A labor union of a company who is producing garment products for Wal Mart, the biggest retail store in the US, is posing to hold a strike following their employers' refusal to begin negotiations for worker's benefits and welfare.
The Chong Won Fashion, Inc., a Korean-owned garment factory, has since refused and opposing to begin negotiations with the union for their collective bargaining agreement (CBA). The company supplies garment products for US-based retail store Wal Mart.
The Nagkakaisang Manggagawa sa Chong Won (United Workers of Chong Won), a labor union representing the workers, has filed a notice of strike on July 19. The workers have decided to go on strike after exhausting all means and procedures to convince the management into negotiations--but has since failed.
Despite winning the union election in 2004 and having issued the certification by the Department of Labor and Employment (Dole) as sole representative to negotiate for CBA with the management, no negotiations for the CBA took place since.
The CBA contains the workers demands for salary increase, for adequate leave benefits and welfare and improved working conditions.
The deadlock took place after the management's' repeated appeal questioning the union's authority to negotiate with them. Even the decision issued by the Dole on the matter--which was final and executory--was likewise being appealed by the management before the Court of Appeals (CA) for revision.
Under the existing rules, the negotiation should have pushed through since the CA has not issued Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) to prevent the negotiation. This, however, has not been observed and has continually been ignored by the company.
Not only the management is employing tactics and filing repeated appeals in refusing to commence the negotiation, they too are employing managerial strategies to harass, intimidate and threaten the workers.
The company has since discouraged employing regular workers, illegally dismisses workers and threatened to close down the factory.
At least 206 workers are presently employed as regulars while 704 are contractual. The 2004 certification election for the union was a landslide victory.
As the workers are gearing up for strike anytime soon, it urged the consumers here and abroad to help put pressure on the company and it's partner--the Wal Mart. One is to boycott products the company is supplying for Wal Mart, not only in the US but other retail outlets worldwide until the company complies with its obligations and observes the basic right of the workers to collective bargaining.
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* The Workers' Assistance Center, Inc. (WAC) is a non-government organisation based in Rosario, Cavite, Philippines providing assistance to workers, labor unions and organisations. WAC is deeply engage in organising labor workers inside the Cavite Export Processing Zone (CEPZ) and other export processing zones in Luzon into labor unions to assert their rights.