A labor center asked a giant semiconductor manufacturer to respect the rights of its striking workers after reports of harassments have already been instigated by plant managers.
The Center for Trade Union and Human Rights (CTUHR) said the workers have legitimate grievances against Nexperia Philippines Inc. after refusing to adequately address labor issues, including unjust termination of jobs.
The center’s appeal came after Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) reported that Nexperia executive Gareth Hughes refused to reinstate Nexperia Philippines Workers Union (NPWU) members fired even during collective bargaining agreement negotiations that started last year.
Hughes also rejected P50 daily wage hikes for the workers and offered a measly P17 instead, KMU said.
NPWU launched its strike last Tuesday that was immediately met with denials of power and water supplies to striking workers inside the Cabuyao, Laguna plant.
Nexperia guards also refused to have food and medicine delivered to the workers inside the factory located the Light Industry Science Park of the Philippines.
Hughes was also caught on video heckling the chanting strikers with threats that the workers have all become illegal.
No choice but to launch strike
One of the world’s leading manufacturer of semiconductors, Nexperia Phils. reportedly earns $2 billion dollars annually.
But the electronics giant has laid off 600 workers since last year, particularly targeting union workers and officers on flimsy reasons such as “underperformance.”
The company has also laid off workers who were already company regulars by virtue of a collective bargaining agreement in 2018.
The continuing job terminations have forced the union to file a Notice of Strike on the basis of unfair labor practices with the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE.)
Company management responded within a few days with announcements of 326 more job terminations, including majority of 54 workers who were told they would only be “temporarily terminated.”
Last February 5, labor secterary Bienvenido Laguesma issued an assumption jurisdiction order in an attempt to prevent a strike.
At a rally at DOLE’s headquarters in Intramuros, Manila last Wednesday, workers condemned “DOLE-Nexperia collusion” as the injunction orders the workers and the management to return to the status quo before the dispute, and workers who violate it may face dismissal and charges as well as the force of state forces that may be deployed to the workplace.
The strikers said Nexperia is not “indispensable to national interest” and should not be covered by the Labor Secretary’s power to assume jurisdiction.
Immoral moves
CTUHR said the DOLE is clearly favoring the company in its order, pointing out that jurisdiction assumptions have already been criticized by the International Labour Organization’s Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions (ILO CEACR) for violating ILO Conventions 87 and 98 pertaining to workers’ right to unionize and collectively bargain.
The center also condemned company tactics used against its workers, including the prevention of the use of utensils for eating.
“These actions, based on experiences with strikes, are usually preparations for repression,” CTUHR said.
The center called on Nexperia management to respect their workers’ right to strike as the company profits from their labor.
CTUHR also called on President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to protect the Nexperia workers’ right to strike.
“The rights and lives of 1,800 Nexperia workers are on the line…The Nexperia workers’ strike is a litmus test for the government in upholding labor and human rights,” it said. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)
