CEMENT manufacturing firm Lafarge Holcim Ltd. denied the allegation of Sentro ng mga Nagkakaisa at Progresibong Manggagawa-Davao Chapter that its management had sent several riding-in-tandem persons to remove the streamers installed by the terminated workers of Holcim Cement.
"Holcim takes exception against and denies Sentro's accusations on Holcim's involvement in the removal of Sentro's streamers. It cannot be denied, particularly by Sentro that Holcim respects the right to freedom of speech even if some have misused and abused this right at Holcim's expense by their false and unfounded pronouncements on Holcim's alleged violation of labor laws and employee rights," Holcim said in a statement sent to SunStar Davao.
The streamers were installed by the terminated workers of Holcim who have been staging daily protests to hear their demands to reinstate them. Despite this, the company remains unbothered as it respects the terminated workers’ rights to freedom of expression, thus letting their streamers hang outside their facility in Barangay Ilang.
"Labor Day, as the chosen time to remove those materials, betrays propaganda and malicious intent to put in question Holcim's integrity. Whoever removed those streamers, had no other motive but to unjustly put Holcim to shame, which, will not prosper as Holcim follows the law and respects human rights and will continue to do so," the company added.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, May 1, Sentro Davao coordinator Michael M. Ibañez condemned the company for the alleged "cowardly attack" on Holcim cement workers that happened at 12:35 a.m. Wednesday, May 1.
"Sentro, together with our allies in Nagkaisa, condemns in the strongest possible terms the cowardly attack on our picket line in Holcim Cement. Twenty knife-wielding goons riding in tandem in motorcycles to make it look like a Davao Death Squad operation swooped down on the pick line of the striking workers of Holcim Cement," he said.
The group said these people allegedly "stripped clean the picket line of all the placards and banners of the strikers."
"We hold the management of Holcim Cement responsible for this violation of workers’ right to peaceful concerted action and to freedom of expression," the statement added.
“Clearly, this was designed to sow fear among the workers,” said Nelson Sator, union president and spokesperson of Dahewu-Sentro.
“It won’t work. As this will only strengthen our resolve to fight for our rights,” Faustino Rosalijos of Sentro Davao added.