PRM bersama 46 kumpulan lain membantah 'Union Busting' di Kilang Elektronik di Filipina milik kumpulan C & F?

Media Statement – 18/7/2016

C & F Group company Must Stop Union Busting and Respect Workers and Trade Union Rights; 63 Union Members and workers laid off after just days Union Registered -

We,  47 undersigned civil society organisations, trade unions,  and groups are appalled by the union busting action/s by C &F Manufacturing Philipines Corporation, which is now terminating  the workers, just after their union, Tinig ng mga Manggagawa sa C&F Manufacturing Phils. Corporation or the Voice of the Workers in C&F Mfg. Phils. Corp., was officially registered. 

On May 26, 2016, the workers registered their union with Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE). The very next day, on May 27, the company abruptly offered a Voluntary Separation Program (VSP). The union obtained its Certificate of Registration on May 30, 2016.

On June 6, 2016, the Union filed with DOLE a Petition for Certification Election (PCE) in order to determine the representation of the workers in the collective bargaining.  Thereafter, on the very same day, the company management informed DOLE-Cavite Provincial Office that they are subjecting to "retrenchment" or lay-off some 98 regular workers of the company, wherein more than 63 of these workers are union officers and/or union members.

In the evening of June 6, the night-shift workers learned about their mass lay-off through the posted "announcement" of the management in the bulletin board. On the next day, June 7, 2016 the day-shift workers were blocked at the guard house and were no longer allowed to enter the premises of the company.

On June 9, 2016, 3 days later, the company hired 55 new workers, who were agency-supplied contractual workers from Terumi, AED, and E Pipol. Before this, the company used 50 agency-supplied contractual workers already working in the company and supplied by Terumi.

Justly, if the company no longer needed so many workers, they should have kept their 98 regular workers, who had been working for 3 to 12 years, and simply reduced the number of agency-supplied contractual workers. But, this company got rid of its 98 regular employees and are replacing them with new agency-supplied contractual workers.

Based on the facts provided by the Union, this is a clear union busting, and also an attempt to remove regular employees and replace them with workers on precarious work arrangements.

C & F Manufacturing Phils. Corporation is a supplier to IT/electronics companies such as APC Schneider Electric, IBM, and EMC Corporation. Its CEO and President is Mr. John Flaherty of C& F Group, is based at C & F Tooling Ltd., Cashla, Athenry, Co Galway, Ireland. Website: www.cftooling.ie. C & F Tooling Ltd. have companies in Ireland, Germany, Czech Republic, UK, USA, and the Philippines.

The C&F Group, in a document signed by John Flaherty in his capacity as Group Managing Director and CEO dated 5/1/2016 states that they ‘…have adopted the Electronic Industry Code of Conduct (EICC) as the operating Code of Conduct within the C&F Group…’.

Further in a letter published in the United Nations Global Compact website, it is stated: - “..C&F Group reaffirms its support of the Ten Principles of The United Nations Global Compact in areas of Human Rights, Labour, Environment and Anti-Corruption. In addition, The C&F Group has adopted The EICC-SER code as the Groups Code of Practise.’ (https://www.unglobalcompact.org/participation/report/cop/create-and-submit/active/15521)

There have also been other complaints from the workers, which include ‘forced’ work on Sunday and public holidays and excessively long working hours.

As such, it is verily believed that C&F Manufacturing Phils. Corp. and/or the C&F Group are in breach of the EICC Code, and also the UN Global Compact.

The actions of the company, possibly with the intention of union busting, and avoidance of employer obligations, is a violation of worker and trade union rights.

