Lawmaker calls for probe of Pinoys thrown out of Cuba

Party-list Rep. Crispin Beltran of Bayan Muna called yesterday for an investigation into the termination of 20 Filipinos whose contracts were cut short by the US military for trying to form a union.

Beltran said the Departments of Labor and Employment and Foreign Affairs should look into it and take action to protect the rights of the dismissed workers, if necessary.

"The DOLE and the DFA should seek inquiries and gather all information pertaining to the firing of 20 Filipino workers and release a comprehensive report," the activist lawmaker said in a statement.

The 20 Filipinos, mostly construction workers, were fired a month after arriving at the US Navy base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, according to Anglo-European Placement Services Inc., the local recruitment agency that sent them there.

However, five of the 20 were eventually re-hired, Anglo-European said.

Nearly 400 Filipino engineers and construction workers were hired earlier by the US government to build additional detention cells for suspected terrorists that might be captured as Washington’s global war on terror continues.

According to the recruitment agency, US officials were irked when the 20 Filipinos tried to put up a labor union considering that all of them were being paid high salaries and have good working conditions.

Beltran, however, insisted that there is no US law that allows employers to fire workers for trying to set up unions. "Unionism is not a ground for firing anyone. The US government violated international labor standards and should be held accountable," he said.

"There must be unfair labor practices or violations in labor standards that prompted the Filipino workers to attempt forming a union. They worked hard and deserved every single cent they were given and probably more."

The Filipinos in Guantanamo Bay have been working overtime for the past weeks, according to Anglo-European, apparently to rush the completion of the additional jail cells most likely in anticipation of more arrests of suspected terrorists.

Most of the workers work even on Sundays while some for 12 hours a day. However, the workers don’t mind doing overtime work because they get paid, Anglo-European said.

"The workers live in adequate quarters, getting the same meals as American soldiers and earning an average of $1,500 to as much as $2,000 a month with all living expenses free. They are even getting a daily supply of beer after work," said an agency official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Most of the workers there were already looking forward to having their contracts extended after have completed the detention facility.

"They are hoping that there will be other construction work inside the naval base aside from the detention cells or, in case the US invades Iraq, then there will be a need for more detention quarters," the agency said.

Washington had earlier threatened airstrikes against Iraq for violating ceasefire agreements concluded after the 1991 Gulf War.

The detainees in Guantanamo Bay were captured last year after the US toppled the Taliban religious militia that then controlled much of Afghanistan.

Shortly thereafter, Washington was criticized at home and abroad for not according the detainees their rights as prisoners-of-war guaranteed by international law nor as criminal suspects guaranteed by US law.

Citing legal arguments, the US government said the detainees were ineligible to such rights, and went to great lengths to show that they were being treated well.

Washington toppled the Taliban in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks nearly a year ago after the militia refused to hand over al-Qaeda mastermind Osama bin Laden.