Philippines: Excessive use of force to repress peaceful strike of seafarers

Case PHL 080404.ESCR
Use of Excessive Force/Arbitrary Detention/Ill-treatment/Violation of
Labour Rights

The International Secretariat of OMCT requests your URGENT
intervention in the following situation in Philippines.

Brief description of the situation

The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by Kilusang
Mayo Uno - Labour Center (KMU), a member of the OMCT network, of a
number of human rights violations committed by the Maritime Police
Officers, National Police, Coast Guards and SWAT team officers,
including the use of excessive force, arbitrary detention, threats,
harassment, intimidation and ill-treatment against striking
seafarers, to break up the strike organised by seafarers from the 9th
to 15th March 2004 in various ports in the Philippines. OMCT has also
been informed that members of the Associated Labour Unions (ALU-TUCP)
have also threatened striking workers.

According to the information received, 22 ships (out of an
operational fleet of 24) and 800 workers employed by the Sulpicio
Lines Inc., participated in a nationwide strike that was launched by
the Unyon ng Mandaaragat sa Sulpicio Lines Inc./Solid towage and
Lighterage Inc. (UMSS-Anglo-KMU) on 9 March 2004 to protest against
poor working conditions, the use of unfair labour practices and
violations of the Memorandum of Agreement that the company had signed
with the workers' representatives (UMSS-Anglo-KMU). An assumption of
jurisdiction order was issued by the Department of Labour and
Employment on 10 March 2004 giving allowing the police to break the
strike.

According to the information received, on 13 March 2004, at about
1.00 pm. at the Manila North Harbour a group of about 400 officers
and guards, consisting of Western Police officers, Special Weapons
and Tactics teams and security guards stormed the vessels of the
striking seafarers. Reportedly, snipers of the Special Weapons and
Tactics (SWAT) teams pointed their rifles at the striking seafarers
from the rooftop of a building and a warehouse, and that officers
boarded the vessels and forced the striking seafarers to disembark.
The police and SWAT team officers also arbitrarily detained around
200 of the striking seafarers at the passenger terminal, which can
only accommodate 100 persons and only has one lavatory. The seafarers
were detained there under heavy guard, without any food, until the
following day, 14 March 2004, when they were released at 4.00 pm.
According to the information received, one seafarer was handcuffed
and many others were hit, kicked, and threatened with cocked rifles
by the Police and SWAT team officers. It has also been alleged that
that police and SWAT team officers took valuables like watches,
bracelets and money belonging to the striking seafarers.

OMCT has also received information that on 9 March 2004 heavily armed
Maritime and National Police and Coast Guard officials forcibly
boarded and took over two ships (MV Tacloban Princess and MV Princess
of the Pacific) in Ormoc City and Polloc ports. It is reported that
seafarers on board the MV Princess of the Pacific were threatened at
gunpoint by the Maritime and National Police and Coast Guard
officials, who were accompanied by the Brach Manager of the Sulpicio
Lines. A picket line organised by the striking seafarers was also
forcibly cleared by the Police and the Crowd Dispersal Unit on 12
March 2003.

In Cebu city port, on 10 March 2004 at about 9.30 am, 35 crew
members of 'M/V Cebu Princess' were reportedly threatened at gunpoint
that would be bodily harmed, and overpowered by 50 - 70 armed members
of the Associated Labour Unions (ALU-TUCP), which is alleged to be an
undemocratic union that earlier controlled the Sulpicio Lines Union.
On the same day, armed ALU members also threatened seafarers aboard
another ship in the Cebu port (MV Cotabato Princess) but were
prevented from causing any harm to the seafarers due to the arrival
of supporters of the striking seafarers, which included people from
the church, peasants, workers, and journalists. On 11 March 2004, the
crew of the ship were forcibly disembarked by the Sulpicio Lines Inc.
with the help of Cebu International Port Police officers, Maritime
Police officers, and private security guards.

