELAMINE!
Good Life? TERRORISM EXPERT! KILLS WORKERS!

Hindi na nakapagtatakang kamakailan lang ay muling bumulaga at umalingawngaw sa iba’t-ibang larangan ng media sa local at int’l. na positibo sa salmonela ang produktong gawa ng Nestlé dito sa Pilipinas na “Maggi noodles”. Hindi nakapagtataka, dahil sa pagiging gahaman ng Nestlé sa dambuhalang tubo ay binawasan at pinaigsi nito ang proseso ng paggawa ng kanilang mga produkto. Inalis na nito ang incubation period bago i-release sa market at tiyaking maayos ang quality ng produkto. Sa madaling salita, para mas lumobo pa ang tubo ay nagbawas ng lakas paggawa partikular ng mga QA personnel. Ang magsusuri na lang para malaman kung may problema sa kalidad ang kanilang mga produkto ay ang sikmura at tyan ng consumers. Dahil sa lawak at dami ng inabot na pinsala sa consumers ng produktong positibo sa salmonela ay di na nila kayang pagtakpan pa at itago sa publiko ang pagiging iresponsable ng Nestlé. Kaya, napilitan silang magdeklara ng diumano’y “voluntary recall” ng kanilang produkto gamit ang kanilang pagkontrol sa malalaking media network para palabasing bida pa sila at may malasakit sa consumers. (Nestle Philippines Inc.’s top-grossing placements paying a cumulative P1.67 billion for just 4,319 minutes or 71.98hours of commercials. More than 50 percent of ad placements for the first three months of this year were cornered by 2 leading TV Networks. On the average, ad placements between 2 networks run at P700,000 per 30-second spot, by research firm Nielsen Co. published in Malaya Business Insight Apr. 13,2011)

Marami nang pagkakataon na may problema sa kalidad ang kanilang mga produkto tulad ng gatas na Nestogen. Nakamatay sa 2 buwang sanggol sa Makati City at sa iba pang lugar. Mayroon ding Nestlé Chuckie na nagresulta ng 4 days medical confinement ng consumer dahil nagsuka at nag LBM. May pagkakataon din, noong Nobyembre 2008, ginamit ng Nestlé ang media na diumano’y napakaraming pekeng produkto nila ang nasa market, partikular sa NCR, na malaking posibilidad na makasama sa consumers.Dahilan para samsamin muli nila at susunugin daw para maitago sa mamamayan ang tunay na dahilan na may problema sa kalidad ang milo,nescafe,nido,bearbrand atbpa. Lahat ng ito ay naikubli nila sa mamamayan at patuloy pa rin nilang naikukubli ang panloloko at pagsasamantala sa mamamayan.

Sa kasalukuyan, ang culinary products nila tulad ng maggi noodles, seasoning, boullion at ibapa ay ginagawa 100% sa ilalim ng toll-manufacturing o sa ilalim ng iskemang kontraktwalisasyon. Tulad din ng milo, nido, bearbrand, nestea, nescafe kalakhan ay nirere-pack sa labas ng main factory sa ilalim ng toll-packing o isa ring mukha ng contractualization scheme. Di na rin nakapagtataka na lahat ng nilikhang produkto sa labas ng main factory na mula sa iba’t-ibang iskema ng kontraktwalisasyon ay may address at nilikha din sa Nestlé Phils.Cabuyao Plant na malinaw na panloloko sa mamamayan. Kalakhan o mas marami ang bilang ng maliliit na pagawaan ang minamaniobra ng Nestlé para lumikha ng kanilang produkto sa ilalim ng out-sourcing. Nangangahulugan ito na mayoryang manggagawa ay kontraktwal, walang kaseguruhan sa trabaho, di-sapat na sahod, bagong tipo ng alipin, di rin itinuturing na tao at malinaw na pambansang patakaran ng estado.

Wala din s’yang iginagalang na batas at lantaran nitong nilalapastangan. Matatandaang may 3 nang pinal na desisyon ng Korte Suprema ng Pilipinas na nagsasabing wasto, makatarungan at lehitimo ang ipinaglalaban ng mga naka-welgang manggagawa ng Nestlé sa Cabuyao,Laguna. Subalit tahasan itong di ipinatutupad ng Nestlé. Nag resulta na ito ng pagkamatay ng 48 manggagawa, ipinapatay ang 2 magkasunod na pangulo ng unyon sa pagtatanggol para sa katarungan at batayang karapatan ng uring manggagawa. Mahigit 250 manggagawa ang kinasuhan ng mga gawa-gawang kasong kriminal sa pakikipagsabwatan ng DoLE, pulis at militar sa Nestlé. Eksperto sa pagsasamantala, terorismo at panloloko ang Nestlé gamit ang mga institusyon at gobyernong kontrolado ng kapital.

PAGLULUKSA SA SENTENARYONG PAGSASAMANTALA AT TERORISMO NG NESTLÉ SA MANGGAGAWA AT SAMBAYANANG PILIPINO !

• ISULONG ANG KASEGURUHAN SA TRABAHO ! LABANAN ANG KONTRAKTWALISASYON !
• IPAGLABAN ANG MAKABULUHANG DAGDAG SAHOD!
P125 ACROSS THE BOARD NATIONWIDE !
• SUPORTAHAN ANG KATARUNGANG IPINAGLALABAN NG MGA MANGGAGAWA NG NESTLÉ!
• BOYCOTT ALL NESTLÉ PRODUCTS!
• ISULONG ANG PAMBANSANG INDUSTRIYALISASYON AT TUNAY NA REPORMANG AGRARYO !
MABUHAY ANG URING MANGGAGAWA AT SAMBAYANAN !
to view or download Pugad Lakas

ILO Committee on Freedom of Association Reports in Case No. 2528

2011-04-25T09:50:00.000-07:00

Committee on Freedom of Association
CASE NO. 2528
INTERIM REPORT
Complaint against the Government of the Philippines presented by Kilusang Mayo Uno Labor Center (KMU)

To download or view the ILO CFA Report pls click here

1094. The Union of Filipro Employees (UFE–DFA–KMU) sent new allegations in communications dated 16 August and 3 September 2010.

B. The complainant’s new allegations
1098. By its communications dated 16 August and 3 September 2010, the UFE–DFA–KMU alleges continuing violation of trade union rights at the Nestlé-Philippines Cabuyao factory. According to the union, the Government, together with the enterprise‘s management created the Nestlé Cabuyao Workers Union (NCWU) to eliminate the UFE–DFA–KMU as the sole and exclusive bargaining agent for the Cabuyao workers, to undermine the final and executory decision of the Supreme Court and to annihilate the retirement benefits as part of the negotiable issue in the collective agreement. It further indicates that in January 2010, the Court of Appeals of the Philippines affirmed the earlier decision of the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC), that the termination by the enterprise of more than 600 workers was legal and justified due to workers‘ defiance of the DOLE Secretary‘s Assumption of Jurisdiction Order. In April 2010, the Supreme Court dismissed the union‘s petition for review regarding the illegal dismissal case due to the lack of merit.

1099. The union further alleges that on 2 June 2010, at around 5.20 p.m., unidentified men gunned down a trade union leader in a crowded street in Barangay Caingin, Santa Rosa City, Laguna. Edward Panganiban, aged 27, died on the spot after sustaining 12 gunshot wounds. Mr Panganiban worked in Japanese-owned Takata Philippines Incorporated in Laguna Technopark Incorporated (LTI) and was elected secretary of the Independent Union Samahang Lakas ng Manggagawa sa Takata Philippines (SALAMAT–Independent).

1100. The UFE–DFA–KMU further question the composition of the Executive Committee of the Tripartite Industrial Peace Council (TIPC) and states that labour sector representatives on the TIPC are not real leaders of the working class.

C. The Government’s reply
...
D. The Committee’s conclusions
...
1110. The Committee notes, in particular, that the TIPC Monitoring Body was established in January 2010 as a monitoring body on the application of the international standards, in particular Convention No. 87. While the Committee notes the concern raised by the UFE–DFA–KMU as to the workers’ representation at this body, it notes, from the information provided by the Government and Resolution No. 2, concerning this case, adopted by the TIPC Monitoring Body on 25 June 2010, efforts made by the Government to involve the KMU, the complainant organization in this case. The Committee expects that the Government will continue to engage with the KMU in dealing with cases involving its members and leaders and requests to be kept informed in this respect.

1111. Welcoming the measures taken so far by the Government, the Committee requests it to continue to keep it informed of the steps taken and envisaged to ensure a climate of justice and security for trade unionists in the Philippines, and encourages the Government to develop a fully-fledged technical cooperation programme in this respect.

1125. The Committee further notes that by its communications dated 16 August and 3 September 2010, the UFE–DFA–KMU alleges continuing trade union rights violations at the Nestlé-Philippines Cabuyao factory. According to the union, the Government, together with the enterprise’s management created the NCWU to eliminate the UFE–DFA–KMU as the sole and exclusive bargaining agent for the Cabuyao workers, to undermine the final and executory decision of the Supreme Court and to annihilate the retirement benefits as part of the negotiable issue in the collective agreement. It further indicates that in January 2010, the Court of Appeals of the Philippines affirmed the earlier decision of the NLRC that the termination by the enterprise of more than 600 workers was legal and justified due to workers’ defiance of the DOLE Secretary’s Assumption of Jurisdiction Order. In April 2010, the Supreme Court dismissed the union’s petition for review regarding the illegal dismissal case due to the lack of merit.

1127. The Committee urges the Government to respond to the allegation submitted by the UFE–DFA–KMU without delay. It further requests the Government to keep it informed on the outcome of the discussion of the abovementioned harassment cases by the TIPC Monitoring Body or of any other measures taken to facilitate the settlement of labour disputes and to indicate the progress made in ensuring the full and swift investigation of the alleged acts of harassment and intimidation. The Committee recalls that such measures should be undertaken following consultations with the most representative workers’ and employers’ organizations.

The Committee’s recommendations

1134. In the light of its foregoing interim conclusions, the Committee invites the Governing Body to approve the following recommendations:
(e) With regard to the alleged harassment and intimidation of trade union leaders and members affiliated to the KMU, the Committee urges the Government to respond to the allegation submitted by the UFE–DFA–KMU without delay and to keep it informed on the outcome of the discussion of the allegations of harassment and intimidation of trade union leaders and members affiliated to the KMU by the TIPC Monitoring Body or of any other measures taken to facilitate the settlement of labour disputes and to indicate the progress made in ensuring the full and swift investigation of the alleged acts of harassment and intimidation.

Decision on the eighth item on the agenda: 359th Report of the Committee on Freedom of Association

To download or view the report pls click here

The Governing Body took note of the introduction to the report of the Committee, contained in paragraphs 1–213, and adopted the recommendations made in paragraphs: ... 1134 (Case No. 2528: Philippines); ...

Ika-10 PAMBANSANG KONGRESO NG KMU MULING PINAGTIBAY ANG INIHAING RESOLUSYON NG PAMANTIK-KMU

2011-03-21T02:35:00.000-07:00

to view or download click here

ST Workers march to the Senate, asking for the Blue Ribbon & the Labor & Employment Committees to investigate swiftly on DoLE, PNP & AFP

2011-03-14T08:08:00.000-07:00

To view endorsement letter of Laguna Gov.ER Ejercito to Sen.Jinggoy Estrada,pls click here

ILO FOA acknowledgment receipt of UFE's comments

2011-01-29T09:28:00.000-08:00

To view or download file please click

Militant salute to the Nestle workers' 9th year struggle

2011-01-25T07:21:00.000-08:00

Militant salute to the Nestlé workers’ 9th year struggle
Pagkakaisa ng Manggagawa sa Timog Katagalugan (PAMANTIK-KMU) wishes to convey its
highest militant salute to the Nestlé workers marking their 9th year of strike this January 14,2011.
There is no straight and easy path in establishing reason, rights, and justice. Since the capitalists and state will not grant these by themselves, resolute commitment and untiring struggle bound the Nestlé workers and their families in the 9-year strike which is now considered one of the long-running active strikes in the region’s trade union history.
We also pay high respect to the martyred Nestlé union president Diosdado “Ka Fort” Fortuna and 42 unyielding Nestlé workers who died in the course of the struggle.
The more than 200 remaining striking workers deserve recognition for their uncompromising stance and defence for the genuine, militant, and anti-imperialist unionism.
The workers were pushed to strike on 2002 when the management excluded the item of
Retirement Benefits and used it as pre-condition in the collective bargaining negotiation. The Retirement Benefits, however, was a hard-won issue during their first strike in 1987. The Supreme Court resolved in its decision in 1991 that the Retirement Benefits is a valid CBA item.
The Supreme Court again reaffirmed on August 22, 2006 its earlier decision.
The Nestlé management used all means just so its workers would not benefit from the rule of law.
Nestlé, in fact, outrightly violates the Supreme Court decisions. It intends and behaves to stand above the law. Using its influences in the different government agencies, courts, and the mercenary police and military, foreign monopoly capitalist Nestlé suppressed the workers’ strike. Scores of workers, families, and supporters were hurt in the series of dispersals and harassments. Hundreds were slapped with trumped-up charges to cripple the workers’ will to fight.
In the event of the centennial celebration of its business presence in the Philippines this coming March 2011, no amount of ads promotion and commercial blitz shall wipe off Nestlé’s blood debts to the Filipino working class. ###

Comments of the Union of Filipro Employees (UFE-DFA-KMU) for the CEACR concerning ILO High-Level Mission Report

2010-12-27T07:47:00.000-08:00

Cleopatra Doumbia-Henry
Director, International Labour Standards Department
International Labour Office
4, routes des Morillons
CH - 1211 Geneva 22
Switzerland

Fax No.: 00 41 22 799 6771

August 16, 2010

Re: Comments of the Union of Filipro Employees (UFE-DFA-KMU) for the CEACR concerning ILO High-Level Mission report and Philippine Government violation of ILO Conventions 87 and 98

Dear Ms. Doumbia-Henry:

Referring to our previous communication dated September 25, 2009 and submitted by e-mail attachment on February 1, 2010 (a "complaint" intended to be received as comments), the Union of Filipro Employees (UFE-DFA-KMU) submits herein additional comments, with annexes, concerning the Report of the ILO High-Level Mission to the Philippines and the continuing violation by the Philippine Government of the rights of employees of the Nestlé-Philippines Cabuyao factory under Conventions 87 and 98.
For reading and downloading the file please click

Nestle Workers Condemn DoLE in Conniving with Nestle's Terrorism

2010-11-23T08:59:00.000-08:00

To download or view the letter pls click

NESTLE WORKERS CHALLENGED PRES. NOYNOY AQUINO TO STOP THEIR AGONY!

