DAVAO CITY – Workers of Tanduay Distillers Inc. in Calamba, Laguna who are on strike starting Monday cried foul over the violence and harassment committed by the security group and hired goons of the company owned by billionaire Lucio Tan.
In a statement Tuesday, the Tanggulan Ugnayan Daluyang Lakas ng Anakpawis sa Tanduay Distillers Inc. (Tudla) said as of 12:00 noon “50 individuals already have injuries ranging from bruises to cuts caused by security guards and hired goons that beat the workers with truncheons.”
“The security agents also threw rocks and glass bottles at the picket line simultaneous with surges of water cannon from within the compound’s firetruck,” they said.
The protesters also said the local police and local government unit of Cabuyao “turn a blind eye to these incidents even if they are just meters away from the picket line.”
Tudla said some of the 397 contractual workers in the company owned by Lucio Tan have been working for five to 11 years but are still on contractual status.
Tudla said the management is only paying contractuals with P315 which is 47.50 lesser than the mandated minimum wage for Calabarzon which is P362.50.
The workers also said that they also lack Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). They said PPE is deducted from their salary that’s why workers are usually injured by broken glasses or exploding glass containers of the rum.
Anse Are, president of Tudla said they do not want to be like the workers in Kentex factory who died because the management neglected issues in unsafe labor practices.
Kilusang Mayo Uno supported the workers call for regularization saying it is unjust, especially for the second richest billionaire from the Philippines who has a net worth of $6.1 billion, to maintain 90% of the factory’s workforce as contractuals despite the workers’ five to 11 years of service to the company.
KMU also condemned the massive illegal layoff which the Tanduay management planned to carry out against the contractuals before the strike and the use of water cannons against the workers’ strike Monday morning.
“Lucio Tan and the Tanduay-Cabuyao management should heed the workers’ just demands and stop meeting these with repression. Grave violations of workers’ rights would always spur workers’ resistance,” said KMU vice chairperson Lito Ustarez.