On 19 March 2004 the striking seafarers decided to comply with the
return-to-work order issued by the Department of Labour and
Employment. Reportedly, the management of the Sulpicio Lines Inc. has
since then only accepted about 400 workers out of the more than 600
workers. The company has refused to accept more than 200 workers, of
which a large majority were union officials and active members of the
union.

Background information

Sulpicio Lines Inc. is one of the top five inter-island shipping
company in the Philippines and is the second largest domestic
shipping company in the country in terms of number of vessels and
gross tonnage. The company provides inter-island passenger and cargo
services throughout the major ports and cities in the country. In
2002 it had an average of 1,754 employees of which around 1,000 were
employed as seafarers. Its main office and its home port is in Cebu
City, in the central Philippines.

It is reported that the Sulpicio Lines Inc. seafarers' union is under
the control of the 'yellow union', particularly the Associated Labour
Unions (ALU-TUCP) based in Cebu. The union leaders of the yellow
union are alleged to be corrupt and undemocratic. According to the
information received, the company committed a number of labour rights
violations under the existence of yellow union, including illegal
dismissals and illegal suspensions. Seafarers were laid-off during
dry-docking of their vessels, which lasts two to six months and
sometimes longer and there were deductions from the salary of the
seafarers, which are not specified in the payroll. A very low salary
is an other issue. The company pays the seafarer an average salary of
PHP8,000 per month ($142/month), the payment for overtime is one peso
a day ($0.01 cent), no matter how many hours of overtime has been
carried out, and the overtime salary is paid after one or two year.
Food provision for the crew at the vessels is further reported to be
inadequate and the budget is according to the information received
lower than the government's budget for prisoners. It is also reported
that all the vessels used by the company in their operations are
second hand and that the average age of the vessels is 30 years. The
safety on these vessels is a crucial issue. On 24 December 1987, the
'M/V Dona Paz' sank and claimed about three thousands lives.
Likewise, 'M/V Dona Marilyn' sank on 24 October 1988, and 'M/V
Princess of the Orient' sank on 18 September 1998. Also these two
events claimed in total thousands of lives. Most recently, in August
2002, there was an explosion in the engine room of one of the vessels
of Sulpicio Lines Inc, 'M/V Tacloban Princess'. The explosion led to
the death of six officers.

In 2001 the seafarers of the Sulpicio Lines Inc. attempted to form
their own union with 658 members (out of the 952 Sulpicio Lines
seafarers), but the members suffered intensified harassments. They
were subjected to frequent suspensions, terminations,
discriminations, threats, physical harassments, verbal abused and
other forms of unacceptable labour practices instigated by the
management together with the existing yellow union (ALU-TUCP). On 3
February 2003 the Sulpicio Lines seafarers organized themselves and
formed their own union, the UMSS.

On 29 July 2003, the UMSS-Anglo-KMU launched a nationwide 36-hour
strike. The strike resulted in a Memorandum of Agreement between the
UMSS-Anglo-KMU and the Sulpicio Lines Inc. management. The management
of Sulpicio Lines Inc. have, however, violated of Memorandum of
Agreement as well as the provisions of the Labour Code of the
Philippines. Among the violations are union busting, illegal
dismissals and suspensions, various forms of harassments as for
example physical and verbal abuse of UMSS members and unlawful
economic discrimination, illegal deductions from wages, illegal
deductions of union dues, illegal deductions for payment of ships'
provision handling, wage distortion, non payment or delayed payment
of 13th month pay and Christmas bonus, and unjust discrimination
against the union members. The UMSS decided in March 2004 to launce
its second strike.

There have been ongoing attempts from the unions side to negotiate
with the management of the Sulpicio Lines Inc. On March 9th and 10th
2004 negotiations at the National Conciliation and Mediation Board
resulted in the drafting ten points by the National Conciliation and
Mediation Board that had been agreed in principle.

On 11 March 2004 at 9:30AM, reportedly an Assumption of Jurisdiction
and a Return to Work order were posted by the Department of Labour
and Employment at the picket line without informing any officers or
members of UMSS. At around 11:00am, the management panel arrived to
the negotiating table and announced that they were withdrawing all
their offers made in the previous negotiations. The Assumption of
Jurisdiction issued by the Department of Labour and Employment gave
the Sulpicio Lines management the legal means to break the picket
line and the strike through police intervention.