2010-08-23T11:04:00.000-07:00

Pls. click the link to view pics.

(Excerpt from Nestle Workers' Letter to PNoy)

August 16, 2010

His Excellency Benigno Simeon C. Aquino III
President
Republic of the Philippines

Dear Mr. President:

More than eight (8) years have now passed since we, the more than 600 employees at the Cabuyao factory of Nestlé Philippines, Inc. went on strike to enforce our right to negotiate the retirement benefits. The Supreme Court’s repeated rulings in our favour on this issue have failed to render justice, as the Swiss multinational food company continues to defy the court’s decisions.

The Cabuyao factory workers and our union launched our strike on January 14, 2002, forced into it by Nestlé management and its deliberately provocative position demanding the exclusion of the issue of retirement benefits from the CBA negotiations as a matter subject to unilateral determination by management.

This position blatantly defied a ruling of the Supreme Court handed down in February 1991 (and later upheld on appeal), in which the court concluded: “The Court agrees with the NLRC’s [National Labor Relations Commission] findings that the Retirement Plan was a collective bargaining issue from the start ...”

Several days after the strike vote on November 22, 2001, Patricia A. Santo Tomas, then-Secretary of the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE), granted the company's petition for a notorious "assumption of jurisdiction" order, arbitrarily placing the dispute into the hands of the state and its apparatus of repression.

On January 16, 2002, Sto. Tomas issued a Return to Work Order; on January 18, 2002, Sto. Tomas issued a Police Deputation Order, ordering the Philippine National Police (PNP) to send in their units; and on January 28, 2002, more than 1,000 combined forces of PNP, Military and Blue Guards violently dispersed the picket line set up by the striking workers at the factory gate.

During a trip to Switzerland to the ILO Conference in June 2001, Sto. Tomas enjoyed limousine services that billed a total of 9,000 Swiss Francs or P316,000 courtesy of Nestle-Philippines, Inc. Documents uncovered by the UFE reveal that Nestlé paid for her chauffeur services and the Mercedes Benz for a shopping trip to Milan, Italy from Geneva from June 15 to 16, 2001.
The protracted labor-management conflict has been marked by a militarization of the factory and the violent dispersal of the workers’ picket lines and protests at the factory gate and elsewhere by the...(you can read or download the whole letter here,you can also read or download UFE's letter to DOJ Sec. De Lima here)

TULOY ANG LABAN... Gloria 'wag Patakasin, Nestle Boykotin

2010-04-15T02:38:00.000-07:00

The "WAR Nest" Camp
http://

ST workers protest against intensifying trade union repression

2010-04-10T08:20:00.000-07:00

Pagkakaisa ng Manggagawa sa Timog Katagalugan • Kilusang Mayo Uno
(Solidarity of Workers in Southern Tagalog • May First Movement)

also view slideshow photos
NEWS
22 March 2010

Reference: Hermie Marasigan, Spokesperson, Mobile No: +63.9302727373.

ST workers protest against intensifying trade union repression

Workers from Southern Tagalog led by the militant Pagkakaisa ng Manggagawa sa Timog Katagalugan-Kilusang Mayo Uno (Solidarity of Workers in Southern Tagalog-May First Movement) staged protests today in various government labor agencies and courts condemning the intensifying trade union repression in the region.

PAMANTIK said that “the Arroyo administration failed to uplift the worsening condition of workers, yet it even attacked and repressed their legitimate rights.”

No win in labor cases

In front of the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) in Banawe, Quezon City, PAMANTIK lambasted the agency for its “pro-capitalist” stance in dealing labor cases.

According to PAMANTIK spokesperson Hermie Marasigan, “Out of the 111 decisions issued by arbiters in NLRC Region IV-A in 2009, only 32 decisions favored the workers. In NLRC national office, only 61 favored the workers out of 173 resolutions. It’s another thing if the favorable decisions will really take effect as NLRC has no teeth and lost all moral ascendancy to oblige employers, especially TNCs and MNCs, to comply with the decisions.”

As of February 2010, PAMANTIK documented a total of 653 labor cases pending in various labor agencies and courts.

“The number of labor cases is increasing. However, the workers have to endure a prolonged agony in wait for a decision. In NLRC, we even have the pending cases of workers filed as early as 2004 such as that of Keihin Philippines. One worker is here with us with his case for almost 12 years! In fact, the NLRC is notoriously known to workers as the National Labor Relations ‘Cemetery’ where cases are buried,” added Marasigan.

In mockery, the workers carry in front of the NLRC a black coffin painted with the names of involved companies.

Workers’ Calvary

At the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE), the workers raised black crosses bearing labor issues such as CBA moratorium, “no union, no strike” policy, and assumption of jurisdiction.

PAMANTIK deputy secretary-general Noel Alemania said, “Primarily, DoLE, in collusion with capitalists, is responsible for throwing these ‘crosses’ for workers to burden.”

“There is nothing to be confident of when DoLE said that the number of strikes dwindled down in recent years. DoLE should have also provided the figures how many assumption of jurisdiction orders it issued to suppress workers’ right to strike such as with the case in Nestle Philippines Cabuyao and Nissan Motor.”

DoLE boasts that only four (4) actual strikes happened in 2009, attributing it to the efficiency in labor arbitration and mediation.

“Recently, DoLE assumed jurisdiction of the CBA deadlock in Aichi Forging even before the union filed a notice of strike. DoLE is ever ready in service, not for the workers, but for the capitalists!” added Alemania.

Seeking social justice

The workers staged the last leg of their protest in front of the Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court.

Marasigan concluded, “We, workers demand an end to the intensifying trade union repression. We demand social justice. Whoever sits in Malacañang after the May Elections, we will push for these demands. Whether Arroyo is unseated or remains in power, we will continue intensifying the struggle for our legitimate rights.”

Today’s action day coincides with the Asia-wide campaign against trade union repression spearheaded by the Asian Transnational Corporation Monitoring Network. ###
please click the link to see more pictures and video.

MASAKER…PATULOY NA KAWALANG KATARUNGAN…WALANG TIGIL NA PANUNUPIL AT PAMBUBUSABOS SA MANGGAGAWA...

2010-04-04T09:46:00.000-07:00

Walong (8) taon nang ito ang isinisigaw at patuloy na pakikibaka para sa katarungan ng mga manggagawa at pamilya ng Nestlé Phils. sa Cabuyao,Laguna. Matatandaang napilitang magwelga ang mga manggagawa noong Enero 14, 2002 sa pagtatanggol sa malaon nang pinal na desisyon ng Korte Suprema noong 1991 na dapat bahagi ng usapin sa Collective Bargaining Agreement sa pagitan ng management at ng unyon ang retirement plan ng mga manggagawa. Tagumpay ito sa kabila ng pagbubuwis ng buhay ni kasamang Meliton Roxas,pangulo ng unyon na walang awang ipinaslang ng Nestlé noong Enero 20, 1989 habang nagsasagawa ng sama-samang pagkilos sa harapan ng Nestlé Cabuyao. Ang tagumpay na ito ay bunga ng paninindigan, pagkakaisa at sama-samang pagkilos ng mga manggagawa mula sa Makati Administration Office, Alabang, Cabuyao at Cagayan de Oro factories. Kapakinabangan ito hindi lamang sa naunang mga manggagawa (pioneer workers) kundi para sa lahat ng mga manggagawa ng Nestlé Phils. kasama din ang mga manggagawa sa mga bagong itinayo at biniling pagawaan tulad ng Nestlé Lipa, Goya at dating Magnolia Ice Cream na ngayon ay Nestlé Ice Cream na at iba pang mga pagawaang mabibili pa ng Nestlé dito sa Pilipinas. Malinaw na tagumpay ito para sa uring manggagawa na nagsilbing inspirasyon sa buong uri para sa pagtatanggol sa kabuhayan at kinabukasan. Subalit napaka ganid sa tubo ng dambuhalang monopolyo kapitalistang Nestlé at tagos hanggang buto ang pagiging berdugo nito. Ginamit ang lahat ng institusyon sa ilalim ng numero unong papet na nagpipilit na hindi mapatalsik sa Malacanang na si Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. Sa pamamagitan ng mapanupil na Assumption of Jurisdiction order ng dating kalihim Patricia Sto Tomas ng Dep’t. of Labor and Employment (DoLE) ay lantarang binaboy nito ang mismong desisyon ng Korte Suprema na panahon pa ni Chief Justice Narvasa. Binaliktad ni Sto Tomas ang pinal na desisyon ng korte at sinabing ang usaping retirement plan daw ay hindi na bahagi ng Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) at sa halip ay prerogatiba lang ng kapitalistang Nestlé at pinagbawalan pa ang mga manggagawa sa batayang karapatan na mag welga upang ipagtanggol ang kabuhayan at kinabukasang tahasang kinakamkam ng kapitalista. Nagsunod-sunod na ang mga karahasan at mapanupil na patakarang ipinatupad ng sabwatang rehimeng Gloria Macapagal Arroyo at Nestlé. Sa bisa ng deputization order sa pulis at militar, walang pakundangang pandarahas, pananakot at surveillances ang ginawa sa hanay ng manggagawa. Pinaggugulpi at kinasuhan ng ibat-ibang kasong kriminal sa Municipal Trial Court ng Cabuyao at Regional Trial Court ng Binan ang may 250 manggagawang nagtatangkang igiit at ipagtanggol ang kabuhayan at karapatan. May ilang mga nakulong at marami ang may warrant of arrest sa kasong gawa-gawa lang ng mga goons at private armies na Phil. National Police (PNP) at militar (Phil.Army,ISAFP/AFP) ng Nestlé. Lantarang mga mersenaryo na ang mga pulis at militar na armadong protektor ng kapitalista para tuloy-tuloy na lapastanganin ang mismong desisyon ng Korte Suprema na ipinagtatanggol ng mga manggagawa. Hindi pa nasiyahan ang sabwatang Gloria at Nestlé sa matinding hagupit ng pasismo na sinapit ng mga manggagawa. Inihalintulad pa ng nuno ng mga berdugong si Gloria ang mga nagwelgang manggagawa tulad ng “kidnap for ransom syndicates, druglords, gambling lords” na mga terorista. Dahil hindi magtagumpay ang rehimeng Arroyo at Nestlé na pigilin ang paninindigan ng mga manggagawa ng Nestlé,kasama ang kanilang mga pamilya sa pagtatanggol sa katarungan, Setyembre 22,2005 isang araw matapos ang deklarasyon ni Arroyo ng Calibrated Preemptive Response (CPR) walang awang pinaslang si Diosdado “Ka Fort” Fortuna ng mga private armies o mersenaryong pulis at militar ng Nestlé. Pang dalawang (2) pangulo na ng unyon na pinaslang sa Nestlé Cabuyao habang maigting ang pagtatanggol sa kabuhayan at karapatan para sa uring manggagawa at labing-isang araw matapos din paslangin ang lider manggagawa sa Nestlé Colombia noong Setyembre 11,2005 habang ipinagtatanggol din nila ang karapatan at kabuhayan laban sa pagsasamantala ng Nestlé. Marso 26,2008,naglabas ng ikalawang pinal na desisyon ang Korte Suprema at bahagi na din ng “entry of judgement” na muling pinagtibay ang una nitong desisyong nasa tama at makatwiran ang ipinaglalaban ng mga manggagawa. Subalit hindi pa rin natigatig sa paglapastangan sa ating pambansang soberanya ang kapitalistang Nestlé. Tahasan nitong di iginagalang ang Kataas-tasang Hukuman ng Pilipinas. Nagsilbi pang tagapagsalita ng Nestlé si Sec. Marianito Roque ng DoLE para lantarang babuyin ulit ang kautusan ng korte. Siya ang nagpapaliwanag at sumasagot sa mga pagbatikos na ginagawa ng ibat-ibang sector maging sa internasyunal para sa Nestlé at binabaluktot kung ano ang tunay na laman ng pinal na kautusan ng Korte Suprema. Matapos magsumite ng “Motion for Writ of Execution” ang unyon upang ipatupad na ang muling pinal na desisyon para sa manggagawa ay tahasan nitong ibinasura ang motion at “DENIED”ang katugunan. “All hands on deck” ang rehimeng Arroyo at dinudumog ang paninindigan ng mga manggagawa ng Nestlé. Kung paano nito pinoproteksyunan at kinakanlong ang mga berdugo, matadero, rapist, mangungulimbat at iba pang di makataong gawain tulad ni Col.Jovito Palparan, Jalosjos, Manero, Teehankee, Jocjoc Bolante at ang pinakasariwang pangyayaring Maguindanao massacre na hindi maitatagong si Gloria mismo ang lumikha. Nagtatampisaw sa dugo at pawis ng manggagawa at mamamayan ang rehimeng Arroyo sa dikta at kontrol ng Kapital. Sila ang terorista, ang walang habas na nagmamasaker sa kabuhayan, karapatan, katarungan at kinabukasan ng uring anakpawis. SUPORTAHAN ANG LABAN NG MGA MANGGAGAWA NG NESTLE!
BOYCOTT ALL NESTLE PRODUCTS!
GLORIA ARROYO PAPANAGUTIN! HUWAG PATAKASIN! MABUHAY ANG MANGGAGAWA NG NESTLE! MABUHAY ANG SAMBAYANAN!
Please sign in to our online petition for justice
http://pinas-first.com/phpPETITION/
email us @ ufe_mailbox@yahoo.com

2010-04-04T09:39:00.001-07:00

"WEALTHY COMPANY NESTLE ENGAGE IN STRIKE" 16 Mar 2010: Senate debates (OpenAustralia.org)

2010-03-28T11:06:00.000-07:00

I speak tonight about something I...: 16 Mar 2010: Senate debates (OpenAustralia.org)
Gavin Marshall (Victoria,Labor Party Senator)
I speak tonight about something I have raised on a number of occasions in this chamber and an issue which interests me greatly: human rights in the Philippines. I was visited early in March by Bishop Jessie Suarez, who was here as a guest of the Justice and International Mission Unit of the Uniting Church Synod of Victoria and Tasmania. Bishop Suarez is bishop of the southern Luzon jurisdictional area of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines, UCCP, which is a partner church of the Uniting Church in Australia.

