Contractual workers go on strike

SAN PEDRO CITY—In what could be a test case for presumptive President-elect Rodrigo Duterte’s avowed policy against labor-only contracting, more than 400 workers of a rope-manufacturing factory in Laguna went on strike early this month after their plea to become regular employees went unheeded.

The 461 workers of Manila Cordage Company (MCC) and Manco Synthetics Inc. (MSI) have been camping in the plant premises at Carmelray Industrial Park in Calamba City.

The workers, most of them mill operators, went on strike on May 4 after talks to reach a collective bargaining agreement in January failed.

They filed a notice of strike on March 9 at the National Conciliation and Mediation Board (NCMB) Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon) regional office.

The Department of Labor and Employment has ordered both the management of the plants and the workers’ union, MCC-MSI Employee Labor Union-Organized Labor Association in Line Industries and Agriculture-Kilusang Mayo Uno, to take “no retaliatory action,” as negotiations continue.

Contract renewals

In a telephone interview on Monday, NCMB regional director Feliciano Orihuela Jr. said his office was working double time to resolve the case and “develop a framework that is acceptable to both parties.”

He said they had tapped the local police to monitor the situation and to prevent any violence.

Union president Brando Ebas, 46, said new workers were promised regularization after 10 months.

“But we were instead made to sign five-month contracts that are renewable,” he said.

Ebas said the workers were also placed under the management of two service agencies, Alternative Network Resources and Work Trusted Cooperative.

He said workers received an average daily wage of P315. The costs of “protective equipment” and uniforms were deducted from their salaries.

“Some of us have met accidents during production, suffering burns from melted plastic or severed fingers while working with machines,” Ebas said.

He said they also found out that the agencies failed to remit some of the workers’ contributions to the Social Security System.

Ebas estimated the company’s losses had reached P3 million during the first 10 days of the strike.

Since last week, the Inquirer has been trying to reach the company but calls to its office’s landline and mobile phone numbers, as posted on its website, went unanswered.

On Monday, a text message from MCC’s marketing department said no company representative was available to comment on the matter. The text message also said no one was available to take calls due to the ongoing strike.

Founded in 1924, MCC manufactures rope, using abaca (Manila hemp) as raw material. It expanded its operations to manufacturing synthetic cordage under MSI and now caters to local and international markets.