Appeal n°308 (13th July to 1st September 2007)

In January 2007, in Appeal nº302 entitled “Philippines - Stop the violence!”, we called upon your solidarity to support the strikers in the free trade zone of Cavite and those defending them; all victims of a wave of violence and aggressions. Many of you wrote to the Ambassador of the Philippines in France to denounce the ongoing violence exerted by the police forces and private security agents of the free zone upon the strikers of the textiles factories of Chong Won and Phils Jeon, and to ask him to take all necessary measures to put a stop to these assaults and ensure the rights and safety of the workers and their defenders. The workers on strike at the Chong Won factory received with gratitude your numerous solidarity messages and said what a great support the letters had been to them [1] . But five months after the appeal, we are forced to observe that the violations we denounced in January have not come to an end. Indeed, on 10th and 11th June the strikers of Chong Won factory, now called C. Woo Trading, were violently attacked by armed men.

The strike at C. Woo Trading had been going on for nearly nine months. After the Korean management refused in August and September 2006 to begin collective bargaining with the independent, legally- elected trade union, and two of the trade union leaders were unwarrantedly sacked, the workers established a picket in front of the factory. Upon this, the free zone police, private security agents and municipal policemen of Rosario, stepped in to scatter the strikers, using truncheons, injuring at least fifty trade union members. The police blocked the entrance to the zone, preventing the strikers from being supplied with food and water, and forbade workers to join the picket. Late in September, as a sign of retaliation against the strikers and in blatant violation of Filipino labour law, the firm’s management sacked 116 workers. In October it dismantled the makeshift shelters erected by the strikers to protect themselves from the rain and sun. All this did not stop the workers, determined as they were to make themselves heard, from pursuing their protest. However, in February and May 2007, the strikers suffered another setback: following decisions of the Filipino Department of Labour and Employment and of the National Labour Relations Commission, the freely elected trade union of C. Woo Trading was banned and the strike declared illegal. The sacking of the 116 workers is thus condoned by the public authorities...

New assaults carried out against strikers

On 10th June 2007, around 8.30 p.m., nine men armed with knives and crow bars attacked the picket. Some threatened the strikers while others dismantled their shelters. They threw their personal belongings and food stocks into the street, destroyed their reserves of drinking water and threatened to kill them all off one by one if they did not end the strike and leave the premises immediately. The following day, at 3.30 a.m., around twenty hooded men armed with M-16 rifles arrived at the picket in three unmarked vehicles. They rounded up the strikers and ordered them to lie down on the floor, pointing their gun barrels at their heads. They attempted to stab Florencia Arevalo and Resureccion Ravelo, respectively the general secretary and president of the Nagkakaisang Manggagawa sa Chong Won (United Workers of Chong Won) trade union. One of the assailants interrupted the assault arguing that the two trade union leaders were not ‘part of the contract’. The two women were nevertheless subjected to violence during the attack, but escaped with bruises and light wounds. “They threatened to eliminate us if the picket was still there the next morning. They also stole our mobile phones, our cameras, our bags and all our personal belongings,” reported Arevalo. “We’ve already had our jobs and rights taken away. Now they want to take our lives!” she added.

Filipino authorities involved in the attacks

“We were paid two million pesos [2] to demolish your strike”, one of the attackers is alleged to have boasted when the strikers asked him on what authority they were dismantling their picket. According to the victims, their attackers had even dared them to call the police, confident that they would not come to their rescue. According to our local partner, the Worker’s Assistance Centre, this would be the third act of corruption of the kind seen since the beginning of the conflict: an initial payment of 50,000 pesos [3] had allegedly been made to ban the trade union and a second one of 300,000 pesos [4] for the Department of Labour and Employment to declare the strike illegal.

Everything seems to indicate that the Filipino public authorities were involved in these assaults. First of all, according to Florencia Arevalo, the firearms used for the second attack were of the same kind used by the police or military. Next, the day after the attacks on the pickets in front of C. Woo Trading, the free zone police hurriedly set up two new control posts to prevent the strikers from returning. Finally, despite their various attempts, the victims of the attacks have not been allowed to lodge a complaint with the police. At the free zone police station, they were told that the next day was a holiday and that consequently no investigation could be carried out. As for the municipal policemen of Rosario police station, they refused to provide any form of assistance, supposedly because of a lack of jurisdiction.