Bishop Suarez explained that the UCCP is deeply concerned about the levels of violence and human rights abuses in the Philippines under the current government and very fearful that it will continue to escalate in the lead-up to the country’s national elections in May this year. Currently, three of the UCCP’s ministers are receiving death threats by text. Two of those were previously abducted by the security forces. Pastor Berlin Guerrero was abducted by security forces in May 2007 and subjected to torture before being held in detention for a further 15 months. He was released after a Philippines court threw out the charges against him for lack of evidence linking him to the crimes with which he was charged. The latest death threats he has received are directly linked to his speaking out about the torture and abduction that he was subjected to.

Bishop Suarez also spoke to me about the issue of disbanding the paramilitary forces in the Philippines. Incidents of election related violence have already occurred across the country, with 57 people massacred in a single incident in Mindanao in November 2009. Thirty of the victims were journalists, two of the women victims were pregnant and the perpetrators were members of a legalised private army of the local Ampatuan family. The Ampatuans, who occupy many local positions in the province of Maguindanao, made use of their power to maintain militias which the government used in its counterinsurgency programs for many years. Their private army of over 2,000 armed men includes dozens of police officers. The International Crisis Group has stated that the massacre was a result of the central government deliberately nurturing a warlord, Andal Ampatuan Sr, who was allowed to indulge his greed and ambition in exchange for political loyalty.

The 2006 Executive Order 546 of the Philippines legalised paramilitary forces to multiply the counterinsurgency forces of the military and police. Although Executive Order 546 places the supervision and control of these civilian volunteer organisations under the police, local government officials through peace and order councils have a huge say, especially since they are tasked with sourcing the funds needed to sustain the CVOs. In addition to ensuring that those responsible for planning, organising and carrying out the massacre in November are brought to justice, there is a need to end all private and local funding of police and military auxiliaries and ban civilian militias. The government of the Philippines should revoke Executive Order 546.

Bishop Suarez mentioned the issue of election monitoring for the upcoming elections. There is a great fear about the security and effectiveness of the upcoming elections. Bishop Suarez encouraged partner churches and governments, including the Australian government, to do anything they can to promote independent monitoring of the elections, and I will be taking that up with the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Stephen Smith. Australia should look at all possible avenues through which it can help to facilitate and participate in independent election monitoring.

Bishop Suarez also raised the general issue of ongoing human rights concerns. He told me that, while the number of murders related to members of the security forces has steadily declined since 2006, harassment of human rights activists, anticorruption campaigners and critics of the government has continued. For example, 43 health workers were arrested by the military on 6 February as they were attending a community health forum in the municipality of Morong in the province of Rizal. They have been accused of participating in bomb-making activities. Among the detainees is Dr Alexis Mones, a UCCP lay member and previous UCCP community health ministries worker who is a highly esteemed member of their church.

Dr Melecia Velmonte, who owns the retreat centre where the training was being conducted, asserted that the military had no witnesses to their search operations and could easily have planted the ammunitions. This, of course, unfortunately is commonplace in the Philippines. Also, Dr Velmonte gave a lecture on infectious diseases at the training but was not arrested with the other participants. She and her son, Bob, demanded to see a search warrant when the military and police began their raid but they were merely brushed aside. It was only after the participants of the training were already handcuffed that Police Superintendent Marion P Balonglong showed Bob a search warrant. The detainees have been charged with illegal possession of explosives.

The Chair of the Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines, the CHRP, visited the detainees and stated: ‘They are continuously handcuffed and blindfolded. They are not allowed to sleep. They are not allowed to feed themselves.’ Of course, this is what we know as torture. The commission has questioned why those arrested remain in military custody when it was a civilian court that issued the search warrant. The commission has called on the Philippine authorities to ensure that the detainees have access to their lawyers, relatives and medical personnel in compliance with Philippine law. The UCCP has called for the respect of the human rights of Dr Montes and the 42 other detained health workers, including their rights to legal counsel, access to visitors and due process. The UCCP has stated that Dr Montes is a respected leader in the healing ministry of the UCCP and have called for his release. The World Council of Churches has also called for the detainees’ immediate release.

Bishop Suarez also raised the issue of support for striking workers at the Nestle factory in the Philippines. There is an ongoing dispute with Nestle Philippines at the Cabuyao factory where the workers have been on strike for over 10 years. The workers who have not found new jobs live in a makeshift slum and many have been forced to withdraw their children from school due to not having the income to support them. The workers and the church have argued that Nestle in the Philippines has refused to comply with the decision of the Supreme Court of the Philippines in March 2008 to allow a decent retirement plan to be included in the collective bargaining agreement for the factory. They are asking that Nestle Philippines reinstates the striking workers at the Cabuyao plant and negotiates in good faith on the collective bargaining agreement. They argue that employees and former employees from the Nestle Cabuyao plant must receive full retirement benefits.

Unfortunately, I will not have enough time to say all I wanted to say about that particular dispute, but it is unfortunate that such a wealthy company such as Nestle would engage in a strike—which I will talk about in the future—which has involved the murder of union officials around that strike action, and that they have engaged in that action over the mere issue of including retirement benefits in the enterprise agreement that is being negotiated. It is a shame that is a standard they would not apply here or in Europe but they seem willing to apply it in the Third World. I will speak on that issue further at another time.

UFE-DFA-KMU Complaint to ILO High Level Mission in the Philippines

2009-11-05T22:04:00.000-08:00

Case: Extra Judicial Killings, Union Busting, Illegal Dismissal, Criminalization, Arbitrary Arrest and Detention, Threat, Intimidation, Harassment, Non-Implementation of the Final and Executory Decision of the Supreme Court of the Philippines, Violations of ILO Convention Nos.87 and 98.

you can read and download the whole ammended file with hyperlinks in pdf format(as per communication/comment by e-mail to ILO dated Feb.1,2010) here

ILO mission asks RP gov't: Denounce rights abuses

2009-10-12T07:00:00.000-07:00

(Written by Aries Rufo Thursday, 01 October 2009) Short of indicting the government, a high-level fact-finding mission of the International Labor Organization (ILO) asked the Arroyo administration on Thursday to categorically denounce the killings of workers and the rampant violations of trade union rights. “A statement of the highest level of the Government instructing all government actors to make special efforts to ensure that their actions do not infringe upon the basic civil liberties of trade unionists could go a long way in reassuring the workers that have brought their complaints to the ILO,” a statement from the high-level mission said. Mission member Cleopatra Doumbia-Henry, director of the ILO international labor standards department, said this would send the message that the government “does not condone” human rights violations and the killings of workers. She added “it will help clarify allegations of the impunity” of abductions, harassments and extra-judicial killings of laborers, which the militant Kilusang Mayo Uno (May First Movement) brought to the attention of the ILO two years ago. The mission arrived September 22 and concluded its task Thursday. Facts gathered for ILO higher bodies: Members of the mission interviewed families and relatives of labor leaders killed allegedly by the military. They also went to the economic export zones to look into alleged violations of labor standards and laws, and inquired into the labor problem in Hacienda Luisita in Tarlac. Government officials and legislators were also interviewed. Other members of the ILO mission are Karen Curtis, deputy director-general of the ILO International Labor Standards department, and Tim de Meyer, International Labor Standards Specialists of the ILO sub-regional office for East Asia. The ILO, the only tripartite body of the United Nations composed of government, workers and employers, earlier requested the Arroyo government to accept the high-level mission to probe the alleged labor rights violations. The government initially rejected the request. But in this year’s International Labor Conference, the government finally relented. Doumbia-Henry said the team was able to gather facts and information, and will submit its report to the ILO supervisory bodies on Freedom of Association and the Protection of the Right to Organize Convention to make the final assessment.

Read Full Story @ newsbreak.com.ph

Diosdado "Ka Fort" Fortuna: "The struggle for the working class"

2009-10-03T00:57:00.000-07:00

FOR THE WORKERS AND FAMILIES OF NESTLE CABUYAO
PLS. VISIT AND SIGN OUR ON LINE PETITION @ http://www.pinas-first.com/phpPETITION

UFE-DFA-KMU Complaint to the ILO High Level Fact Finding Mission

2009-09-26T17:52:00.000-07:00

Case: Extra Judicial Killings, Union Busting, Illegal Dismissal, Criminalization, Arbitrary Arrest and Detention, Threat, Intimidation, Harassment, Non-Implementation of the Final and Executory Decision of the Supreme Court of the Republic of the Philippines, Violations of ILO Convention Nos.87 and 98

pdf format click here

Mrs. Luz Fortuna's sworn statement filed to ILO High Level Fact Finding Mission

Nestle Philippines Cabuyao factory September 19, 2009

LAKBAYAN CARAVAN SA CABUYAO'09 SEPTEMBER 19, 2009 PHOTOS

Fourth ni Ka Fort: Start of the ILO High Level Fact Finding Mission

2009-09-24T03:26:00.000-07:00

FOR THE WORKERS AND FAMILIES OF NESTLE CABUYAO
PLS. VISIT AND SIGN OUR ON LINE PETITION @ http://www.pinas-first.com/phpPETITION

OUR PHOTOS

4TH DEATH ANNIVERSARY OF DIOSDADO "KA FORT" FORTUNA

2009-09-01T07:23:00.000-07:00

REMEMBERING " KA FORT "

This coming Sept.22, will mark the 4th year death anniversary of the slain Trade Union leader Ka Fort. He was the first victim of GMA's intensified millitarization,day after implementing the CPR (Calibrated Preemptive Response) against people's organizations, leaders who are very critical against her anti-people and pro-Imperialists Globalizatiion policies. He was the 2nd union president in Nestle Philippines Cabuyao factory killed during the height of our struggle against Nestle. It was Jan.20, 1989 when Meliton "Ka Mel" Roxas was gunned down with cal.45 pistol by 2 motorcycle riding assasins infront of nearly hundred 224th brigade of the Phil. Army detailed inside & at the gate of Nestle Cabuyao factory. To date, there are already 30 union members of UFE-DFA-KMU died in more than 7 years of our struggle for justice agaiinst Nestle. Pompeyo Barorro,45 years old,died of heart attacked last August 31. He followed Ronegildo Caparas,46 years old, died of kidney and liver faillure last August 7. The struggle for more than 7 years of more than 600 workers of Nestle Philippines Cabuyao factory is not simply economic struggle against capitalist. The utilization and direct intervention of the Gloria Arroyo regime confirms the like of the rabid dog in kowtowing to the dictates of imperialist globalization and giant monopoly capitalist Nestle. They want to annihilate unionism particularly genuine trade unionism to guarantee for the investors haven in the Philippines undermining basic rights of workers and our sovereignty. We are appealing for your relentless support, our struggle is the struggle for the working class.
Also support our ONLINE PETITION FOR JUSTICE... PLEASE VISIT AND SIGN IN...

http://pinas-first.com/phpPETITION/

LONG LIVE THE WORKING CLASS!
LONG LIVE INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY!
TULOY ANG LABAN!

Noel Alemania
Acting President
UFE-DFA-KMU

"Continue our struggle until we achieve the ellussive justice that rightfully belongs to the workers.
The blood sheds by our departed comrades will never be wasted,not one drop"

Diosdado "Ka Fort" Fortuna 1954-2005

KATARUNGAN!!!

ECUMENICAL MASS FOR KA FORT

LUKSANG PARANGAL PARA KAY
KA FORT

KMU on CA decision: Where’s national interest in protecting Swiss firm Nestle?

2009-08-30T22:51:00.000-07:00

Date:

31 August 2009

Reference Person:

Elmer "Bong" Labog, KMU Chairperson

Contact information:

0929-629-3234

Labor center slams unjust decision upholding firing of Nestle workers

Labor center Kilusang Mayo Uno slammed the Court of Appeals decision which essentially upheld the corporate interests of Nestle and justified the illegal dismissal of more than 500 Nestle workers, saying invoking “national interest” as primary ground only grants big foreign corporations more power to abuse Filipino workers.

KMU said the CA decision, which upheld the firing of Nestle workers who went on strike over Nestle’s refusal to grant retirement benefits in the collective bargaining agreement negotiations, is “simply unjust and unreasonable.”

“Where’s national interest in protecting the operations of Swiss company Nestle when the rights of Filipino workers are heavily under attack? Would there be a national emergency if workers, who are simply fighting for their just demands, refuse to abide by the DOLE order? KMU Chairperson Elmer “Bong” Labog asked angrily.

“How could workers return to their work if truckloads of heavily-armed AFP and PNP units are the ones implementing DOLE’s Assumption of Jurisdication and return-to-work orders?” he added.

Prior to the return-to-work order, an Assumption of Jurisdiction Order was issued by DOLE in Nov. 28, 2001 over the union’s notice of strike, enabling police and military forces to swoop down on the Cabuyao factory to preempt the strike.

The Supreme Court already ruled in favor of Nestle workers in 1991, saying that retirement benefits is a mandatory collective bargaining issue. In March 2008, it reaffirmed its decision as final and executory. The labor department, however, has not lifted a finger to implement the decision and has even denied the writ of execution filed by the workers last March 5.

“Nestle has continously ignored the two decisions of the highest court for several years. I ask the Court of Appeals, who’s the one breaking the law?” said Labog.

Sheer violence against workers

In their seven-year strike, Nestle workers have suffered violent dispersals by police and military forces who have an encampment inside the Cabuyao plant up to now.

On Sept. 22, 2005, Nestle Cabuyao union president Diosdado “Ka Fort” Fortuna was gunned down by suspected hired armed agents of Nestle on his way home.

“Clearly, the workers have no option but to continue their strike amid sheer intimidation by the armed forces in cooperation with Nestle. It is their best defense against Nestle’s desperate strategy to use the courts and armed forces to attack and end their just struggle,” Labog said.

“It is simply infuriating to hear that the appelate court has upheld corporate interest over the just and legal demands of Nestle workers. This is certainly a bad ruling that further exposes Philippine courts as anti-labor instruments of local and international capitalists.

