NAGKAISA!
PRESS RELEASE
December
10, 2012
Reference:
Alnem Pretencio
09209543634
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Workers hold Jericho
March at San Miguel in celebration of human rights day
Invoking
the principle “Workers’ rights are human rights!”, members of the broad labor
coalition Nagkaisa! celebrated today’s International Human Rights Day looking
for justice for the long-suffering members of the Philippine Airlines Employees
Association (PALEA).
But
instead of a traditional march to Mendiola, Nagkaisa! members held a ‘Jericho
March’ at the headquarters of San Miguel Corporation (SMC) in
Pasig City to reiterate its demands for the reinstatement of locked out
workers of PAL and the dropping of criminal charges against several leaders and members of PALEA.
Aside
from labor, the human rights community lead by the Philippine Alliance of Human
Rights Advocates (PAHRA) also joined the protest. Both argued that PAL’s
outsourcing/contractualization of regular jobs was in gross violation of the
workers’ constitutional right to security of tenure.
PALEA
members had been fighting a desperate battle for reinstatement after the old
management of the flag carrier locked them out in September last year after
2,400 regular workers refused to be outsourced in another service company.
SMC
President Ramon Ang took control of the Philippine Airlines (PAL) in April this
year after the beer giant infused at least US$500 million of fresh equity to
the ailing flag carrier. Upon his
takeover of the captain’s seat, he declared that one of his top priorities was
to resolve the lingering labor dispute in PAL.
“One
year was too long a wait for justice that PALEA members rightfully deserved.
Their rights have been violated and we in the labor movement wanted to see if
the new management under Ramon Ang will keep true his pronouncements to find a
just resolution to the dispute,” said Eva Arcos of the
Association of Labor Unions (ALU)-TUCP, a convenor of Nagkaisa!
Nagkaisa!
is bothered lately when instead of having marathon negotiations to end the
dispute, warrant of arrests came out against the 39 members of PALEA, creating
signals that the dispute is actually far from getting resolved.
On
his part, PALEA president and Partido ng Manggagawa vice chair Gerry Rivera,
reiterated his appeal for the new management to fast track the negotiations so
that both parties, including the riding public, can again fly PAL with pride.
He
added that PALEA after more than one year of struggle continues to enjoy wide
support from the local and international trade union movement. In
fact beginning December 12, international unions will also be holding
solidarity actions for PALEA at several airports where PAL has regular flights.
Rivera
said labor and human rights groups’ support to PALEA will never end until the
‘walls of Jericho’ that is preventing their reinstatement crumble.
He
added that the policy of contractualization demonstrated in PAL’s outsourcing
plan is the latest form of modern-day slavery that the labor movement wants
eradicated.
Photos
of event @ https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=pcb.10200934365020464&type=1
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