Labor rows in Mandaue, Mactan get national attention

CEBU, Philippines – The seething labor unrest, which erupted into a series of protests at the Mactan Export Processing Zone and the industrial belt of Mandaue City has caught the national attention with Manila-based groups participating in a big workers assembly the other day.

Some 400 displaced workers and union members gathered in a forum at the covered court of barangay Pajo in Lapu-Lapu City to discuss the grievances and demands of Cebuano workers.

Renato Magtubo, national chairperson of Partido ng Manggagawa; Luis Abad, legislative staff of the office of Sen. Mar Roxas; and Padjo Valdenor, national organizer of Kilusang Repormar, graced the gathering.

Magtubo warned the national government must read the signs of the “simmering labor unrest or else it might be surprised not by military coup but by a workers rebellion.”

He described the industrial towns of Metro Cebu as the epicenter of labor struggles arising from the impact of the global crisis and the capitalist attacks on wages and working conditions.

Willy Dondoyano, president of the Paul Yu Workers Association, insisted that the capitalists are exploiting the crisis to annihilate workers rights and subvert labor standards.

Aside from the Paul Yu Workers Association, workers from Altamode, a garments factory in MEPZ; Celestica, Sauna World, Keppel shipyard, Giardini del Sole; Prince Warehouse; Neostone, General Milling Corp.; Lami Foods; and informal sector workers from Talisay City joined the said forum.

In a press statement, Dennis Derige, spokesperson of PM Cebu, said the struggles of Cebuano workers are an inspiration to all Filipino workers.

“They are showing that militant struggle and labor solidarity are the instruments to win the demands of the workers,” Derige said. — Mitchelle L. Palaubsanon/JMO (THE FREEMAN)