"The recent CA decision has again clarified to the public that justice in this land favors big foreign corporations, not Filipino workers who are victims of unfair labor pratices committed by such big businesses,”said Labog. #

Kilusang Mayo Uno

SOUTHERN TAGALOG LAKBAYAN2009 DAY3 (July 23, 2009)

2009-07-24T23:11:00.000-07:00

NESTLE WORKERS FROM CABUYAO FACTORY JOINS LAKBAYAN 2009 ( DAY 2) JULY 22, 2009

2009-07-23T18:25:00.000-07:00

SOUTHERN TAGALOG LAKBAYAN2009

LAKBAYAN2009 PHOTOS (DAY 2) CAM 1 JULY 22,2009

LAKBAYAN2009 PHOTOS (DAY 2) CAM2 JULY 22, 2009

LAKBAYAN2009 PHOTOS ( DAY 3) JULY 23, 2009

LAKBAYAN2009 PHOTOS (DAY 4) JULY 24, 2009

LAKBAYAN2009 PHOTOS (DAY 5) JULY 25, 2009

LAKBAYAN2009 PHOTOS (DAY 6) JULY 26, 2009

PEOPLE'S S O N A

LAKBAYAN2009 PHOTOS (DAY 7) JULY 27, 2009

NO TO CON ASS!!!

NO TO CHA CHA!!!

GLORIA PATALSIKIN!!! NESTLE BOYKOTIN!!!

Certification from the Bank of the Philippine Island

2009-07-01T01:12:00.000-07:00

Penpro, Inc.

2009-07-01T01:10:00.000-07:00

DOCUMENTS SUBMITTED BY NESTLE PHILIPPINES MANAGEMENT TO THE SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION:

NESTLE PHILIPPINES,INC RETIREMENT FUND

Certificate of Incorporation (PENPRO,INC.)

Our Retirement Fund was invested to PENPRO CORPORATION to gain profits and it is very clear according to "BY LAWS" of this corporation that the objective is to establish PENSION, RETIREMENT, BONUS, PROFIT SHARING or other types of incentives or compensation plans for all Nestle employees.But why is it that the management of Nestle Philippines continuously not respecting the FINAL and EXECUTORY decision of the Supreme Court of the Republic of the Philippines?

Annual Audited Consolidated Financial Statement of PENPRO,Inc,and Subsidiary

2009-07-01T01:06:00.000-07:00

Financial Statement of PENPRO,Inc. and Subsidiary

The Controversial Voucher of Sec. Patricia Sto.Tomas of the Deparment of Labor and Employment

2009-07-01T00:44:00.000-07:00

Nestle Kills Workers!!! Kundgebung (Nestle 18.06.09)

2009-06-25T21:33:00.000-07:00

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/pinoy-migration/06/23/09/fil-austrian-group-pickets-nestle-firm-austria

Petition-Appeal for Justice "Do not deny justice to your poor people in their lawsuits" Exodus 23:6

Nestlé Philippines Inc. Nestlé S.A.
No. 31 Plaza Drive Avenue Nestlé 55
Rockwell Center 1800 Vevey, Switzerland
Makati City 1200 Philippines

International Labor Organizations (ILO) Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE)
4 route des Morillons Muralla St. cor. Gen. Luna St., Intramuros
CH-1211 Genève 22, Switzerland 1002 Manila, Philippines

Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)
Palais des Nations
CH-1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland

Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines
SAAC Building, Commonwealth Avenue
UP Complex, Diliman, Quezon City

Petition-Appeal for Justice "Do not deny justice to your poor people in their lawsuits" Exodus 23:6

We, citizens of various nationalities and from different walks of life, have joined together to seek justice for the more than 600 employees of Nestle Cabuyao Philippines, Inc. who for over two decades now have been suffering human rights violations as they struggle for their right to collective bargaining (ILO Convention no.98).

The issue of retirement benefits is a valid issue in collective bargaining as decided by the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) in its resolution-order earlier and affirmed by the ruling of the Supreme Court in February 1991. The Supreme Court again ruled on the labor dispute on 22 August 2006 reaffirming the validity of its 1991 decision.

And on 26 March 2009, the final and executory decision is recorded in the Book of Entries of Judgment: the Nestle Management has been explicitly mandated to return to the negotiating table and resume Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) negotiation with the Union, especially on the issue of retirement benefits.

The workers and their union launched on January 14, 2002 an arduous strike that has lasted up to the present because the Nestle Management continues to disregard the above rulings and directives and relevant international agreements.

“Nestlé uses all state instruments such as the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE), the MTC-Cabuyao (Municipal Trial Court) and RTC-Binan (Regional Trial Court), the Philippine National Police (PNP), the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), and the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP), with the blessings of a Philippine president who continuously clings to power ..." (Nestlé abusing workers’ rights in the Philippines - and ignoring Supreme Court rulings, February 2009)
http://pinas-first.com/petition/nestlecabuyao0209.pdf

“Pres. Arroyo is betraying the people instead of defending the workers who have moral and just basis in their struggles. The Arroyo government likens the workers to criminals, drug lords, gambling lords and terrorists. It is like a rabid dog in kowtowing to the dictates of imperialist globalization and giant monopoly capitalists. Not contented, Arroyo further strengthened its iron hand rule by implementing the Calibrated Preemptive Response (CPR) on Sept. 21, 2005 to further repress the rights of the people." (ibid)

"This repression has directly or indirectly resulted in 23 strike-related deaths, including union leader Diosdado “Ka Fort” Fortuna, who was assassinated on his way home from a picket line on September 22, 2005. His predecessor, Union president Meliton Roxas, was assassinated in front of the picket line on January 20, 1989, during the workers’ previous strike involving the same issue. To date, not a single perpetrator has been apprehended for these murders.“ (ibid)

The represssion and oppression and other forms of violence perpetrated against the striking Nestle Cabuyao workers continue, the latest manifestation of which being the arrest and detention of Noel Alemania, the acting Union of Filipro Employees (UFE) President.

We, the undersigned demand:
Recognize the right of UFE to collective bargaining (ILO Convention no.98) especially the right to negotiate for their retirement benefits!
Stop the other repression / oppression and other forms of violence perpetrated against the striking Nestle Cabuyao workers!

We call on
a) the Nestle Management to return to the negotiating table and resume CBA negotiation with the Union, especially on the issue of retirement benefits
b) the Philippines government thru the Department of Labor and Employment to mediate and/ or conciliate the labor dispute
c) the International Labor organization (ILO) to take cognizance of the labor dispute, and
d) the United Nations Commission on HR to send representative(s) to the Philippines and/or ask the Commission on Human Rights in the Philippines to conduct a thorough investigation of the human rights violations i.e., killing of Diosdado "Fort" Fortuna, and other related human rights issues.

PLS.SIGN OUR PETITION HERE

Nestle Kills Workers!!! Sobra na! Labis Na! ang NESTLE (SLN)

2009-06-25T21:21:00.001-07:00

http://www.pinas-first.com/petition/

this is a video response to the NIDO commercial

(NIDO Ano Binabayaran Mo Gatas O Asukal)

Nestle Kills Workers!!! ANG MALI AY NAGIGING TAMA KAPAG NESTLE ANG GUMAGAWA

2009-06-25T21:20:00.000-07:00

our petition site: http://www.pinas-first.com/petition/

Nestle Kills Workers!!! 3 SUPREME COURT DECISIONS ARE WORTHLESS,USELESS... NESTLE IS ABOVE THE LAW

2009-06-25T21:15:00.000-07:00

The song is BAYAN NAMING MINAMAHAL

Wrong doings seems to be right when it was done by Ne$tle

Nestle's Butcher of Workers...

Chairman and CEO of Nestle Philippines Nandu Nandkishore

Corporate Human Resource Head Gideon Manuel,

Legal Counsel Atty. Jacinto Jack "TIGER" dela Rosa

The Supreme Court of the Republic of the Philippines in their Notice of Judgment:

"The ruling of the Court of Appeals on the inclusion of the Retirement Plan as a valid issue in the collective bargaining negotiations between UFE-DFA-KMU and Nestle is AFFIRMED. The parties are directed to resume negotiations respecting the Retirement Plan and to take action consistent with the discussions hereinabove set forth. (the Supreme Court of the Republic of the Philippines 1st Division G.R.Nos.158930-31/ G.R.Nos.158944-45 UFE-DFA-KMU VS. Nestle Phils., Inc. August 22, 2006)

And that the same has, on March 26, 2008 become FINAL and EXECUTORY and is hereby recorded in the Book of Entries of Judgments.

The previous Nestle management, by no doubt, guilty of unfair labor practice when it set as precondition for the CBA negotiations the issue on the retirement plan of the workers. The management used against us workers the already won Supreme Court decision. "The Court agrees with the NLRC's findings that the Retirement Plan was a collective bargaining issue right from the start { p.109 Rollo} for the improvement of the existing Retirement Plan was one of the original CBA proposals submitted by the UFE on May 8, 1987 to Arthur Gilmore, President of Nestle Phils..." ( The Supreme Court in G.R. No. 90231, February 4, 1991, entitled Nestle Phils. Inc. VS NLRC ) How easily can the multi-national company Nestle lambaste the decision of the highest court in the country

BOYCOTT ALL NESTLE PRODUCTS!!!

Nestle Kills Workers!!! May 28 to 29, 2009

2009-06-25T21:06:00.000-07:00

DELEGATION AT COURT OF APPEAL THEN VIGIL AT THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT

Nestle Kills Workers!!! Deutsch-Philippinische Freunde visited us last April 10, 2009

2009-06-25T20:51:00.000-07:00

The song is VICTOR JARA AUS CHILE. Our friend Mr. Ekchard Franke sang the song in honor of Diosdado "Ka Fort"Fortuna and all of the victims of political killing here in the Philippines.

Justice for Diosdado "Ka Fort" Fortuna!!!

BOYCOTT ALL NESTLE PRODUCTS!!!

LONG LIVE INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY!!!

Nestle Kills Workers!!! DEPARTMENT OF INJUSTICE

2009-06-25T18:55:00.000-07:00

FOR EVERY NESTLE PRODUCT YOU BUY 3,000 OF IT'S WORKERS TOGETHER WITH THEIR FAMILIES DENIED JUSTICE SUFFERS HUNGER. BOYCOTT ALL NESTLE PRODUCTS!!!

Nestle Kills Workers!!! Your Struggle Is Our Struggle!!! Mar.06,2009

2009-03-07T20:17:00.000-08:00

STOP NESTLE'S TERRORISM! BOYCOTT NESTLE PRODUCTS!

2009-02-26T08:21:00.000-08:00

The Struggle of Nestle Workers in the Philippines

2009-02-16T07:26:00.000-08:00

[The following summary of the Nestlé Cabuyao workers' strike is an edited composite of extracts of statements issued by the Union of Filipro Employees, an affiliate of Drug, Food and Allied Workers Unions-Kilusang Mayo Uno (UFE-DFA-KMU); by Noel Alemania, the union's Acting President; by Marlon Torres, Public Information Officer, Pagkakaisa ng Manggagawa sa Timog Katagalugan-Kilusang Mayo Uno (PAMANTIK-KMU); and of articles in Bulatlat written by Dennis Espada and Alexander Martin Remollino. It was prepared for the UFE by Paul Germanotta.]

February 2009

More than seven years have now passed since the more than 600 employees at the Cabuyao factory of Nestlé Philippines, Inc. went on strike to enforce their right to negotiate their retirement benefits. The Supreme Court’s repeated rulings in their favor on this issue have failed to render justice, as the Swiss multinational food company continues to defy the court’s decisions.

The Cabuyao factory workers and their union launched their strike on January 14, 2002, forced into it by Nestlé management and its deliberately provocative position demanding the exclusion of the issue of retirement benefits from the CBA negotiations as a matter subject to unilateral determination by management.

This position blatantly defied a ruling of the Supreme Court handed down in February 1991 (and later upheld on appeal), in which the court concluded: “The Court agrees with the NLRC’s [National Labor Relations Commission] findings that the Retirement Plan was a collective bargaining issue from the start ...”

Several days after the strike vote on November 22, 2001, Patricia A. Santo Tomas, then-Secretary of the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE), granted the company's petition for a notorious "assumption of jurisdiction" order, arbitrarily placing the dispute into the hands of the state and its apparatus of repression.

On January 16, 2002, Sto. Tomas issued a Return to Work Order; on January 18, 2002, Sto. Tomas issued a Police Deputation Order, ordering the Philippine National Police (PNP) to send in their units; and on January 28, 2002, 1,000 PNP, 400 police and 300 Blue Guards violently dispersed the picket line set up by the striking workers at the factory gate.

During a trip to Switzerland to the ILO Conference in June 2001, Sto. Tomas enjoyed limousine services that billed a total of 9,000 Swiss Francs or P316,000, courtesy of Nestle-Philippines, Inc. Documents uncovered by the UFE reveal that Nestlé paid for her chauffeur services and the Mercedes Benz for a shopping trip to Milan, Italy from Geneva from June 15 to 16, 2001.

The protracted labor-management conflict (see photos) has been marked by a militarization of the factory and the violent dispersal of the workers’ picket lines and protests at the factory gate and elsewhere by the police and military, measures the company has encouraged and been fully complicit with.

This repression has directly or indirectly resulted in 23 strike-related deaths, including union leader Diosdado "Ka Fort" Fortuna, who was assassinated on his way home from a picket line on September 22, 2005. His predecessor, Union president Meliton Roxas, was assassinated in front of the picket line on January 20, 1989, during the workers' previous strike involving the same issue.

To date, not a single perpetrator have been apprehended for these murders, in spite of strong indications that they were the handiwork of either the police, military or their agents.

The Supreme Court again ruled on the labor dispute on August 22, 2006, reaffirming the validity of its 1991 decision. It now explicitly ordered Nestlé management to return to the negotiating table (and by necessary implication to call back its workers) to resume CBA negotiations with the union, including the issue of retirement benefits.

To date, the company has deliberately and contemptibly flouted the court's orders, just as the government has deliberately and contemptibly failed to enforce them.

In a recent statement, the UFE laid out in compelling terms the basis of the courage and heroism of the Cabuyao workers, who persevere in the face of overwhelming forces that capital and its state allies have mobilized against them:

"It is clear that the power of the killer Nestlé to repress and weaken our determination extends far and wide. Nestlé uses all state instruments such as the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE), the MTC-Cabuyao (Municipal Trial Court) and RTC-Binan (Regional Trial Court), the Philippine National Police (PNP), the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), and the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP), with the blessings of a Philippine president who continuously clings to power ...

Pres. Arroyo is betraying the people instead of defending the workers who have moral and just basis in their struggles. The Arroyo government likens the workers to criminals, drug lords, gambling lords and terrorists. It is like a rabid dog in kowtowing to the dictates of imperialist globalization and giant monopoly capitalists. Not contented, Arroyo further strengthened its iron hand rule by implementing the Calibrated Preemptive Response (CPR) on Sept. 21, 2005 to further repress the rights of the people.

