by Ghio Ong – The Philippine Star, 19 Dec 2021
MANILA, Philippines — Forty-four employees of a Valenzuela firm who were arrested on Wednesday night for going on strike were released from jail after 36 hours, their lawyer said yesterday.
Luke Espiritu, who represents the workers, said his clients were charged with illegal assembly, disobedience to a person in authority and alarm and scandal.
The city inquest prosecutor previously ordered the city police to release them pending further investigation.
Espiritu also said pasta producer Soft Touch Development Corp. should cancel its plan to fire the employees for merely organizing a labor strike.
The firm maintained that the employees are prohibited from forming a labor union because their employer is the manpower agency that hired them, according to Espiritu.
He added that companies continue to tap manpower agencies as “shields against labor unions,” a practice that could deprive workers of their rights. He explained this has been a recurring issue involving the practice of enforcing short-term work contracts.
In a video Espiritu uploaded on Twitter, police officers were seen using water cannons and truncheons on the employees, who staged the strike after learning they would be laid off on Dec. 24.
July 2025
Nutrition Month
“Give us much more than P50 increase
for proper nutrition!”
Invoke Article 33 of the ILO Constitution
against the military junta in Myanmar
to carry out the 2021 ILO Commission of Inquiry recommendations
against serious violations of
Forced Labour and Freedom of Association protocols.
Accept National Unity Government (NUG)
of Myanmar. Reject Military!
#WearMask #WashHands #Distancing #TakePicturesVideosturesVideos
July
11 July – World Population Day
5 July – World Youth Skills Day
17 July – World Day for International Justice
28 July – World Nature Conservation Day
30 July – World Day against Trafficking in Persons
Monthly Observances:
Schools Safety Month
Nutrition Month
National Disaster Consciousness Month
Weekly Observances:
Week 2: Cultural Communities Week
Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprise
Development Week
Week 3: National Science and
Technology Week
National Disability Prevention and
Rehabilitation Week
July 1-7:
National Culture Consciousness Week
July 13-19:
Philippines Business Week
Week ending last Saturday of July:
Arbor Week
Daily Observances:
First Saturday of July:
International Cooperative Day
in the Philippines
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.
