We, advocates
for justice and human dignity, express our concern over the arbitrary termination
of employment of 112 regular workers from various divisions and production lines
of the Citra Mina Group of Companies. The mass dismissal came in the wake of
the formation of the United Workers of Citra Mina Group of Companies Union and
its notification to the Citra Mina Group of Companies’ management of the
union’s claim for recognition. That no valid cause was presented and
established for the dismissal of each of them immediately smacks of
injustice. The Lu family’s claim that
they are no longer needed can hold no water, as replacements are being
installed to take their place.
The right to
association is an inherent human right.
It stems from man’s nature as social beings. People organize themselves
to address common concerns. For workers,
this immediately expresses itself in their desire to form unions to
collectively address common concerns relating to their conditions of employment
and work. These rights, to form unions and collectively bargain, have long been
recognized locally and globally, and have been universally enshrined as
fundamental rights, recognized by the International Labor Organization (ILO)
and various countries, among them the Philippines, that are signatories
to the International Covenant on Human Rights.
The fundamental
law of the land, the Philippine Constitution of 1987, upholds these rights in
no uncertain terms. Section 3, Article
XIII of the Constitution states: “The
State shall afford full protection to labor, local and overseas, organized
and unorganized, and promote full employment and equal employment opportunities
for all. It shall guarantee the rights
of all workers to self-organization, collective bargaining and negotiation and
peaceful concerted activities including the right to strike in accordance to
law. . . “
That the Lu
family, owners of Citra Mina Group of Companies, can penalize workers and their
families, denying them their means of livelihood and thus life, for simply exercising an inherent human right
that is in fact already legally enshrined, is clear defiance of human rights
and the law. That they can do it against
their own workforce who had spent their prime years contributing to the fast
growth of the company, even working for
free on extended hours when company interests demand it, is gross injustice
of the worst kind.
This injustice
cannot be condoned. For when injustice
is done to some members of society, it is done to society. The culture of tolerance to injustice will
eventually catch up on everyone. If it
is made to pass now, it will become commonplace among workers. If it is allowed against workers, it can be
perpetrated against students, teachers, the media and other sectors of society.
The dark years of martial law and the many victims of injustices under it
should always be a reminder to what tolerance of injustice can do to
society.
We therefore
raise our collective voice against the suppression of the rights of the workers
of Citra Mina Group of Companies, and of workers in other workplaces in Mindanao and elsewhere in the country who are similarly victimized.
We call on state instrumentalities: the Department of Labor and Employment
(DOLE), the Department of Justice (DOJ), the Department of Trade and Industry
(DTI), the Commission on Human Rights (CHR), the local government units, the
House of Representatives and Senate, and the courts, to perform their
constitutionally-mandated duties. UPHOLD THE WORKERS’ RIGHTS! ENSURE
PROMOTION AND PROTECTION OF THESE RIGHTS! Compel Citra Mina Group of
Companies and other violators, under pain of proper sanction, to respect
workers’ rights and the laws protecting these. Compel them to reinstate
illegally-dismissed workers, and recognize their unions. Only by doing so can
justice be rendered. CMGC and other violators CANNOT, and SHOULD
NOT BE ALLOWED TO SUBSUME HUMAN RIGHTS AND THE LAWS OF THE LAND, TO THEIR GREED
FOR PROFIT.
Advocates for Justice and Human Dignity
February 2014
Advocates for Justice and Human Dignity
February 2014
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