Nestle union president Diosdado 'Ka Fort' Fortuna was the first victim of CPR. On Sept. 22, 2005, a day after Pres. Arroyo declared CPR, two motorcycle-riding assassins shot and killed Ka Fort, with two .45 caliber bullets exploding his chest. The heinous murder was clearly a grand plan of the collusion between Nestlé-Arroyo-PNP-AFP/ISAFP to repress and pacify the determination of the workers to win against the massacre of their jobs and get the justice that they rightfully deserve."

The surveillance, harassment, and other forms of violence perpetrated against the Nestlé Cabuyao workers has not ceased. At a protest held at DoLE on December 4, 2008, strikers identified, arrested and turned over to police two intelligence operatives, who had followed and threatened them from Cabuyao, Laguna to Intramuros, Manila. [Watch the video about this incident.]

One week later, on December 10, 2008, a picket staged by the strikers at the factory gate was violently dispersed with water cannons by the police, who then proceeded to arrest and detain Noel Alemania, Acting President of the UFE, who was leading the protest.

In speaking about the ongoing conflict, Alemania affirms that the Cabuyao workers "are determined to get justice, even if our fight has caused the murder of our two union presidents, the death of 22 of our co-workers, the forced stopping of our children from school and the forfeiture of our properties."

The striking Nestlé workers employed at the Cabuyao factory in Laguna are determined to hold and ultimately regain - and transcend - their ground at all costs. They say that, assuming the company fails to change its own behavior, the best immediate step the government can take in this conflict to legitimize its illegitimate claim to be a genuine, socially accountable popular democracy is to enforce the Supreme Court rulings ordering Nestlé management to call back and re-hire its workers and return to the bargaining table.

Visit the strike/boycott website.

OUR APPEAL FOR SUPPORT

We are echoing the appeal and strongly encouraging you to actively support the struggle of Nestle and all the Filipino workers who are victims of the rampant trade union repression in the Philippines. Your solidarity to the struggle could be expressed through supporting and doing any of the following:

1. Email or fax barrage protest letters through the Nestle Philippines, Nestle Switzerland, Philippine Government, Philippine Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE), Supreme Court, Commission on Human Rights (CHR) and the Philippine National Police. Strongly urge the Nestle management to adhere to the courts’ decisions and ruling that Nestle face the Union in the negotiating table. Call on the Supreme Court and the DoLE to order Nestle to submit to the Philippine Highest Court’s decision and immediately settle the labor conflict. Call on the CHR to do an impartial investigation of trade union violations and the killings in Nestle.

2. Send Solidarity Messages to the Nestle Workers’ Union.

3. Hold picket, rallies and other protest actions at Nestle offices in your respective countries.

4. Actively campaign for the boycott of all Nestle products

5. Raise material and financial support to the workers. The long-running labor conflict had depleted the resources of the workers. The Nestle workers would most welcome material support to sustain their picket-line and the campaign against Nestle’s labor repression.

6. Other pertinent actions you may deem necessary that can help to immediately settle the labor conflict is highly encouraged.

Following are the addresses where you can send the protest letters:

Mrs. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
President
Republic of the Philippines
Malacanang Palace
JP Laurel Street, San Miguel
Manila 1005
PHILIPPINES
Fax: +63 2 736 1010
Tel: +63 2 735 6201 / 564 1451 to 80
E-mail: corres@op.gov.ph

Ms. Leila De Lima
Commissioner
Commission on Human Rights
SAAC Bldg., Commonwealth Avenue
U.P. Complex, Diliman
Quezon City
PHILIPPINES
Fax: +63 2 929 0102
Tel: +63 2 928 5655 / 926 6188
E-mail: chr.delima@yahoo.com

mtm_rodulfo@yahoo.com

Hon.Marianito Roque

Philippine Labor Secretary

Department of Labor and Employment

7th floor, DOLE Building

Muralla St., Intramuros, Manila,

Philippines

Fax: +63 2 527-2121 / 527-2131 / 527-5523
E-mail: osec@dole.gov.ph

Deputy Director General Jesus A. Verzosa
Chief, Philippine National Police (PNP)
Camp General Rafael Crame
Quezon City
PHILIPPINES
Fax: +63 2724 8763
Tel: +63 2 726 4361/4366/8763
E-mail: bluetree73@gmail.com

Mr. Nandu Nandkishore

CEO/President

Nestle Center, 31 Plaza Drive

Rockwell Center, Makati City , Philippines

Fax No. (632) 8906681

Mr. Peter Brabeck

Chief Executive Officer

Nestle Vevey, Switzerland

Email: Peter.Brabeck.Letmathe@nestle.com

Likewise, Solidarity Messages may be sent to:

Mr. Jose Noel Alemania

Union Acting President

UFE-DFA-KMU

Email: ufe_mailbox@yahoo.com

http://www.blood-in-your-coffee.blogspot.com

Please inform us of your planned solidarity action/s.

Kindly furnish us a copy of your letter thru our e-mail

Onwards with the struggle!

Long live the Filipino Nestle workers!

Long live the working class!

Long live International Solidarity!

Solidarity protest with the Cabuyao workers in Nestle HQ,Geneva

2009-01-18T18:50:00.000-08:00

NESTLE KILLS WORKERS!!! Labor leader arrested

2008-12-14T06:17:00.001-08:00

Nestle workers’ Laguna picket dispersed

Labor leader arrested

By Maricar Cinco
Southern Luzon Bureau

Phil.Daily Inquirer
First Posted 16:55:00 12/11/2008

CAMP VICENTE LIM, Laguna -- A labor leader was arrested after a picket staged by Nestlé Philippines workers in Cabuyao, Laguna was dispersed twice early Thursday morning, police said.

In a phone interview, Superintendent Moises Pagaduan, Cabuyao police chief, confirmed the arrest of Noel Alemania, vice president of the Union of Filipino Employees and deputy secretary general of the Pagkakaisa ng Manggagawa sa Timog Katagalugan (Pamantik, Unity of Workers in Southern Tagalog).
Pagaduan said at least 52 workers staged what he described as an illegal picket at the front gate of Nestlé Philippines .

"There had been attempts for peaceful negotiations for workers to leave before the police dispersed the protesters at around 2:30 a.m. ," he said.

"The police asked us to move to the side and we did. But just after a few minutes, we were dispersed with [water] cannons," the 43-year-old Alemania said.

He said most of the workers were elderly and weak.

"We were already 100 meters away from where we originally picketed but they still fired water at us," Alemania said.

The labor group reported two incidents of dispersal -- the first at about 1:15 a.m. , and then at 2:30 a.m.

It said there were about 100 heavily armed elements of the Calabarzon ( Cavite , Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon) police Regional Mobile Group and Cabuyao police.

Alemania was taken to the Biñan Regional Trial Court Thursday morning for inquest on charges of illegal assembly, alarm and scandal, and resisting arrest.

Hermie Marasigan, spokesman of Pamantik, said the workers staged the protest to assert a November 28 order by the Department of Labor for Nestlé Philippines to return to negotiations for their collective bargaining agreement.

He said they would hold an indignation rally tonight in Cabuyao to condemn the dispersal and Alemania’s arrest.

At around 1 p.m. Thursday, Alemania was brought back to the Cabuyao police station pending a temporary release order to be signed by the provincial prosecutor.

A preliminary investigation is scheduled on January 9 next year, Marasigan said.

http://archive.inquirer.net/view.php?db=1&story_id=177443

NESTLE KILLS WORKERS!!! Nestle workers arrested intel operatives

2008-12-14T06:15:00.000-08:00

Pagkakaisa ng Manggagawa sa Timog Katagalugan-Kilusang Mayo Uno
PAMANTIK-KMU
(Solidarity of Workers in Southern Tagalog-May First Movement)
NEWS
4 December 2008
Reference: Marlon Torres
Public Information Office
Mobile No: +63.9089114936
Nestle workers arrest intel operatives

Protesting Nestle workers, under Union of Filipro Employees (UFE-DFA-KMU), arrested and turned over to police two (2) intelligence operatives following and threatening them from Cabuyao, Laguna to Intramuros, Manila today.
The operatives were cornered parked near Pamantasan ng Lunsod ng Maynila at around 2:30 PM while surveilling a few meters from the Nestle workers’ activity in front of the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) in Intramuros.
One of the operatives, wearing a cream polo shirt with embroidered Nestle logo, was identified as Ferdinand C. Dimayuga of the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) Deltacom-Technical Information Unit.
The other, when asked, introduced himself as Arnold Arcia, but different on the ID he presented.
The two were turned over by the workers to the police, under Col. Aznar and Lt.Cresencio Viray of the Manila Police District (MPD), stationed at DoLE. Lt.Viray told to the leaders of the workers,"di katalo,kabaro din namin pero mga intel" they are from our ranks but from the intelligence group.
Nestle workers spotted the two operatives aboard a green tinted Toyota Revo, with plate number WHK 136, in front of Gate 2 at Nestle factory in Cabuyao at about 8:16 AM, shortly before 79 workers and their families took off for a protest delegation to the Department of Labor and Employment in Intramuros, Manila.
Francisco Barundia, one of the union officers said, “Sinundan kami ng mga intel mula sa planta sa Cabuyao. Pagdating sa South expressway, tinapatan nila ang tatlong jeep na convoy namin. Maraming beses na ibinababa nila ang bintana sa kanan at iwinawagayway sa amin ang isang kalibre 45 baril. (The intelligence operatives followed us from Nestle Cabuyao factory. Upon reaching South Luzon Expressway, they were passing by our convoy of 3 jeepneys. In many occasions, they would lower the right side window and wave to our view a 45-calibre gun.)”

“Police protection”

The police and the workers brought the arrested operatives to the MPD General Assignment Section (GAS) at around 3:20 PM.
“Ang problema, pagdating sa MPD, hindi agad pinapasok ang dalawang operatiba sa GAS. Bagkus, ang imbestigador at isang pulis ang pumasok sa loob ng Revo. Kaduda-duda kung anuman ang ginawa at pinag-usapan nila doon. (Problem is, upon reaching MPD, the two operatives were not immediately taken to GAS. Instead, an investigator and a police got into the Revo. It is suspicious whatever they did and discussed.),” said Reynaldo Batitis, union board officer.
After the talks in the Revo, Batitis added that only Dimayuga was presented to GAS. His companion’s identity was still unverified.
Acting union president Noel Alemania expressed, “This is not the only incident where our legitimate protests to DoLE were being irked by saboteurs and possible assassins.”
Alemania reported that four unidentified men used the same Toyota Revo and tailed them to Manila on November 27. Earlier, on November 18, the workers spotted men aboard a black Toyota Altis with plate no.XNT-347 from Cabuyao to Intramuros.
“However, the PNP itself is protecting the identity of these possible killers,” said Alemania.

Who would castigate the violator?
Meanwhile, Pagkakaisa ng Manggagawa sa Timog Katagalugan (PAMANTIK-KMU) expressed condemnation over the recent threat to Nestle workers.
Romeo Legaspi, PAMANTIK chairperson said, “This out-and-out threat, intimidation, and harassment by hired intelligence operatives and assassins prove Nestle management’s underhand moves to silence the legitimate demands of workers, aside from trashing out the workers’ hard-earned legal achievements.”
The Nestle management’s refusal to include the Retirement Plan in the negotiations for collective bargaining agreement (CBA) prompted the union to strike since January 14, 2002. The Supreme Court validated the Retirement Plan as a legitimate bargaining issue in 1991.
In 2006, the Supreme Court ruled that the Nestle management and union return to negotiating table to settle the CBA. The management, however, refused to comply with the highest court’s order.

“It must always be remembered that Nestle left a trail of blood in the long years of its trade union repression. Two Nestle Cabuyao union presidents have been killed, namely Meliton Roxas and Diosdado Fortuna, that shamed the ‘good food, good life’ dictum of multinational Nestle. Its market shares cannot cover its tarnished international reputation as a union buster and butcher, including the killing of a unionist from Nestle Colombia in 2005,” continued Legaspi.
“Nestle management’s influential role in trampling the country’s legal system, coupled with its moves of intimidation, threat and killings, is not in the slightest means different from the operations of the US-Arroyo regime in suppressing and persecuting leaders and activists of legitimate people’s organizations thru Oplan Bantay Laya II.”
Legaspi is one of the 72 Southern Tagalog leaders and activists facing arrest warrants on charges of multiple murder and multiple frustrated murder for the killing of PNP elements in an alleged ambush by New People’s Army in Mindoro Oriental.
Legaspi concluded, “Who would reprimand a gross human rights violator such as Nestle, when the government itself persecutes and kills its own people?

Nestle Kills Workers... Boycott All Nestle products...

2008-11-22T19:17:00.000-08:00

Nestle Kills Workers.... "Stop the Killings in Nestle Philippines Cabuyao Factory!!"

2008-08-19T08:06:00.000-07:00

Supreme Court of the Philippines' ENTRY OF JUDGMENT

2008-05-11T19:13:00.000-07:00

Nestle Kills Workers!!! March Against Nestle's Terrorism

2008-05-07T18:35:00.000-07:00

Nestle Kills Workers!!! March Against Nestle's Terrorism

2008-05-07T17:57:00.000-07:00

The Controversial VOUCHER of Sec.Patricia Sto.Tomas of the Dep't. of Labor and Employment

2008-05-07T10:31:00.000-07:00

Nestle Kills Workers!!! Supreme Court Decision,Ipatupad!!!

2008-05-06T18:11:00.000-07:00

Nestle Kills Workers!!! Tribute To "Ka Fort"

2008-05-05T06:38:00.001-07:00

Nestle Distorting the Decision of the Supreme Court of the Philippines

2008-05-04T08:16:00.000-07:00

April 23,2008

Greetings,

The management of Nestle Phils. Inc. has recently been circulating a letter explaining its side on the protracted labor dispute which has embroiled the company and its workers. Implicit on the said letter is the suggestion that the management is not to be blamed for the dispute considering that the Supreme Court has absolved it from the charge of unfair labor practice.

With due respect, we beg to disagree.

The labor dispute has its roots on management's insistence that the Retirement Plan shall not be included on the issues to be discussed in the CBA. Management made it clear that unless the union will accept this proposal, management will not be willing to proceed with the rest of the CBA. It was this overbearing attitude of the management which led the union to declare a strike and staged a picket against the company.