The legal counsel of UMSS-Anglo-KMU immediately filed a Motion for
Reconsideration at the Office of the Secretary of Labour on the
ground that the Secretary of Labour abused its power when she assumed
jurisdiction over the strike. On 18 March 2004 at 6:00pm, the legal
counsel received a copy of the denial of the Motion for
Reconsideration from the Secretary of Labour. The Secretary of Labour
further reiterated her former order to return to work without further
delay.

On 19 March 2004, at 8:00am the striking workers, proceeded to the
office of Human Resource Development of the Sulpicio Lines in Manila
and Cebu City. The management, however, reportedly refused to accept
all of the disembarked striking workers. The workers were met and
dispersed by a truckload of police and security forces and the
management refused to implement the order from the Department of
Labour and Employment. Recent information indicates that since the
management has only accepted about 400 workers out of the more than
600 workers. The company has refused to accept more than 200 workers,
of which a large majority were union officials and active members of
the union.

OMCT is deeply concerned by the human rights violations committed by
the Police and Coast Guard officials and SWAT team members and the
use of excessive force, threats, intimidations, ill-treatment and
illegal detention of seafarers, who were carrying out a peaceful
strike and by the state inaction on the actions of the ALU. OMCT is
also concerned by the assumption of jurisdiction and return to work
orders issued by the Department of Labour and Employment that gave
the management protection and allowed the police to crush a peaceful
strike using force and repression. The Department has also failed to
act on the labour violations committed by the company and has in
effect forced the workers to return to work without any settlements
on their concerns about working conditions and the violations by the
company of the MOA it signed with the workers' representatives. OMCT
is also apprehensive about the security of the members of the UMSS
union, the large number of striking seafarers that the management of
the Sulpicio Lines refused to accept and on the impact these actions
will have on future attempts by the seafarers or other workers to
organise or protest violations of labour rights.

Action requested
Please write to the authorities in the Philippines urging them to:

i. Guarantee an immediate investigation into the circumstances of
these events, identify those responsible, bring them before a civil
competent and impartial tribunal, apply the penal, civil, and/or
administrative sanctions provided by law, and give provide adequate
compensation to the victims;
ii. Take all necessary measures to ensure that the labour and human
rights of the seafarers are protected and realised;
iii. Ensure the safety and integrity of all the seafarers and union
members and ensure that freedom of association and collective
bargaining rights of the seafarers are adequately protected;
iv. Ensure that all seafarers are allowed to resume to work and no
seafarers or union members are targeted by the management for
punitive action;
v. Guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental
freedoms, including economic, social and cultural rights throughout
the country in accordance with international human rights standards.


Addresses
Her Excellency Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, President, New Executive
Building Malacang Palace Compound, J.P. Laurel St., San Miguel ,
Manila, Philippines
Fax: +632 929 3968, E-mail: opnet@ops.gov.ph or kgma@yahoogroups.com

Gen. Hermogenes Ebdane Police Director, Philippine National Police,
Camp Crame, Quezon City, Philippines
Fax: +632 724 8763 , E-mail: ebdane@info.com.ph

The Chief Officer , Philippine National Police ,Camp Crame , Quezon
City, Philippines
E-mail: pnp@pnp.gov.ph
Ms. Valera Quisumbing , Chairperson, Commission on Human Rights ,
SAAC Building, UP Complex, Commonwealth Avenue, Diliman, Quezon City,
Philippines
Fax: +632 929-0102 , E-mail: apnr@chr.gov.ph

Ambassador Samuel T. Ramel, Permanent Mission of the Philippines to
the
United Nations in Geneva; Avenue Balnc 47, 1202 Geneva, Switzerland;
Fax: +41 22 716 19 32, E-mail: philippine.mission@ties.itu.int;


Geneva, 08 February 2004

Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this
appeal in your reply.