Capitalists enrich themselves at the expense of worker’ rights

Rome, Italy 06/03/2014

Forbes Billionaires List 2014 03.04

The recent issue of Forbed Magazine featuring the 2014 50 most richest attracted the attention of Trade Union Rights observers and workers’groups. They have observed that among the most richest listed are among  those at  the forefront of violating workers and people’s rights.

And no doubt, they are right, according to Defend Jobs Pghilippines. Among the mentioned top  billionaires of the world  are also top plunderers of people’s resources and violators of economic, social, cultural, civil and political rights.

 Henry Sy, the King of Contractualization, a policy which lowered the wages, cuts off benefits and systematically prohibiting workers to join or organize unions and enjoy collective bargaining agreement benefits, therefore extracting huge profits from the sweat and hardwork of millions of workers.

Henry Sy, Andrew Tan, Enrique Razon and George Ty are among the main proponents and benefactors of the MANILA BAY RECLAMATION which will destroy the environment and natural ecosystem of the bay. It will also destroy the sources of food, livelihood and people’s homes living at the shorelines.

 “George Ty’s only concern is how to enrich himself and extract profit. He doesn’t care about us. For more than a decade, we’ve been writing him and calling for a negotiation but he always refuses to take heed to our demands. That is the reason why he landed number 7 in the Forbes Most Richest Filipinos with a networth of $2.3 billion. Big part of George Ty’s networth comes from our hardwork. From the workers who toil day and night in the factory. George Ty and Toyota are enjoying the fruits of our labor while we the workers and our families are suffering for a longest time since 2001” stressed  Ed Cubelo, President of Toyota Motor Philippines Corporation Workers Association (TMPCWA)

TMPCWA has been struggling for almost 13 years against the illegal and unjust dismissal of 237 Toyota workers and against union busting and contractualization.  An International Labor Organization Recommendation was issued on November 2012 urging the Philippine government for steps to have an honorable settlement between TPMCWA and Toyota management headed by George Ty. Yet, the business tycoon who also owns Metrobank and Global Business Power refused to settle with TMPCWA.

Mario Maldonado, leader of Nagkakaisang Manggagawa stressed that in their  Print Town/Inquirery in Mamplasan, Binan, Laguna factor workers are victims of illegal dismissal and contractualization. Print Town is a company within the INQUIRER GROUP OF COMPANIES, owned by Marixi Rufino Prieto—FORBE S’ #40 richest Filipina in 2008 with a net worth of $30 million. Many workers in the production take home less than P125 a day for more than 8 to 12 hours of work. He said that this is the main explanation why businessmen are getting richer and richer.