And how did the Supreme Court resolve the issue? The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the union by declaring that the Retirement Plan is an issue that may be discussed in the CBA. Allow us to quote the August 22, 2006 Decision of the Supreme Court on this matter:

" In the case at bar, it cannot be denied that the CBA that was about to expire at that time contained provisions respecting the Retirement Plan. As the latter benefit was already subject of the existing CBA, the members of UFE-DFA-KMU were only exercising their prerogative to bargain or renegotiate for the improvement of the terms of the Retirement Plan just like they would for all the other economic, as well as non-economic benefits previously enjoyed by them. Precisely, the purpose of collective bargaining is the acquisition or attainment of the best possible covenants or terms relating to economic and non-economic benefits granted by employers and due the employees. The Labor Code has actually imposed as a mutual obligation of both parties, this duty to bargain collectively. The duty to bargain collectively is categorically prescribed by Article 252 of the said code. It states:

ART. 252. MEANING OF DUTY TO BARGAIN COLLECTIVELY. – The duty to bargain collectively means the performance of a mutual obligation to meet and confer promptly and expeditiously and in good faith for the purpose of negotiating an agreement with respect to wages, hours of work, and all other terms and conditions of employment including proposals for adjusting any grievances or questions arising under such agreement and executing a contract incorporating such agreement if requested by either party, but such duty does not compel any party to agree to a proposal or to make any concession.

Further, Article 253, also of the Labor Code, defines the parameter of said obligation when there already exists a CBA, viz:

ART. 253. DUTY TO BARGAIN COLLECTIVELY WHEN THERE EXISTS A COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENT. – The duty to bargain collectively shall also mean that either party shall not terminate nor modify such agreement during its lifetime. However, either party can serve a written notice to terminate or modify the agreement at least sixty (60) days prior to its expiration date. It shall be the duty of both parties to keep the status quo and to continue in full force and effect the terms and conditions of the existing agreement during the sixty day period and/or until a new agreement is reached by the parties.

And, in demanding that the terms of the Retirement Plan be opened for renegotiation, the members of UFE-DFA-KMU are acting well within their rights as we have, indeed, declared that the Retirement Plan is consensual in character; and so, negotiable.

Contrary to the claim of Nestlé that the categorical mention of the terms ‘unilateral agreement’ in the letter and the MOA signed by the representatives of UFE-DFA-KMU, had, for all intents and purposes worked to estop UFE-DFA-KMU from raising it as an issue in the CBA negotiations, our reading of the same, specifically Paragraph 6 and subparagraph 6.2:

6. Additionally, the COMPANY agree to extend the following unilateral grants which shall not form part of the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA):

x x x x

6.2. Review for improvement of the COMPANY’s Retirement Plan and the reference on the Retirement Plan in the Collective Bargaining Agreement signed on 4 July 1995 shall be maintained. [43]

hardly persuades us that the members of UFE-DFA-KMU have agreed to treat the Retirement Plan as a benefit the terms of which are solely dependent on the inclination of the Nestlé and remove the subject benefit from the ambit of the CBA. The characterization unilaterally imposed by Nestlé on the Retirement Plan cannot operate to divest the employees of their “vested and demandable right over existing benefits voluntarily granted by their employer.”[44] Besides, the contention that UFE-DFA-KMU has “abandoned” or forsaken our earlier pronouncement vis-à-vis the consensual nature of a retirement plan is quite inconsistent with, nay, is negated by its conduct in doggedly asking for a renegotiation of said benefit.

Worth noting, at this point, is the fact that the aforequoted paragraph 6 and its subparagraphs, particularly subparagraph 6.2, highlights an undeniable fact – that Nestlé recognizes that the Retirement Plan is part of the existing Collective Bargaining Agreement."

It is thus clear the that position of the management on the Retirement Plan, which precipitated the strike, was declared wrong by the Supreme Court. Had the management acted reasonably, the disturbance in industrial peace would not have occurred.

Management tries to lessen the impact of its erroneous action by claiming that it has been absolved from the charge of unfair labor practice. The Supreme Court absolved the management from the charge of unfair labor practice, however, due to certain defects in the notice of strike filed by the union. Still, this does not erase the fact that it was management's attempt to remove the Retirement Plan from the scope of the CBA which started all of these disputes.

As things now stand, it is impossible for Nestle Phils. to wash its hand of guilt on the matter. Presently, there are 616 of us who are still out of work and are expected to continue picketing for our rights. While we remain open to a comprehensive and mutually satisfying settlement of the case, we believe that it can best be done in an atmosphere where the truth is being allowed to circulate instead of being distorted.

We hope we have given our side.

Yours respectfully,

JOSE NOEL ALEMANIA

Acting President

Nestle Kills Workers!!! The Saga of Unprecedented Brutal Dispersals Against Nestle Workers in Cabuyao (Philippines)

2008-03-26T09:55:00.000-07:00

The Strike is the Weapon of the Oppressed, of Men Capable of Appreciating Justice & Having the Courage to Resist Wrong & Contend for Principle.

2008-02-03T10:26:00.000-08:00

ILO Committee on Freedom of Association: Introduction Report Re: Complaint Filed by Kilusang Mayo Uno Labor Center (Philippines)

2008-02-03T08:56:00.000-08:00

ILO Committee on Freedom of Association: Introduction to Report 346 (June, 2007)Introduction:

1. The Committee on Freedom of Association, set up by the Governing Body at its 117th Session (November 1951), met at the International Labour Office, Geneva, on 24 and 25 May and 1 June 2007, under the chairmanship of Professor Paul van der Heijden
....
Serious and urgent cases which the Committee draws to the special attention of the Governing Body
4. The Committee considers it necessary to draw the special attention of the Governing Body to Cases Nos 2318 (Cambodia), 2489 (Colombia) and 2528 (Philippines) because of the extreme seriousness and urgency of the matters dealt with therein.

ILO Committee on Freedom of Association
Philippines (Case No. 2528)
Kilusang Mayo Uno Labor Center (KMU)
31-Oct-06

The complainant alleges killings, grave threats, continuous harassment and intimidation and other forms of violence inflicted on leaders, members, organizers, union supporters/labour advocates of trade unions and informal workers' organizations who actively pursue their legitimate demands at the local and national levels.

Report No. 346 (2007)

Background

A. The complainant's allegations
...
1369.According to the complainant, nearly all the unions that were able to withstand the above were unions affiliated to KMU or unions which shared a similar progressive and militant orientation with the KMU. This has given the Government a convenient excuse to tag the KMU unions as factory terrorists and communist fronts. Thus, in a speech before newly elected barangay officials in Sta. Cruz, Laguna on 22 September 2002, the President said in part: "Let us fight against criminals, gambling lords, drug lords … and those who terrorize factories that create jobs…". The speech, an obvious reference to militant trade unionism, immediately led to the strikes at Nestlé Philippines, Nissan Motors, a host of companies in Laguna's several economic enclaves being harassed and dispersed violently by the Special Action Forces (RSAF), Philippine National Police (PNP) regulars and private guards.
...
1376. A report released by the Center for Trade Union and Human Rights (CTUHR), an independent, non-governmental organization documenting and monitoring human rights violations committed against workers and trade unions, concluded that from 2001 to 30 September 2006, there were 410 cases of violations victimizing 30,825 workers. The summit of these violations was the unprecedented rise in the number of trade unionists, organizers, leaders, union supporters and informal workers killed in the last five years in the course of their union activities or in the case of ordinary workers, while they were protesting an illegal dismissal case. Most of these union leaders and organizers belonged to the KMU unions or its regional and provincial chapters and/or Anakpawis Partylist whose main tasks include organizing workers. Prior to their murders, they reported surveillances and threats from suspected military intelligence forces.

1377. Notable cases are: (12) Diosdado Fortuna, president of the Union of Filipro Employees at Nestlé Philippines, who had led the workers' strike since 14 January 2002. He was also the chairperson of PAMANTIK–KMU and chairperson of Anakpawis Partylist in the region. He was shot and killed on 22 September 2005, sustaining two gunshot wounds that pierced his lungs. Prior to his death, he reported constant surveillance since the strike began. He was the second Nestlé union president who was killed during the workers' strike. Meliton Roxas, his predecessor, was killed in front of the picket line in 1989. Fortuna was elected union president a year later.
...
1387. In a press conference organized at Camp Vicente Lim on 4 April 2001, the Philippine National Police Region IV Director, Domingo Reyes, admitted that 94 factories with militant unions under the Solidarity of Workers in Southern Tagalog, the Organized Labor Association in Line Industries and Agriculture (OLALIA–KMU) and the Alliance of Workers in Laguna are under surveillance.Some notable cases of grave threats are the following:
...
(c) Harassment and surveillance activities on a number of union leaders and members of the Nestlé Workers' Union in Cabuyao, which included tailing the workers in the strike area, in their activities and in their homes and being threatened with arrest. Among those who have executed their affidavits are Reynaldo B. Batitis, union board member, Roberto L. Berroya Jr, union officer and shop steward, Rene A. Manalo, Ariel G. Legaspi and Noel T. Sanchez. In their affidavits, they attested that these cases of intimidation and harassment were related to their active involvement in the ongoing strike of the Nestlé Philippines' workers.
...
1389. The presence and direct intervention of military and police in labour disputes is a growing practice. The presence of elements of Regional Special Action Forces, the PNP Mobile Group and the Special Weapons Action (SWAT) in full battle gear are a common sight in companies in Southern Tagalog and Central Luzon, two of the industrial areas in the country where most of the foreign investors are concentrated. In Nestlé Cabuyao, the military has maintained operations inside the factory from 2002 until the present.

B. The Government's reply.
...
1421. With regard to the killings that allegedly involve the military:
...(6) Diosdado Fortuna, president of the union of Filipro Employees at Nestlé Philippines; ..., as well as some 35 additional cases listed by the complainant with regard to alleged killings by the police or military elements without an indication of the motives, the Government notes that a common thread in the allegations about these cases is that the supporting documents are mostly narrations from the KARAPATAN or the International Labor Solidarity Mission Philippines, or other organizations allied to the KMU activist community. They likewise contain narrations that do not constitute sufficient evidence that would stand up in formal or judicial investigations relating to military or police involvement in the killings or of trade union rights violations. To illustrate, KMU's allegations of military linkages, pressures or threats preceding the killings must be established by supporting conclusive evidence, which is not in any way satisfied by the self-serving attachments to the KMU's complaints. In other words, there must be at least some proof of the pertinent allegations. Additionally, these organizations that provided the fact sheets to the KMU's allegations are the same entities that failed to participate in the Melo Commission despite open invitations extended to them. The Government submits that allegations of violations of trade union rights under the Conventions should not be entertained under these circumstances.
...

C. The Committee's conclusions
...
1452. The Committee notes with deep regret that the Government essentially confirms the complainant's allegation that the Regional Special Action Forces, the Philippine National Police Mobile Group and Special Weapons Action (SWAT) in full battle gear are a common sight in companies in Southern Tagalog and Central Luzon, two of the industrial areas where most of the foreign investors are concentrated. The Committee further notes with regret that the Government does not provide specific answers to the following allegations of the complainant: (i) military presence and operation in the Nestlé Cabuyao factory since 2002;
...
1456. The Committee expresses regret at the brevity of the Government information given in reply to the allegations of the complainant which include: ... (iii) harassment and surveillance of a number of union leaders and members of Nestlé Workers Union in Cabuyao;
...

The Committee's recommendations

1463. In the light of its foregoing interim conclusions, the Committee invites the Governing Body to approve the following recommendations:

(a) The Committee deplores the gravity of the allegations made in this case and the fact that more than a decade after the filing of the last complaint on similar allegations, inadequate progress has been made by the Government with regard to putting an end to killings, abductions, disappearances and other serious human rights violations which can only reinforce a climate of violence and insecurity and have an extremely damaging effect on the exercise of trade union rights.

(b) The Committee requests the Government to:

(i) keep it informed of the progress of the investigation to be carried out by the special joint fact-finding body concerning the killings of trade union leaders and members and, in particular, steps taken to investigate the murders alleged by the complainant which are listed in Appendix I. The Committee firmly trusts that the investigation and trials will proceed without delay and in full independence, so that all responsible parties may be identified and punished before the competent courts as soon as possible and a climate of impunity be avoided;

(ii) establish an independent judicial inquiry and proceedings before the competent courts as soon as possible with regard to the allegations of abductions and disappearances of trade union leaders and members which are listed in Appendix II with a view to shedding full light onto the relevant facts and circumstances, and to determine where responsibilities lie, punish the guilty parties and prevent the repetition of similar events;

(iii) keep it informed of progress made in this respect.

(c) Noting that the Government is under a responsibility to take all necessary measures to have the guilty parties identified and punished – in particular by ensuring that witnesses, who are crucial for the successful identification and prosecution of suspects, are effectively protected – and to successfully prevent the repetition of human rights violations, the Committee requests the Government to take all necessary measures without delay to ensure full implementation of the recommendations of the Melo Commission with regard to:

(i) the reinforcement of the Witness Protection Program;

(ii) legislation to require police and military forces and other government officials to maintain strict chain-of-command responsibility with respect to extrajudicial killings and other offences committed by personnel under their command, control or authority; and

(iii) orientation and training of the armed forces.

(d) Deeply regretting the involvement of the army and police in ending the strike in the Hacienda Luisita incident which claimed the lives of at least seven trade union leaders and members and led to the injury of 70 others, the Committee requests the Government to take all necessary measures so as to have an independent investigation carried out into this incident, with a view to identifying and punishing those responsible without further delay. It also requests the Government to give adequate instructions to the law enforcement authorities so as to eliminate the danger entailed by the use of excessive violence when controlling demonstrations. The Committee requests to be kept informed in this respect.

(e) Expressing concern at the prolonged presence of the army inside workplaces which is liable to have an intimidating effect on the workers wishing to engage in trade union activities and to create an atmosphere of mistrust which is hardly conducive to harmonious industrial relations, the Committee requests the Government to take measures, including the issuance of appropriate instructions, to bring to an end prolonged military presence inside workplaces.

(f) The Committee requests the Government to give appropriate instructions so as to ensure that any emergency measures aimed at national security do not prevent in any way the exercise of legitimate trade union rights and activities, including strikes, by all trade unions irrespective of their philosophical or political orientation, in a climate of complete security. The Committee requests to be kept informed in this respect.

