End Violence Against Trade Unions
Search
What You Can Do
Demand the Release of Labor Lawyer in the Philippines
ILRF has just learned that on Wednesday Remigio Saladero, the chief legal counsel for the KMU (an independent labor federation in the Philippines) and the union representing Dole Philippines's workers, was illegally arrested by the Philippine government. Mr. Saladero is a close ally of ILRF and we are deeply concerned about his detention by the Philippine government.
Please take action now to tell the U.S and Philippine governments that the world is watching. We are asking the Philippines government to release Atty. Remigio Saladero, drop the charges levied against him as a pretext for his detention, AND create an independent investigating team to investigate the threats and intimidation to the Pro-labor Legal Assistance Center.
Mr. Saladero is being charged with conspiracy to commit rebellion and murder for allegedly participating in an undisclosed murder in Mindoro; charges such as these are becoming increasingly more common tactic used by the governments as it steps up its legal attacks against civil society organization in the Philippines, politicians, church leaders and labor activists, who speak out against the policies of President Arroyo.
ILRF is deeply troubled by Atty. Saladero’s detention because it further restricts the ability of both labor organizations, like the KMU, and the legal profession in the Philippines to exercise their rights and vigorously defend themselves and others against the Government of the Philippines, who is responsible for promoting a climate of violence and impunity, and companies like Dole Foods, who thrive in an environment where violence against trade unions is common and justice is rarely pursued.
About Remigio Saladero:
Atty. Remigio Saladero is a labor lawyer at the public interest law firm Pro-Labor Legal Assistance Center (PLACE) in the Philippines. Saladero is a graduate of the San Beda College of Law and was a law professor at the Lyceum and the Dominican College in the Philippines. He is a columnist for Pinoyweekly, a weekly newspaper based in Quezon City and he writes essays on various labor cases.
Background:
On Wednesday, October 22, Attorney Remigio Saladero’s wife was supposed to meet him at their home in Antipolo City in the Philippines. However, when she arrived, the gates and doors were open. Saladero’s laptop was missing, the house was in disarray and Saladero was missing. Saladero’s family and colleagues do not know were he is and have been unable to contact him.
In August 2008, the Philippine prosecutor’s office named Saladero a "person of interest" in the burning of a cell tower allegedly by the New Peoples Army (NPA). For more information on the NPA, go to /end-violence-against-trade-unions/philippines/new-peoples-army. Last week, the government filed charges against him for conspiracy to commit rebellion. The KMU, one of the largest independent labor union federations in the Philippines, has been accused of being a front for the NPA. Now Saladero is bearing the brunt of this accusation because he has been defending the KMU as their legal counsel.
Saladero’s disappearance is part of an ongoing government campaign of intimidation directed toward his public interest law firm, PLACE. Saladero has fought for years to protect the rights of workers and because of this advocacy, he has been a target of the Philippines Army and Government. Saladero is the lead counsel for the family of murdered union leader Diasdado “Ka Fort” Fortuna and the employees of the Nestle Cabuyao factory who have been on strike for nearly six years. Atty. Saladero has taken on some of the most controversial labor cases in the Philippines on a on pro-bono basis such as representing the families of the murdered leaders at Hacienda Luisita and Nestle Philippines. PLACE handles around 700 labor, human rights, criminal, civil and administrative cases. Additionally, Saladero was one of the authors of KMU’s complaint to the International Labor Organization seeking help to end to the attacks on KMU workers in the Philippines, and requesting that the ILO investigate the attacks on labor groups by the Philippine government. Despite requests from the ILO, the Philippine government consistently refuses to invite the ILO to conduct an inquiry.
PLACE also represents the workers of the union the Solidarity of Cavite Workers and the Workers’ Assistance Center (WAC). WAC and PLACE played important roles in supporting workers at the Chong Won Fashion factory which produced for Wal-Mart. After a long fight to protect workers’ rights at Chong Won, the factory was eventually closed, leaving hundreds of workers unemployed.
On October 5, 2006, Military Intelligence Pfc. Rommel Felipe Santiago was arrested by local police officials while attempting surveillance on Saladero. A few days later, “suspicious-looking men” were observed near the PLACE office. PLACE staff complained to the police who confirmed that the men were on official police business. As a result, PLACE staff members were forced to vacate their offices for several weeks because of the continued surveillance by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). They were forced into hiding and missed several hearings as a result of their well-founded fears of persecution. PLACE made an official compliant to the Commission on Human Rights in the Philippines and the Commission had scheduled a hearing to consider the evidence for December 19, 2006. However, the AFP refused to file an answer to the complaint and did not participate in the hearing. Therefore the resolution is outstanding given that the AFP has refused to cooperate.
In October 2007, PLACE staff noticed that once again, unidentified men were conducting 24 hour surveillance on their office. This surveillance occurred after Saladero served as legal counsel for KMU and the Center for Trade Union and Human Rights (CTUHR) in their petition to the Supreme Court to nullify the Human Security Act of 2007.
ILRF’s work in the Philippines
Since 2006, ILRF has been working to stop the Philippine government’s involvement in the killing and kidnapping of union leaders. We have been working with PLACE and many other human rights advocates and workers in the Philippines to protect the right to organize and to stop violence against trade unions. Some of you received a recent update from ILRF detailing the continuous attacks on union activists by the Philippine government. On Thursday, we received an alert from our partners in the Philippines informing us of Remigio Saladero’s disappearance.
Earlier this week, ILRF intervened in a case at the United States Trade Representative, asking that the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) not grant Dole Foods any additional trade benefits until the Philippine military ends its attacks on the elected trade union at Dole's Philippines facilities. Atty. Saladero is a key member of the legal team representing Dole’s workforce. A hearing was held this Monday in which ILRF, Dole, and the Government of the Philippines all testified before the USTR. On Monday of this week, we also release a new report detailing labor rights abuses occurring at Dole’s facilities in the Philipines, as well as in the pineapple industry globally.
Saladero’s disappearance is the latest abuse in an anti-worker environment. ILRF is standing in solidarity with labor rights advocates in calling for justice for Remigio Saladero and an end to the intimidation of workers and their supporters in the Philippines.
Philippines: violence against workers continues
After the shooting of labor leader Gerardo Cristobal on April 28, 2006, and the killing of bishop Alberto Ramento, chairman of the board of the Workers Assistance Center on October 3, 2006 (!), more labor activists active in the Province of Cavite were shot. Also, the striking workers at Chong Won (recently renamed to C. Woo) and Phils Jeon remain under threat of violence, tolerated and supported by both the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) and the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE). Despite international protests against the extreme violence directed at labor and human rights activists, the Philippine authorities did not take any effective measures to date to halt the violence. Neither has there been any independent and impartial investigation into the killings and shootings.
The Philippine government and its institutions PEZA and DOLE, should guarantee workers' rights to freedom of association and immediately take effective measures to halt any form of violence directed at labor activists and striking workers. So far the government's response has been insufficient. Please take action to support Philippine workers in their struggle to improve working conditions and to defend their right to organize.