These allegations on the probable involvement of the Filipino authorities in the attacks are extremely disturbing. This is why the Worker’s Assistance Centre appeals once more to your solidarity, asking you to entreat the Filipino Ambassador in France to demand of the authorities that proper light be shed on these attacks and that the safety of the workers of C. Woo Trading on strike be finally guaranteed. “We do not want our names to appear on the long list of extrajudicial murders in the Philippines”, declared Arevalo.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

The Workers’ Assistance Centre (WAC)
This Filipino NGO has been defending workers’ rights in the free zone of Cavite since 1995. It especially helps workers to organise themselves, supports them in their trade union initiatives, offers training, organises international information campaigns and provides workers with legal assistance. Find out more on their website: www.wacphilippines.com/?p=66

The Clean Clothes Campaign (CCC)
This European organisation has been supporting the WAC for many years. Peuples Solidaires keeps up its involvement with its Filipino partner by relaying urgent appeals coming from the CCC in France. C.f. the CCC’s website: www.cleanclothes.org

Thank you for your solidarity messages!
« The strikers are so happy to receive your letters. They have even asked us if they could take some of them home to show their family!”, confided our Filipino partner after having received hundreds of solidarity messages from the Solidarity Network. « These letters mean a lot to us: they help the workers keep their spirits up and carry on fighting for their rights”. Some photos of strikers opening our letters have been posted on the Worker’s Assistance Centre website: www.wacphilippines.com/?m=200703

WRITE!

By letter: copy the standard model below or use your own wording. Send it to the addressee (address overleaf). Don’t forget to date and sign your letter and to add your name and address.
Partner’s message: to give the WAC an idea of the support on which they can rely, send them the support message.
By email: ambaphilparis@wanadoo.fr - Cc : wacphilippines@yahoo.com.ph
Reaction time: on reception, and until 1st September 2007.

PROTEST LETTER

Son Excellence Monsieur Jose A. ZAIDE Ambassadeur des Philippines en France 4, Hameau de Boulainvilliers 75016 PARIS France

Monsieur l’Ambassadeur,

J’ai été informé(e) par le Réseau-Solidarité de Peuples Solidaires des attaques violentes dont ont été victimes, les 10 et 11 juin 2007, les grévistes de l’usine Chong Won, aujourd’hui appelée C. Woo Trading, située dans la zone franche de la province de Cavite, aux Philippines. Je suis extrêmement préoccupé(e) pour la sécurité de ces travailleurs et particulièrement inquièt(e) de l’apparente implication des autorités philippines dans ces répressions. J’exhorte les autorités de votre pays à :
  mener immédiatement une enquête impartiale et indépendante sur les incidents des 10 et 11 juin 2007;
  prendre d’urgence les mesures nécessaires pour assurer la sécurité des travailleurs en grève de C. Woo Trading et de leurs défenseurs; Je vous prie d’agréer, Monsieur l’Ambassadeur, l’expression de ma très haute considération.

Translation:

Yours faithfully,

SOLIDARITY MESSAGE

Workers’ Assistance Center, Inc. (WAC) Bahay Manggagawa, Indian Mango St., Manggahan Cpd.Sapa I, Rosario Cavite 4106 PHILIPPINES

Dear friends of WAC,

I have been informed by Peuples Solidaires of the violent attacks and death threats on striking workers and trade unionists in front of Chong Won (C. Woo Trading) on June 10 and 11, 2007, in the Cavite Export Processing Zone. I am extremely concerned about the safety of the C. Woo Trading strikers and of the labour rights advocates providing them with support. I support your action and have sent a letter to the Philippines Ambassador to France requesting that he takes immediate action to implement your demands.

With warm regards,

[1] C.f. « Further Information » section

[2] Approximately 32,000 Euros.

[3] Approximately 800 Euros.

[4] Approximately 4800 Euros.