THE Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) held a protest Friday, December 28, in front of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Davao regional office to denounce the decision of regional director Raymundo Agravante to allow labor contractors in companies.
Carlo Ulalo, secretary general of KMU, told reporters on Friday that the decision of Agravante is unfair to the workers who have been working in a company for so long.
"Dugay na ni ginabuhat sa ahensiya ng Department of Labor nga dili mupabor diha sa mga mamumuo ug mas gipaboran ang desisyon in favor sa kapitalista (Dole has been doing this for quite a while. Their decisions do not favor on the workers but to the capitalists in the country)," Ulalo said.
"Kaning tanan, gi-desisyonan niya na walay labor, only contracting. Pasabot, legal na nga mga contractor na naa diha sa sulod sa principal employer (He decided to allow contracting. This means that legal contractors are already there inside the principal employers)," he added. Ulalo mentioned that Dole Secretary Silvestre Bello had a dialogue with the labor union members from Compostela Valley who are also staging a protest in Luzon.
"Ang panawagan sa mga mumuo nga ilhon sa Sumifru Philippines na mga employee kay sa taas na panahon, nagtrabaho sila dihaa (The laborers are calling on the Sumifru Philippines to recognize them as its employees as they have been working there for a long time already),” he said.
Last October 11, KMU staged a protest in Compostela Valley Province to call for a P750 wage increase together with their participation in the collective bargaining agreement with the banana company.