PRESS RELEASE
Davao City — Officers and members of the Kahugpungan sa mga Trabahante sa Superstar (KTS) Union appealed today to Mayor Inday Sara Duterte and Vice Mayor Rodrigo Duterte to take actions on the serious violations of the Superstar Coconut Products Inc. management against its workers. The union is also poised to hold a strike should its minimum demand for a stop in unionbusting and for the implementation of labor standards are not addressed by the management and by the government.
“The bribes given to our fellow workers is a desperate act to divide the union and the workers, a clear form of union busting,” according to KTS Secretary Marven Morales.
Morales added, “We want the local government especially the Mayor and the Vice Mayor to mediate on this critical issue, and side with the struggling workers who also comprise a large portion of the taxpayers, the electorate.”
“We appeal to the city to listen to us, and learn how miserable our situation is in the company,” Morales said.
He added, “The management and its cohorts have the guts to go to the worker’s respective houses to convince them to sign a blank paper and accept P3,500 per year as a payment for their service in the company.”
“The management is afraid of a real union to exist in the company because for 15 years, it has serious violations and negligence against its workers. They want to extract more from us, they want more profit out of cheap labor.” Morales said.
Cesario Aparri who works as sheller, and his wife, has been working in the company for 15 years. They have witnessed how callous the company is towards the worker’s complaints. Aparri is a council member of the KTS union.
Aparri said, “Our situation is worsening each year. We have been working like cows.”
He said, “We formed and joined the real union, the KTS so that we have a force that we can rely on. The management is threatened with our unity, and they are resorting to divisive moves.”
Appari urged his fellow workers not to yield to the management’s devious schemes. For him, the recognition of their union is already a big step towards the attainment of their vision.
“In fact, the implementation of the basic minimum wage salary is already a success of our unity and struggle. More than these, the KTS has to further assert an end to other unfair labor practices. The struggle for our right to have a union must not wane.”
For Ireneo Camporido, also a council member of KTS, ‘suwapang’ and ‘mangtas’ aptly describe the company. He lambasted the accusation of the company that the workers are sabotaging the company.
“We only want what is due us. We have not engaged in any sabotaging acts in all the 11 years that Ive been with the company. The management is propagating this accusation to discredit us and justify its massive bribery,” he added.
