Labor groups seek to stop union leaders’ killings

MANILA, Philippines – Labor groups yesterday sought the immediate implementation of new measures to stop the spate of killings of union leaders.

Nagkaisa, a coalition of 47 labor federations, condemned the killings and expressed fear that the deaths of labor leaders could be an attempt to stop unionism in the country.

“This may just be the start of more violence directed toward grassroots labor organizing,” Nagkaisa said in a statement.

Last Friday, the former union leader of R&E Taxi transport service was gunned down while he was about to attend a labor hearing at the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) in Quezon City.

A number of labor leaders were also killed in Cebu and other parts of the country for the past week.

Nagkaisa said the killings underscore the need for the government to ensure protection to ordinary citizens as well community organizers.

“The killings, again, put into question the bragging rights of employers and government that we have stable industrial peace,” the group added.

To stop the killings, Nagkaisa called on the Department of Labor and Employment to convene a high-level labor-government-employer Tripartite Industry Peace Council to draft long-lasting measures to contain and prevent violence against labor leaders.

Nagkaisa also urged the Department of the Interior and Local Government and the Philippine National Police to meet with labor and business groups to send “a clear signal of the primacy of the law.”