Dear friends,

Warmest greetings!

Below is an Action Alert on the seafarers strike in Sulpicio Lines Inc.  We urge you to send solidarity messages to the union.

Thank you very much for your support.

In solidarity,
Tess Dioquino
KMU International Dept Secretary


ACTION ALERT
29 July 2003


Sulpicio Lines seafarers on strike!

As of 3 p.m. today, 21 out of 27 vessels belonging to Sulpicio Lines Inc. and Solid Towage and Lighterage Co., Inc. are at a standstill in various ports in the country due to a seafarers strike in the shipping company.

More than 700 personnel of Sulpicio Lines went on strike at 5 a.m. this morning in the shipping company’s several ports in Manila, Cebu, Iloilo, Davao, Cagayan de Oro City, Ormoc City, Tacloban City and Dipolog City.

The strike, led by the Unyon ng mga Mandaragat sa Sulpicio and Solid Towage and Lighterage Inc. (UMSS; Union of Seafarers in Sulpicio and Solid Towage and Lighterage Inc.), was due to the company’s unfair labor practices.  Among the issues raised by the seafarers are union busting, illegal suspension and termination of seafarers who are supposed affiliates of KMU, very low wages and scarce benefits, unlawful transfer of work or re-assignments, discrimination against KMU members, 12-14 working hours without overtime pay, verbal harassment, unsafe working conditions in the vessels and anti-worker practices.  UMSS is an affiliate of the Alliance of Nationalist and Genuine Labor Organization (ANGLO) under KMU.

The management has already inflicted violence and harassment in the otherwise peaceful strike in the company.  At around 8:30 this morning at Sulpicio Main Office in Cebu City, hired goons opened fire against protesting seafarers, beaten them and even threw several striking seafarers and supporters into the sea. Among those who were thrown to the sea include Jaime Paglinawan, chairman of Kilusang Mayo Uno in Cebu, Sulpicio employee Alex Quimpo and a cameraman of a local TV channel.

In Cotabato City in Mindanao, the City Mayor and Sulpicio Lines Branch Manager threatened the workers of deployment of Philippine Marines at the picketlines if they will not go back to work. The striking workers however allowed a container van full of military equipment and another van full of food and medicines to dock in the port.

UMSS  ANGLO - KMU President Generoso Sasis said the grounds for their strike are legitimate and indisputable. “We are asserting for our just wages, employment and trade union rights,” Sasis declared.

Sasis also hit the Cebu-based Alliance of Labor Unions-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (ALU-TUCP), blaming it as the instigator of the harassment against striking seafarers.  ALU-TUCP earned notoriety among Sulpicio workers after its leaders Michael and Harley Mendoza forged an agreement with the management for a substandard Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) package. Aside from this, ALU-TUCP has been constantly promoting yellow unionism in Sulpicio.

Sulpicio Lines ranks third in the domestic shipping lines in the country.  It has 15 passenger ships, nine (9) cargo container ships and three (3) tugboats.  The shipping company is owned by shipping magnate Carlos Go.

A dialogue is currently undergoing at the National Conciliation and Mediation Board (NCMB).  Sasis avers that the strike will not be lifted “unless significant resolutions are achieved to address our plight.”

We are asking you to send solidarity messages to the union and protest letters to the management. 


Solidarity messages can be addressed to:

Generoso Sasis
UMSS President
Unit 1, Limpio Building
273 Moriones St. Tondo, Manila, Phils.