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“Organizers are slapped with trumped-up charges, imprisoned for years, and acquitted only after the damage has been done. This systematic harassment violates workers’ right to freedom of association and their right to participate in political life.”
The group strongly condemned the incident, saying it highlights persistent gaps in workplace safety for Coca-Cola delivery workers.
The decision of BPO companies to continue operations without regard for their employees’ safety tramples on the right of employees to refuse work by reasons of imminent danger without fear of retaliation from the employer based on the Occupational Safety and Health Standards of 2018 or R.A. 11058 and DOLE Labor Advisory No. 17, s. 2022.
BIEN called on BPO companies to suspend work and grant emergency leave with pay. The group said that the “few considerations that companies extend to their employees are not acts of compassion but token measures meant to sustain business continuity at the expense of workers’ safety.”
"The conduct of these companies reveals a callous prioritization of profit over human life."
The decision to reinstate Fajardo and Marquez came after Nexperia workers staged a strike last March 2025 over a deadlock in CBA negotiations.
“This is a breakthrough for millions of platform workers worldwide who have waited too long for international protections."
While a 31% increase in Metro Manila’s minimum wage may seem bold by today’s standards, it’s far from unprecedented. The study cites the last legislated wage hike in 1989, which was even higher at 40 percent, and notes that the economy absorbed it without causing a crisis. This emphasizes the study’s broader point: a fair wage hike helps restore workers’ rightful share in national growth.
In a formal Manifestation to Stage a Strike, submitted to the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) on May 14, KULU said that they fulfilled all legal requirements to strike after CBA talks hit a deadlock. Despite management citing financial losses as a reason for denying their demands, union leaders call this claim a “big lie.”
Despite interventions by the ILO, Filipino workers still struggle to be heard, while their leaders continue to be harassed and killed.
"We have shown that even a factory located within an enclave with a no-union, no-strike policy can still stop production and deal a blow to the giant capitalists."
“Magbanua’s continuing disappearance shows that state security agencies can simply ignore writs of amparo and other court decisions that favor labor rights defenders."
“Dahil doon, ang sahod ay nakabubuhay. Dito nakamamatay."
“The right to unionize is in the Constitution but it is still being prohibited."
“It was nerve-wracking, especially since it was our first time and it was inside the company. But once we were there, we had no choice but to be brave. We had to stand firm—no one would give up,” a Nexperia woman worker said.
Food blockade has been observed as a recurring action imposed by the management and private security in response to the workers’ right to strike.
“We are staging this strike so that our legitimate demands will be met. We are only looking for fair wages and benefits. Instead, [Nexperia] management has given us notices of termination.”
Coca-Cola Cebu is set to retrench the workers following the termination of their contract with manpower agency Exeltech Manpower and Services Incorporated. However, the Center for Trade Union and Human Rights noted that the retrenchment actually comes following an order from the Department of Labor and Employment to regularize the workers, calling the move a “naked display of corporate greed."
At least ten security guards posted for duty along the Central Luzon Link Expressway spent last Christmas with no wages.
Bulatlat gathered the wage orders issued by RTWPB Northern Mindanao in the past years and found out that the most recent wage hike is the lowest increase to be implemented since 2018, specifically in the non-agriculture sector.
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