(g) The Committee requests the Government to give specific instructions without delay so as to ensure the strict observance of due process guarantees in the context of any surveillance and interrogation operations by the army and police in a way that guarantees that the rights of workers' organizations can be exercised in a climate that is free from violence, pressure or threats of any kind against the leaders and members of these organizations. The Committee requests to be kept informed in this respect.

(h) The Committee requests the Government to provide its comments in respect of the allegations of harassment and intimidation of trade union leaders and members affiliated to the KMU.

(i) The Committee requests the Government to communicate the texts of any judgements handed down in the cases of Crispin Beltran, long-time KMU leader, as well as five members of the NNFSW who were arrested, and to ensure that all relevant information is gathered in an independent manner so as to shed full light on their situation and the circumstances surrounding their arrest. Should it be determined by the court that they were arrested in relation to their trade union activities, the Committee requests the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that they are immediately released.

http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_norm/---relconf/documents/meetingdocument/wcms_087758.pdf

MINUTES OF THE 299TH SESSION OF THE GOVERNING BODY OF THE INTERNATIONAL LABOUR OFFICE

Geneva, Friday, 15 June 2007

Fourth item on the agenda

REPORTS OF THE COMMITTEE ON FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION
346th Report(GB.299/4/1)

...

[The Chairperson of the Committee on Freedom of Association (CFA)]

31. In Case No. 2528, on the Philippines, the Committee deplored that, more than ten years after a similar case was filed, inadequate progress had been made by the Government to stop killings, abductions, disappearances and other serious human rights violations damaging to trade union rights. The Government was requested to provide information on the investigations of the special joint fact-finding body into the killings of trade union leaders; an independent judicial inquiry should be established to investigate the alleged abductions and disappearances of trade unionists. The Government should take all measures needed to implement the recommendations of the Melo Commission with regard to reinforcing the Witness Protection Program; legislation requiring police and military forces and other government officials to maintain strict chain-of-command responsibilities with respect to extrajudicial killings and other offences by persons under their command, control or authority; the orientation and training of the armed forces. The involvement of the army and police in ending the strike in the Hacienda Luisita incident was deeply regrettable, and had caused the deaths of at least seven trade unionists and injury to 70 others. An independent investigation should be arranged, and those responsible punished. The Government should instruct the law enforcement authorities not to use excessive violence when controlling demonstrations.

...
[The Employer spokesperson for the Committee]

38. Case No. 2528, on the Philippines, involved the murder of trade union leaders among other serious matters. The Committee urged an independent inquiry to determine whether these killings were a consequence of trade union activities, or part of a wider practice of extrajudicial murders and destabilization. The principle was upheld that national procedures should be respected, notwithstanding international scrutiny and the assistance offered by some nations.

...
[The Worker spokesperson for the Committee]

44. Case No. 2528, which concerned the Kilusang Mayo Uno Labor Center in the Philippines, showed the increasing climate of repression and violence in the country. Since the beginning of 2007, there had been reports of between 70 and 80 murdered trade unionists in the Philippines.

...
55. The Governing Body adopted the Committee's recommendations in ... paragraphs 1463 (Case No. 2528: Philippines);...

[We will continue to monitor this case in terms of any of the concrete steps (highlighted in paragraph 1463) that are taken by the Government to comply with the CFA's conclusions and recommendations, as adopted by the ILO Governing Body in June 2007.]

Struggle of Nestle workers (Cabuyao Factory)

2008-02-01T10:52:00.000-08:00

Jan14,2008 Marked the 6th Year Strike of Nestle Cabuyao Workers in the Philippines to Uphold Justice for the Working Class

2008-01-30T08:46:00.000-08:00

6th year of injustice killing and terorizing the Nestle workers in the Philippines

2008-01-15T22:43:00.000-08:00

"The Strike is the weapon of the oppressed, of men capable of apreciating justice and having the courage to resist wrong and contend for principle" -Eugene V. Debs-

Today, the 14th of January 2008 is the 6th year anniversary wherein workers from Nestle Cabuyao factory in the Philippines launched the strike in 2002. The Supreme Court of the Philippines in their 1st Decision in 1991 favoring UFE-DFA-KMU VS. Nestle Phils. Inc.“The Court agrees with the NLRC findings that the Retirement Plan was a collective bargaining issue right from the start” P.109,Rollo,G.R.91231,Feb.4,1991.

"xxx xxx xxx "The company's contention that its retirement plan is non-negotiable is not well taken. The NLRC correctly observed that the inclusion of the retirement plan in the collective bargaining agreement as part of the package of economic benefits extended by the company to its employees to provide them a measure of financial security as they shall have ceased to be employees of the company, reward their loyalty, boost their morale and efficiency and promote industrial peace, given "a consensual character" to the plan so that it may not be terminated or modified at will be either party (pp.32, Rollo).

The fact that the retirement plan is non-contributory, i.e. that the employees contribute nothing to the operation of the plan, does not make it a non-issue in the CBA negotiations, as a matter of fact, almost all of the benefits that the petitioner has granted to its employees under the CBA -salary increases, rice allowances, mid-year bonus, 13th month pay, seniority pay, medical and hospitalization plans, health and dental services, vacation, sick and other leaves with pay - are non-contributory benefits. Since the retirement plan has been an integral part of the CBA since 1972, the Union's demand to increase the benefits due to employees under said plan is a valid CBA issue. The deadlock between the company and the union on this issue was resolvable by the Secretary of Labor, or the NLRC, after the Secretary had assumed jurisdiction over the labor dispute (Art. 263 subparagraph {1} of the Labor Code). xxx xxx xxx"

The Supreme Court of the Philippines in their Notice of Judgment:

“The ruling of the Court of Appeals on the inclusion of the Retirement Plan as a valid issue in the collective bargaining negotiations between UFE-DFA-KMU and Nestle is AFFIRMED. The parties are directed to resume negotiations respecting the Retirement Plan and to take action consistent with the discussions hereinabove set forth. (the Supreme Court 1st Division G.R.Nos.158930-31/ G.R.Nos.158944-45 UFE-DFA-KMU VS. Nestle Phils., Inc. August 22, 2006)

These were the decisions of the Supreme Court of the Philippines for the workers of Nestle in the Philippines. But Nestle being the consistent no.1 food manufacturing company in the world and the no.1 trendsetter of anti-workers policies fervently violated these decisions utilizing the Philippine government of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

Today around 3 in the afternoon we're going to have a big mobilization in front of Nestle gate here in Cabuyao to comdemn Nestle and all its intruments including Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

Thank you again for your continous support to uphold justice for the working class. In Solidarity,

Noel Alemania
Acting President
UFE-DFA-KMU

Behind Nestlé ad blitz

2007-02-27T21:30:00.000-08:00

LETTER TO THE EDITOR28 February 2007
Behind Nestlé ad blitz
Media such as print, radio, and television continues to be bombarded by Nestlé commercial advertisements, featuring big names in Philippine show business. Vilma Santos, Cesar Montano, Tweety de Leon, Margie Barretto, Ruffa Gutierrez, Ai-Ai delas Alas, and Kris Aquino are only some of the highly-paid personalities promoting the values-oriented “Choose Wellness, Choose Nestlé” commercial aphorism.

What the public does not know (or what might have been kept from their knowledge), the Swiss-owned multinational company covers up its most atrocious acts against its workers and scoffs at the Supreme Court (SC) decision by way of conditioning the public with the hypocritical “choose wellness” ad. Nestlé promotes a culture of deception while denying justice to its workers for more than five years now.
The Nestlé Cabuyao workers in Laguna, Philippines went to strike on January 14, 2002 when the company used as pre-condition in the collective bargaining negotiations the non-inclusion of the workers’ Retirement Benefits. Despite the sacrifices perceived by the workers, the legitimate strike is backed by the 1991 SC decision affirming the NLRC (National Labor Relations Commission) decision that the Retirement Benefits is a legitimate collective bargaining agreement (CBA) issue.

Unfortunately, the workers’ picketline which was supposed to barricade the company gates was often destroyed by the management’s brutal rampage. Company guards, goons, police and military are garrisoned within and outside the gates.
The campaign “There’s Blood in Your Coffee, Boycott Nestlé” was launched by the workers as one of the leverages to air their legitimate grievance to the public and compel the Nestlé management to settle the labour dispute. It also aimed to counter the vast influence of Nestlé in media as well as its monopoly in the Philippine market.

At the start, the campaign hardly affects the company’s market reputation. However, the campaign caught popular attention and gained wide support in the local, as well as the international community, when two Nestlé unionists were murdered consecutively in September 2005. Luciano Enrique Romero Molina, a Sinaltrainal leader and Nestlé worker who was among the many workers tagged by Nestlé as persona non grata, was murdered on September 11 in Colombia. Diosdado Fortuna, Nestlé Cabuyao union president and chairman of Pagkakaisa ng Manggagawa sa Timog Katagalugan-Kilusang Mayo Uno (Solidarity of Workers in Southern Tagalog-May First Movement), was murdered while on his way home from the picketline on September 22.
Many believe that the murder of the two Nestlé workers is not coincidental. The murder of Nestlé Cabuyao union president Meliton Roxas in front of the company gates during their strike in 1989 is another case to prove Nestlé’s blood debts to its workers.

The SC ruled on the labour dispute in Nestlé Cabuyao on August 22, 2006, reaffirming its 1991 decision; hence, directs the Nestlé management and union to go back to the negotiating table to pursue the CBA negotiations.
The Nestlé management persistently snubs the highest court of the land. In fact, in its statement in a news article, Nestlé claimed that the workers who tried to barricade the company gates on January 14 are no longer Nestlé workers (Niña Catherine Calleja, “Workers at multinational food firm barricade factory”, Philippine Daily Inquirer 17 January 2007: A15). Such a statement diverts the real issue and is a blatant disrespect to the latest SC decision.
The ads blitzkrieg came in time and attuned to complement the news statement after January 14.

As Nestlé lavishly spends millions in ads, we have to scrutinize well enough their many purposes, aside from the endorsement of products and conquering the market. After probably knowing the real score, we don’t have to choose wellness if it’s Nestlé. Do we?
Marlon TorresPublic Information Officer

Nestlé workers mark 5th year strike, re-establish barricades

2007-01-24T06:45:00.000-08:00

PAMANTIK-KMUNEWS RELEASE
16 January 2007

Nestlé workers mark 5th year strike, re-establish barricades

More than 600 Nestlé workers and their families marked their 5th year of strike on January 14, 2007. The next day, around 4:30 AM, they blocked the two company gates in Nestlé Cabuyao Plant in Laguna.

Noel Alemania, union president in Nestlé Cabuyao Plant, said they will hold the barricades at all cost "to compel the (Nestlé) management to comply with the latest Supreme Court ruling" as regards the labour dispute.

The Union of Filipro Employees (UFE-DFA-KMU) staged the strike on January 14, 2002 on the issue of the Retirement Benefits. The Nestlé management used the non-inclusion of the Retirement Benefits as pre-condition to negotiate in the collective bargaining. On August 22, 2006, the Supreme Court reaffirmed its earlier 1991 decision which states the Retirement Benefits as a valid CBA item; hence, directs the management and union to go back to the negotiating table to pursue the CBA.

"The management, for five months now, has not complied with the latest SC decision. For the nth time, it (Nestlé management) is making another attempt to ignore the decisions of the highest court of the land," said Alemania.

The militant Pagkakaisa ng Manggagawa sa Timog Katagalugan (PAMANTIK), the regional chapter of Kilusang Mayo Uno, expressed solidarity in the commemoration of 5th year anniversary of strike.

"The Nestlé workers have the right to restage their strike as a means to enforce the latest SC decision. Their barricades expose the fact that such a decision has no power in itself if the government authorities, who are supposed to enforce the law, remain in utmost service to the whims of the capitalists and exploiters," according to the PAMANTIK statement.

Meanwhile, some 50 fully armed elements of the CALABARZON Police, under Col. Santos, were stationed near the Nestlé gates. According to the workers "this scenario poses threats".

"The police negotiated with us and demanded that we abandon the barricade in Gate 2. From this alone, we can evidently see who these policemen are working for," said Alemania.

The container vans exiting products from the company premises need to pass by the weighing scale located in Gate 2.

"Our activity here is peaceful. Our strike is legitimate. The police have no reason to neither dissuade nor arrest us from exercising our rights," said Alemania.

"The police and military had dispersed our strikes and peaceful activities in the past five years. Our two union presidents were killed in the course of our struggle."

Union president Meliton Roxas was assassinated in front of the picketline on January 20, 1989, during their first strike. Succeeding president Diosdado "Ka Fort" Fortuna was also assassinated on his way from the picketline on September 22, 2005. Their cases remain unresolved to this day. The workers claimed the Nestlé management, using the military and police, responsible for the killings.

"We will keep the barricades and we will hold our ground. The best thing the police can do is to enforce the SC decision and oblige the Nestlé management to execute this decision," concluded Alemania.###

The continuing struggle of the Nestlé workers

2006-09-12T14:54:00.000-07:00

MEDIA ADVISORY
12 September 2006

The continuing struggle of the Nestlé workers

In lieu of the recent Supreme Court decision on the Nestlé labor case and the forthcoming one year death anniversary since Diosdado Fortuna, the Nestlé union president who was assassinated on September 22, 2006, the striking workers continue to cry for justice.

Witness the Nestlé workers and their families mourn for justice.

Program of Activities on September 13, 2006

Supreme Court
Padre Faura, Manila
10:30 AM

Department of Labor and Employment
Intramuros, Manila
1:00 PM

Nestlé Main Office
Rockwell Center, Makati City
3:00 PM
MEDIA COVERAGE REQUESTED
with PHOTO OPPORTUNITIES

Reference: Luz Baculo, PAMANTIK Secretary-General, Mobile No. 09208314993

IPATUPAD ANG DESISYON NG KORTE SUPREMA SA NESTLE!

2006-09-12T03:41:00.000-07:00

IPATUPAD ANG DESISYON NG KORTE SUPREMA SA NESTLE!
KATARUNGAN PARA SA LAHAT NG BIKTIMA NG BERDUGONG NESTLE!

KATARUNGAN KAY PANGULONG KA FORT AT
SA LAHAT NG BIKTIMA NG PAMPULITIKANG PAMAMASLANG!

