LABOR group Partido Manggagawa (PM) yesterday slammed Labor Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma for employing a “faulty logic” in justifying the absence of workers and employers’ representatives in the newly-formed inter-agency committee on labor issues.
In a statement, PM chairman Rene Magtubo said it is questionable for Laguesma to say the accusers of labor rights violations cannot be parties to the panel tasked to address such concerns.
“If we follow Laguesma’s faulty logic that complainants cannot be the judge, then more so the accused,” said Magtubo.
“Secretary Laguesma wants the accused to be the judge in labor rights cases,” he added.
“Security forces, along with several employers, are the usual respondents in the 380 cases involving killings, abductions, arrests, harassments, and red-tagging of unionists,” noted Magtubo.
He, however, noted that they are no longer surprised with the actions and statements of Laguesma.
“Laguesma’s slip is showing. What can workers expect from a labor secretary that makes lame excuses for banning trade unions?” said Magtubo.
PM reacted to the statement of Laguesma that workers should be excluded from the inter-agency committee since they are the ones raising the complaints to the International Labor Organization (ILO).
Laguesma was referring to the establishment of the inter-agency committee that will look into the killings of trade unionists and numerous violations of freedom of association.
Member-agencies of the panel include the Department of Justice, Department of the Interior and Local Government, Department of National Defense, Department of Trade and Industry, National Security Council, and the Philippine National Police.