Nestlé abusing workers’ rights in the Philippines - and ignoring Supreme Court rulings
February 2009

[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.] 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 on the workers website1) 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 has 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 incident2.]

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 illiegitimate 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 website3.
 

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A Supreme Court ruling from 22 August 2006 affirming previous decisions stating that Nestlé should negotiate with the trade unions. Nestlé has flouted the court rulings, prompting strike action.

Diosdado Fortuna is remembered on 22 September 2008, the third anniversary of his assassination.

Razor wire and watch towers at the Nestlé factory. There have been 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.

Center for Trade Union and Human Rights (CTUHR)
Rm. 702 Culmat Building 127 E. Rodriguez Sr. Avenue, Brgy. Mariana, Quezon City
Telefax: 632.4110256 email address: ctuhr.manila@ gmail.com,
Website: www.ctuhr.org

PRESS RELEASE
12 May 2009

Court Junks Arson Case Against Labor Lawyer Saladero and 26 Other Activists

Batangas city provincial prosecutor junks the arson and destruction of property charges filed against lawyer Remigio Saladero Jr and 26 other activists from Southern Tagalog for lack of probable cause. The case is in connection with the burning down of Globe Telecom tower in Lemery, Batangas on August 2,2008 allegedly by the New Peoples Army (NPA).

In a seven page decision, penned by Third Assistant Provincial Prosecutor, Esmeralda Andaya, the court underscored that the ‘complainant’s (Globe Telecom) case against the respondents was destroyed by no less than the statements of complainants’ witnesses. Prosecutor Andaya noted that evidence presented by the complainant during the preliminary investigation “reveal serious and inexplicable discrepancies and characterized by missing links and loose ends that refuse to tie up.” She further stated that mere enumeration of aliases of 11 respondents who appeared before her court including Atty Saladero Jr is not sufficient to prove that they are NPA members and that they are responsible for the destruction of the Globe Telecom tower.

 

“This (the case dismissal) is not just a triumph over lies and moves to weaken the labour and human rights movement in the country”, said Ms Daisy Arago, Executive Director.of labour rights organization CTUHR. Clearly, this tells the military to stop using the courts and getting false witnesses to harass and immobilize activists, Arago added..

A self-confessed Philippine Air Force DPA (deep Penetration Agent), Arvin Leviste served as the principal witness together with two others who testified to be on the site when the bombing occurred.

Atty Saladero was also detained in Oriental Mindoro for over three months on multiple murder charges until the court dismissed the latter for technical grounds. A murder case filed against him and 64 other leaders of peoples organizations, a week after his release is now pending in Rizal Regional Trial Court, Pasig city.#

Reference:
Ms. Daisy Arago, CTUHR Executive Director, 09217158236
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Center for Trade Union and Human Rights (CTUHR) is an independent NGO
based in Quezon city, Philippines, engaged in documentation & monitoring of human
rights violations committed against workers. It conducts research, information and
supports advocacy campaign for workers' rights promotion and protection.
For more information, call or fax:632.4110256
or visit www.ctuhr.org

Visit website:

http://austinaims2008.multiply.com/

NESTLE KILLS WORKERS!!!

7YRS. STRUGGLE OF WORKERS AGAINST NESTLE TERRORISM January 14, 2009 part 1.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZBAVVy5H2I&feature=related

NESTLE KILLS WORKERS!!!

7YRS. STRUGGLE OF WORKERS AGAINST NESTLE TERRORISM January 14, 2009 part 2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xDmZzBv95j8&feature=related

NESTLE KILLS WORKERS!!!

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OF97hunCF70&feature=related

NESTLE KILLS WORKERS!!!

7YRS. STRUGGLE OF WORKERS AGAINST NESTLE TERRORISM January 14, 2009 part 4

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NESTLE KILLS WORKERS!!!

7YRS. STRUGGLE OF WORKERS AGAINST NESTLE TERRORISM January 14, 2009 part 5

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qb2P0UA7xfU&feature=channel

Nestle Kills Workers!!!

Supreme Court of the Republic of the Philippines' ENTRY OF JUDGMENT'

You Tube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rXU5Sl3FSc&feature=channel

Nestle Kills Workers!!!

Nestle workers arrest intel operatives

You Tube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v78G-Z3gJhw

Tributes to Ka Fort and Ka Mel,

1st two presidents of the Neslte workers union who were assassinated

Nestle Kills Workers!

Tribute To Pangulong Diosdado "Ka Fort" Fortuna Part 1 of 2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVmUoouSfAg&feature=channel

Nestle Kills Workers!

Tribute To Pangulong Diosdado "Ka Fort" Fortuna Part 2 of 2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZSse2fi3vc&feature=channel

Nestle Kills Workers!!!

Pangulong Diosdado "Ka Fort" Fortuna November 18,1954 - September 22, 2005

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=woSkjzEu7j0&feature=channel

Nestle Kills Workers!!!

Justice for Meliton "Ka Mel" Roxas!!! the union president of Nestle Philippines Cabuyao Factory,Assassinated in January 20,1989

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBwYFSJZU-0&feature=channel

Nestle Kills Workers!!! Department of Injustice February 11, 2009

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kw9lp-Del5Y&feature=channel

Nestle Kills Workers!!!

The Saga of Unprecedented Brutal Dispersal of Nestle Mgmt. Against The Striking Workers in Nestle Philippines Cabuyao Factory. Part 1 of 3

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYPsFvSbPcE&feature=channel

Nestle Kills Workers!!!

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qudHaSBT-Ck&feature=related

Nestle Kills Workers!!!

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6XbZSIIqa8&feature=related

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Arrest of Noel Alemania December 11, 2008
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JXGJ4X89Tvc&feature=channel

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Nestle's Terrorism backed by Police December 10-11,2008 part 3

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97Olg4fGH40&feature=channel

Nestle Kills Workers!!! December 04, 2008

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mI6Ny8GWbvA&feature=channel

Nestle Kills Workers!!! NESTLE IS ABOVE THE LAW!!!

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Nestle Kills Workers!!!

 "TATSULOK" Nestle, Bloody Company!!! Bloody Products!!!

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Nestle kills Workers!!!

JULY 17, 2008 DELEGASYON SA Department of Labor & Employment Intrammuros,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfxBw977oeQ&feature=channel

Nestle Kills Workers!!! Bayan ko...

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STOP THE KILLINGS IN NESTLE PHILIPPINES CABUYAO, FACTORY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XO0mfUso1vg&feature=channel

Nestle Kills Workers! Blood in your coffee!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8reMN970tw&feature=channel

Nestle Kills Workers!!! SONA NG MGA NAKAWELGANG MANGGAGAWA SA NESTLE PHILS., CABUYAO FACTORY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNjjh93cgZ4&feature=channel

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=du4UuEgNjck&feature=channel

Nestle Kills Workers!!! Boycott All Nestle Products!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YFI_gdtMt7A&feature=channel

Nestle kills Workers!!! Il y a du sang dans votre café!!! Justice for Diosdado"Ka Fort"Fortuna!!! the union president of Nestle Philippines Cabuyao Factory,Assassinated in September 22,2005

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5L1kPxEJRc4&feature=channel

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

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9u5QiZZ0xs&feature=channel

Click here for a  complete list of 91 videos

on the Nestle workers struggle for justice:

http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=austinaims2008&view=videos

Nestle kills Workers!!!

Sa Kuko ng Nestle.. UNMASKING THE IMPERIALIST NESTLE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqBQwOQG5QE&feature=channel