A Statement of Concern: A Call for Justice for United Workers of Citra Mina Group of Companies Union

We, advocates for justice and human dignity, express our concern over the arbitrary termination of employment of 112 regular workers from various divisions and production lines of the Citra Mina Group of Companies.

The mass dismissal came in the wake of the formation of the United Workers of Citra Mina Group of Companies Union and its notification to the Citra Mina Group of Companies’ management of the union’s claim for recognition. That no valid cause was presented and established for the dismissal of each of them immediately smacks of injustice. The Lu family’s claim that they are no longer needed can hold no water, as replacements are being installed to take their place.

The right to association is an inherent human right. It stems from man’s nature as social beings. People organize themselves to address common concerns. For workers, this immediately expresses itself in their desire to form unions to collectively address common concerns relating to their conditions of employment and work. These rights, to form unions and collectively bargain, have long been recognized locally and globally, and have been universally enshrined as fundamental rights, recognized by the International Labor Organization (ILO) and various countries, among them the Philippines, that are signatories to the International Covenant on Human Rights.

The fundamental law of the land, the Philippine Constitution of 1987, upholds these rights in no uncertain terms. Section 3, Article XIII of the Constitution states: “The State shall afford full protection to labor, local and overseas, organized and unorganized, and promote full employment and equal employment opportunities for all. It shall guarantee the rights of all workers to self-organization, collective bargaining and negotiation and peaceful concerted activities including the right to strike in accordance to law. . . “

That the Lu family, owners of Citra Mina Group of Companies, can penalize workers and their families, denying them their means of livelihood and thus life, for simply exercising an inherent human right that is in fact already legally enshrined, is clear defiance of human rights and the law. That they can do it against their own workforce who had spent their prime years contributing to the fast growth of the company, even working for free on extended hours when company interests demand it, is gross injustice of the worst kind.

This injustice cannot be condoned. For when injustice is done to some members of society, it is done to society. The culture of tolerance to injustice will eventually catch up on everyone. If it is made to pass now, it will become commonplace among workers. If it is allowed against workers, it can be perpetrated against students, teachers, the media and other sectors of society. The dark years of martial law and the many victims of injustices under it should always be a reminder to what tolerance of injustice can do to society.

We therefore raise our collective voice against the suppression of the rights of the workers of Citra Mina Group of Companies, and of workers in other workplaces in Mindanao and elsewhere in the country who are similarly victimized. We call on state instrumentalities: the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), the Department of Justice (DOJ), the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), the Commission on Human Rights (CHR), the local government units, the House of Representatives and Senate, and the courts, to perform their constitutionally-mandated duties. UPHOLD THE WORKERS’ RIGHTS! ENSURE PROMOTION AND PROTECTION OF THESE RIGHTS! Compel Citra Mina Group of Companies and other violators, under pain of proper sanction, to respect workers’ rights and the laws protecting these. Compel them to reinstate illegally-dismissed workers, and recognize their unions. Only by doing so can justice be rendered. CMGC and other violators CANNOT, and SHOULD NOT BE ALLOWED TO SUBSUME HUMAN RIGHTS AND THE LAWS OF THE LAND, TO THEIR GREED FOR PROFIT.

Advocates for Justice and Human Dignity,
February 2014