Therefore, we:

1)     Call on C&F Manufacturing Phils. Corp. and/or the C&F Group to immediately reinstate the said  98 regular worekrs and  union members and/or employees;

2)     Call on C&F Manufacturing Phils. Corp. and/or the C&F Group to recognize and respect the rights  of workers to  organize, form union,  and to collectively bargain; 

3)     Call on C&F Manufacturing Phils. Corp. and/or the C&F Group to abort precarious employment and labour policy and practices, and ensure that all its employees are regular employees;

4)     Call on the Electronic Industry Citizenship Coalition (EICC), a coalition of electronics companies committed to supporting the rights and wellbeing of workers and communities worldwide affected by the global electronics supply chain to ensure that C&F Manufacturing Phils. Corp. and/or the C&F Group comply with the EICC Code, and respect workers and trade union rights;

5)     Call on UN Global Compact, being a corporate sustainability initiative that ensures companies to align strategies and operations with universal principles on human rights and labour, to ensure that C&F Manufacturing Phils. Corp. and/or the C&F Group respect workers and trade union rights; and 

6)     Call on the government of Philippines to speedily act on the violation of workers and trade union rights by C&F Manufacturing Phils. Corp. and/or the C&F Group, and ensure justice be served.

Cecilia Tuico

Charles Hector

Alejandro Gonzalez

For and on behalf of the 47 groups





1. National Union of Flight Attendants Malaysia (NUFAM), Malaysia

2. Labour Studies and Action Centre / Centro de Reflexión y Acción Laboral (CEREAL), Mexico

3. WEED - World Economy, Ecology & Development, Germany

4. North South Initiative

5. All Arakan Students' and Youths' Congress(AASYC), Thai-Burma Border

6. HAK Association of Timor-Leste

7. Maquila Solidarity Network (Canada)

8. Citizen of the Earth, Taiwan

9. International Campaign for Responsible Technology, San Jose, California

10. Association of Human Rights Defenders and Promoters-HRDP, Burma

11. Sawit Watch (Indonesia)

12. National Union of Transport Equipment & Allied Industries Workers (NUTEAIW), Malaysia

13. Alternative ASEAN Network on Burma (ALTSEAN-Burma)

14. MAP Foundation, Thailand

15. Safety and Rights Society, Bangladesh

16. Kalikasan Peoples Network for the Environment, Philippines

17. Metalworkers Alliance in the Philippines (MWAP)

18. Collectif Ethique sur l’étiquette, France

19. Basel Action Network

20. Center for Alliance of Labor and Human Rights (CENTRAL), Cambodia

21. Fair | Campagna Abiti Puliti, Italy

22. Clean Clothes Campaign, The Netherlands

23. Radanar Ayar Rural Development Association, Myanmar

24. Coalición de Ex trabajadoras (es) y trabajadoras (es) de la Industria Electrónica Nacional (CETIEN), Mexico

25. Cooperation Committee of Trade Unions (CCTU) Myanmar

26. GoodElectronics Thailand (GET)

27. Paper Union of Malaysia

28. Committee for Asian Women

29. International Labor Rights Forum, Washington, D.C.

30. WH4C (Workers Hub For Change), Malaysia

31. MADPET(Malaysians Against Death Penalty and Torture)

32. Solidarity of Cavite Workers, Cavite, Philippines

33. Hye Sung Workers Union, Cavite, Philippines

34. Daeduck Employees Union –Independent (DEU-Ind.), Cavite. Philippines

35. Nagkakaisang Manggagawa ng Keyrin Electronics (NMKE), Cavite, Philippines

36. Eagle Ridge Employees Union (EREU), Cavite, Philippines

37. Samahan ng mga Manggagawa sa Eagle Ridge (SMER), Cavite, Philippines

38. Batangas Port Workers and Stevedores Labor Union (BPSLU), Batangas City, Philippines

39. Electronic Industry Employees Union (EIEU) Southern Region, Peninsular Malaysia

40. Electronic Industry Employees Union(EIEU) Northern Region, Peninsular Malaysia

41. PROHAM - Society for the Promotion of Human Rights, Malaysia

42. Parti Rakyat Malaysia

43. GoodElectronics Network, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

44. CWI (Committe For Workers International) Malaysia

45. Association of domestic workers, homeworkers and maquila (ATRAHDOM)., Guatemala

46. Workers Assistance Center, Inc. , Philippines

47. Pagkakaisa ng mga Manggagawa sa Nakashima Philippines Corporation (PAMANA-Ind.), Cavite, Philippines