Agosto 22, 2006 – inilabas ng Kataastaasang Hukuman ng Pilipinas (Korte Suprema) ang kanyang pinakahuling desisyon sa isyu ng manggagawa sa Nestle.

Sa pinakahuling desisyon, pinatunayang muli ng Kataas-taasang Hukuman ang pagiging MAKATWIRAN AT MAKATARUNGAN NG ISYUNG IPINAGLALABAN NG MANGGAGAWA NG NESTLE NG LAMNIN NG DESISYON NITO ang KAUTUSANG BUMALIK SA NEGOSASYON ANG UNYONG UFE-DFA-KMU at NESTLE PHILS. AT I-APIRMANG MULI NA ANG RETIREMENT PLAN AY ISANG USAPIN SA LOOB NG CBA NA DAPAT PAG-USAPAN.
The Supreme Court of the Philippines in their Notice of Judgement:
“The ruling of the Court of Appeals on the inclusion of the Retirement Plan as a valid issue in the collective bargaining negotiations between UFE-DFA-KMU and Nestle is AFFIRMED. The parties are directed to resume negotiations respecting the Retirement Plan and to take action consistent with the discussions hereinabove set forth. (the Supreme Court 1st Division G.R.Nos.158930-31/ G.R.Nos.158944-45 UFE-DFA-KMU VS. Nestle Phils.,Inc. August 22, 2006)

Kung babalikan ang ipinagwelga ng manggagawa….

Enero 14, 2002 - nagwelga ang manggagawa ng Nestle dahil ayaw makipag-usap ng management sa CBA, ginawang kundisyon sa negosasyon na bago makipag-usap sa unyon ay dapat munang isantabi ang probisyon ng Retirement Plan sa mga proposal ng manggagawa kahit pa nga may umiiral na desisyon ang Korte Suprema sa usaping ito. Tahasang binaboy ng Nestle Phils. ang kautusan ng Korte Suprema noong 1991.. The Supreme Court in G.R.No.90231, February 4,1991, entitled Nestle Phils.,Inc. VS. NLRC ruled,
“The Court agrees with the NLRC’s findings that the Retirement Plan was a collective bargaining issue right from the start (p.109,Rollo) for the improvement of the existing Retirement Plan was one of the original CBA proposals submitted by UFE on May 8, 1987 to Arthur Gilmore, president of Nestle Philippines…”

Sa isang banda, INUTIL ANG KORTE SUPREMA SA PAGBIBIGAY NG HUSTISYA SA MANGGAGAWA at nalantad ang tunay na katangian na sa kaibuturan ay maka-kapitalista at instrumento ng kapitalista sa panunupil sa manggagawa ng hindi niya ideklarang guilty sa Unfair Labor Practices(ULP) ang kompanya gayong malinaw sa kanyang desisyon ang kawastuhan ng isyung ipinaglalaban ng manggagawa na siya rin mismong binaboy at hindi kinilala ng kompanya kung kayat tumungo sa welga ang manggagawa noong 2002.

Hindi birong paninindigan at sakripisyo ang ginawa ng manggagawa para ipagtanggol ang desisyon ng Korte Suprema na binaboy ng Nestle Phils. Umabot sa 14 buhay ng manggagawa ang nawala at inutang ng Kapitalistang Nestle sa kasagsagan ng pakikibaka, kabilang ang pagbubuwis ng buhay dahil sa brutal na pagpaslang kay Pangulong Diosdado “Ka Fort” Fortuna na binaril ng dalawang salarin noong Sept. 22, 2005 habang papauwi ng bahay galing sa piketlayn. Si pangulong Fort ang nanguna sa welga ng manggagawa na nagtatanggol at naggigiit sa Retirement plan na dapat kilalanin at sundin ng Nestle Phils bilang desisyon ng Korte Suprema. Ibilang pa ang pinatay na pangulo ng unyon noong 1989 na si ka Mel Roxas na lantarang binaril ng dalawang salarin sa harapan mismo ng gate#1 ng planta ng Nestle Phils sa Cabuyao, Laguna at matapos masigurong patay ay nagtatakbo papasok ng planta hangang sa mawala na ang salarin. Si kas Mel ang nanguna sa paglulunsad ng welga noong 1987 at pangunahing tagapagtaguyod ng retirement Plan ng manggagawa ng Nestle bago pa magkaroon ng unang desisyon ang Korte Suprema noong 1991.
Isang bwitring uhaw sa dugo ang kompanyang Nestle na walang kinikilalang batas sa bansa at lansakang lumalabag sa karapatang pantao hanggang pagpapapaslang sa mga lider manggagawa gaya ng ginawa kay Ka Mel Roxas at Ka Fort. Fortuna. Instrumento din nito sa panunupil ang mga tuta at bayarang nasa ahensya ng gobyerno gaya ng PNP/Militar, DOLE, MTC-RTC, Korte Suprema hanggang sa Malacanang na luklukan ni Pangulong arroyo na pangunahing protektor ng berdugong Dayuhang kompanyang Nestle at punong promotor ng malaganap na pampulitkang panunupil gaya ng ginawang pagpatay kay ka Fort.

Ang pagsira sa kabuhayan ng pamilya ng manggagawa, paglabag sa karapatang pantao at pagpaslang sa mga lider manggagawa na isinasagawa ng Dayuhang Kompanyang Nestle ay pinangungunahan at dinesenyo ng mersenaryong abogado nito na si Atty. Jack “TIGER” Dela Rosa at ng Top Management ng Nestle Phils na si Marcelino Pineda kasabwat ang PNP-Militar gamit ang kanilang death squad.

Walang katulad sa pagkatuso at kasamaan ang Dayuhang Kompanyang Nestle! Pagkalabas ng desisyon, sa pangunguna ni TIGER ay umikot na ang makinarya ng berdugong kompanya gaya ng managers, superbisors, gwardiya, sagad-saring iskirol para magkalat ng dis-inpormasyon at kasinungalingag taliwas sa tunay na laman ng desisyon ng Korte Suprema. Kinakausap nila ang Sangguniang Barangay ng Niugan, Cabuyao at mga karatig na Barangay, ang Sangguniang Bayan ng Cabuyao upang linlangin at kuhanin ang serbisyo sa panlilinlang at pagpapasuko sa manggagawa ng Nestle. Suyod ng makinarya ng kompanya kung nasaan ang manggagawa ng Nestle at ang kapamilya nito. Layunin ng kompanya na silawin sa bitbit na halaga ang manggagawa, bilhin ang serbisyo, at bilhin maging ang hustisyang matagal ng hinahanap ng manggagawa. Isang napakatuso at napakaruming paraan ng Nestle Phils. sapagkat ginagawa ito ng kompanya upang takasang ipatupad ang desisyon ng Korte Suprema na bumalik sa negosasyon sa CBA sa unyong UFE-DFA-KMU, pag-usapan ang retirement at sa huli ay pag-iwas na ibalik sa trabaho ang manggagawa.

KAMTIN ANG KATARUNGAN at ang TAGUMPAY SA PIKETLAYN!

Magpapatuloy ang pagkilos ng manggagawa ng Nestle at kapamilya nito sa paghahanap ng katarungan. Matagal tayong naghintay sa desisyong ito, Ngayon higit na kailangang magkaisa at kumilos hanggang makamit ang TAGUMPAY. SAMA-SAMA NATING IGIIT ANG PAGPAPATUPAD SA PINAKAHULING DESISYON NG KORTE SUPREMA. ILANTAD NATIN AT LABANAN ANG LAHAT NG GINAGAWANG MANIUBRA NG NESTLE PHILS. PARA UMIWAS SA KANYANG PANANAGUTAN SA MANGGAGAWA GAYA NG PAG-AALOK NG BAYAD O PAGBILI SA SERBISYO HUWAG LAMANG IGIIT ANG DESISYON. PALAGI NATING ALALAHANIN at gawing Inspirasyon sa patuloy na paninindigan hanggang sa pagkakamit ng tagumpay ang sariwang dugo ni Pangulong Fort na idinilig sa ating pakikibaka at ang kanyang buhay na inutang ng Berdugong Nestle ay gawing dagdag enerhiya sa pagtutuloy ng kanyang adhikain para sa manggagawa ng Nestle.

NAGPAPASALAT AT Patuloy kaming nananawagan sa lahat ng mamamayang nagtataguyod ng hustisya at kapayapaan. Patuloy nyo kaming suportahan sa aming pakikibaka. Ang pinakahuling desisyon ng Korte Suprema ay patunay lamang na wasto ang inyong ginagawang pagtataguyod sa pakikibaka ng manggagawa ng Nestle. Patuloy nating palawakin ang panawagang I-BOYKOT ANG LAHAT NG PRODUKTONG NESTLE HANGGANG HINDI NAKAKABALIK SA NORMAL NA TRABAHO ANG NAGWEWELGANG MANGGAGAWA.

IPATUPAD ANG DESISYON NG KORTE SUPREMA!

IBALIK SA TRABAHO ANG NAGWEWELGANG MANGGAGAWA!

KATARUNGAN PARA KAY PANGULONG DIOSDADO “ KA FORT” FORTUNA!
PAPANAGUTIN ANG BERDUGO NG NESTLE, SI ATTY JACK DE LA ROSA AT MARCELINO PINEDA!,

MABUHAY ANG MANGGAGAWA NG NESTLE !

MABUHAY ANG SAMBAYANANG PILIPINO!

Ka FORT marched in Bern Switzerland

2006-06-07T02:52:00.000-07:00

Photos taken during the mass action in Bern, Switzerland

Photos during the UNIA Bern Section Forum

2006-06-07T02:40:00.000-07:00

Activity Updates: Nestlé Philippines Workers Swiss Info Campaign

2006-04-07T02:01:00.000-07:00

Join us tonight, 7th April, 19h for a Public Forum, Photo Exhibit and Film Showing. The Event is hosted by the Parti du Travail, Geneva Section, Rue du Vieux-Billard 25.

On Saturday, 8th April, 11h30, Ka NOEL and Ka Carina from Nestlé Philippines (UFE-DFA-KMU) will be speaking with UNIA Bern section General Assembly at Hotel Bern. http://www.unia.ch

In the afternoon 14h, we will join Protest Rally with the SwissMetal workers in BERN (the capital of Switzerland).

LA BOILLAT VIVRA! Berne, 8 avril 2006. départ à 14 h, Schützenmatte (près de la Gare, devant la Reithalle)http://www.boillat.org/index_en.asp

We will be joined by Swiss, Filipinoes and international supporters to express our struggle for Justice for Ka Fort, Mel Roxas and the workers of Nestle.

Picket at Nestlé Stockholder General Assembly

2006-04-06T09:25:00.000-07:00

April 6, Lausanne, Switzerland. The Nestlé Philippines (UFE-DFA-KMU) delegates, Swiss UNIA, supporters and symphatisers held a picket protest during the Nestlé International Stockholder General Assembly in Palais de Beaulieu, Lausanne, Switzerland.

Photos -- Nestlé Philippines Swiss Information campaign

2006-04-06T03:16:00.000-07:00

with Migrante

with the SwissMetal workers

Public Forum in Bern

at Nestlé Vevey Headquarter

Protest Action - 6th April 13h30 Laussane

2006-04-05T02:23:00.000-07:00

Join us in a PROTEST ACTION during the Nestlé Stockholder Assembly at

Palais de Beaulieu, Laussane, Switzerland
on Thursday, 6th April 2006 at 13h30in

Long live the workers struggle. Long live the striking worker from Nestlé Philippines

- Nestlé Philippines Information Campaign Organising Committee

Nestlé aux Philippines - Forum with Geneva Trade Union

2006-04-05T02:11:00.000-07:00

Nestlé aux Philippines
attaques aux droits syndicaux
Témoignages.

Campagne syndicale "il y a du sang dans votre café".
Dénonciations des attaques aux droits syndicaux.
Que faire en Suisse ?

Situation des travailleurs et travailleuses de Nestlé aux Philippines
La Commission internationaliste de la CGAS et
la commission internationale du SIT
mercredi 5 avril - de 19h à 21h

Genève, le 24 mars 2006
Situation des travailleurs et travailleuses
de Nestlé aux Philippines
Témoignages.

Campagne syndicale "il y a du sang dans votre café".
Dénonciations des attaques aux droits syndicaux.
Que faire en Suisse ?

La Commission internationaliste de la CGAS et
la commission internationale du SIT
mercredi 5 avril - de 19h à 21h
SIT – salle du rez reçoivent un représentant syndical, travailleur chez Nestlé Philippines, président du syndicat KMU du secteur Nestlé, Noel Alemania et une représentante d'ONG
Philippines militante, pour les questions des droits humains et syndicaux, Carina
Castillo.

Ces deux personnes nous exposerons les conditions de travail des employé-e-s
Nestlé aux Philippines et les attaques aux droits syndicaux. L'année dernière, le
président du syndicat de Nestlé s'est fait assassiner. Un regroupement de
syndicalistes philippins tente alors de mener une campagne de dénonciation
nationale et internationale. Un de leur objectif est d'agir auprès de Nestlé en
Suisse.

Nous invitons cordialement toutes les personnes intéressées à comprendre la
situation syndicale aux Philippines, à venir rencontrer et échanger avec nos
camarades.

Une petite collation sera prévue.

Il y a du sang dans votre café!!!

2006-04-04T16:40:00.000-07:00

Il y a du sang dans votre café!!!

Cela fait bientôt quatre ans que plus de 600 ouvriers membres du plus grand syndicat de Nestlé sont en grève. La grève a été décidée en février 2002 suite au refus de la direction de Nestlé d'inclure la question des retraites dans les négociations sur la convention collective. Pourtant, un décret de la haute Cour de justice des Philippines datant de 1991 stipule que le régime de retraite devait être inclus dans toute négociation collective. Nestlé a réagi en réprimant durement les grévistes et refuse tous nouveaux pourparlers.

Pour briser la grève, la direction emploie depuis des ouvriers temporaires non qualifiés Le 22 septembre 2005 le président du syndicat de Nestlé a été brutalement assassiné. Les ouvriers ont vigoureusement condamné ce meurtre et sont convaincus que la direction de Nestlé, la police nationale et le Président Macapagal Arroyo en sont les commanditaires.

Nestle Swiss Campaign

2006-04-04T16:27:00.000-07:00

4 April 2006, Bern, Switzerland

Forum on the Nestle Struggle in the Philippines. Attended by nearly 100 swiss s...