Message of TUCP President Atty. Democrito T. Mendoza at the opening of the ILO/DOLE Seminar Workshop on the Freedom of Association, Civil Liberties, Labour Laws and the Issue of Impunity, 30-31 March 2011, Iloilo City

Message  of TUCP PRESIDENT ATTY. DEMOCRITO T. MENDOZA at the opening of the ILO/DOLE SEMINAR WORKSHOP ON THE FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION, CIVIL LIBERTIES, LABOUR LAWS AND THE ISSUE OF IMPUNITY, 30-31 March 2011, Iloilo City

DOLE Secretary Rosalinda Dimapilis-Baldos
ILO Country Director Lawrence Jeff Johnson
fellow travelers in the trade union movement
representatives in the employer and government sectors
ladies and gentlemen.

We are happy to be in this program.

We commend the ILO and the DOLE
for implementing an awareness-raising program
to increase appreciation by workplace stakeholders
of core labor rights and other human rights,
and perhaps mitigate violations of these.

As a country, we are proud
to be one of the only three  countries in the ASEAN
to have ratified the eight ILO core conventions.
And one of our strengths as a nation is that
we have good labor laws
that we at the trade unions have patiently advocated for.

We are proud that this seminar
could look at the issues on workers’ rights
–in enforcement of labor laws
–and would try to improve compliance.

Ang totoo, kung gumagaling ang mga manggagawa
sa usaping karapatang paggawa
gumagaling din ang ibang sector
sa pagpuksa ng mga karapatang ito.
Marami pa ring
nararanasang kahirapan ang mga manggagawang nais mag-unyon.
Kabuhayan, dugo, at kung minsan, ay buhay ang katumbas
ng pagsusulong sa mga karapatang ito.

Kung minsan, hindi namin matanggap
na ang pinasasahod ng aming buwis
ay kasama sa nagpapahirap sa mga manggagawa.

Ang dami ng impunity!

Impunity does not apply only in extra-judicial killings.
Impunity also applies when laws are not properly implemented.
It applies when LMCs or organizations masquerading as cooperatives
are used to supplant unions.

There is impunity when leaders of budding unions
are harassed, threatened, summarily dismissed, or even killed.

There is impunity when regular jobs are eliminated,
and replaced with contractuals.

There is impunity when social dialogue mechanisms
are subverted by non-representative unions.

So what are we are we here for?
What would this seminar accomplish?

Trade unionists are patient.
We have unconditional positive regard for everything!

All these years,
genuine moderate unions have held back
the advances of unions with ‘dark agendas’.

We have seen aggrieved workers taking action.
which we have not endorsed.
Workers and unions are taking matters
into their own hands to fight impunity their way.

We need to ensure that these actions
are consistent with laws and regulations.
We need to ensure that there is justice …
and that workers see clearly that justice is being done.

We hope that this seminar contributes
to better compliance, better working conditions
and better environment for unions to thrive,
–for enterprises to grow, and for the economy to improve.

This will be the only response
against workers going beyond the rule of law
and ‘the moral’ to fight injustices.

We know ILO and DOLE will do the proper things
to make this happen.

We are one with you
in wishing, and working that this gets done.

Magandang umaga sa ating lahat!