1,100 coco industry workers protest being turned into contractual hires in Davao Sur

STA, CRUZ, Davao del Sur, Philippines – Coconut industry workers here staged on Wednesday a picket protest against what they said has been collusion between desiccated coconut exporter Franklin Baker and three other firms to skirt labor laws.

The workers said that under a recently signed agreement, some 1,100 coconut industry workers – many of whom have served for many years already – have been reverted to being newly hired employees at Franklin Baker.

They said the scheme, which the coconut desiccated firm signed with its raw coconut suppliers – B/L Investment Inc., Golden White Coco Traders, and Mactan – put to waste their length of service.

The three coconut suppliers will now act as manpower agencies for Franklin Baker after the latter agreed to absorb their workers.

“Many of us have worked for more than 10 years already but they would regard us as new employees now. We might be able to agree if they give us separation pay,” Jimboy Marciano, the spokesperson of Samahan ng Manggagawang Kontraktwal (Sama-Ako), said.

Carlo Olalo, the spokesperson of the Kilusang Mayo Uno (May 1 Movement) in Southern Mindanao, said “the collusion between Franklin Baker and the three companies is clearly an attempt to evade responsibility to workers.”

“The experience of coco workers in Davao del Sur exposes the evils of labor-only contracting and other forms of labor ‘flexibilization,’ which makes workers vulnerable to exploitation,” he said.

“The scheme to absorb all workers from (the three companies) and make them agency hires is the handiwork of Franklin Baker, which designed this scheme in order to frustrate all overstaying workers’ attempts to become regular workers. This is happening all over the country because contractualization is legal,” Olalia said.