“CBA negotiations are meant to uplift labor conditions, but what we see is the opposite—wages stagnate while the cost of living continues to rise.”
By Shan Kenshin Ecaldre
Bulatlat.com
CABUYAO, Laguna — Labor rights advocates are calling for an investigation into the violent dispersal of a workers’ protest at a packaging factory linked to tycoon Lucio Tan, as tensions escalate over a deadlock in collective bargaining agreement (CBA) negotiations.
The Center for Trade Union and Human Rights (CTUHR) condemned the management of Package World, Inc. for allegedly mobilizing security forces of the Laguna Technopark to break up a protest on March 23, 2026.
A video posted on social media by members of the Package World Inc. Workers Independent Union shows a phalanx of security personnel equipped with shields and wooden batons and using water cannons against workers gathered outside the economic zone.
“This incident is a clear violation of workers’ right to hold peaceful protests to air their concrete grievances and legitimate demands,” said CTUHR Executive Director Kamz Deligente.
“It should be investigated, and those responsible — from the company’s management to the technopark administration — must be held accountable.”
Wage dispute fuels protest
According to CTUHR, the union is demanding a P50 (US$0.89) daily wage increase for each of the three years covered by the proposed CBA, while management has offered only an increase of P23 (US$0.41).
Workers have been staging regular protests since early February, accusing the company of refusing to bargain in good faith.
“The workers have every right and reason to protest,” Deligente said. “CBA negotiations are meant to uplift labor conditions, but what we see is the opposite—wages stagnate while the cost of living continues to rise.”
Labor groups stressed that the right to protest and strike remains a crucial mechanism for workers facing intransigent management.
“Without these rights, workers are reduced to merely pleading,” Deligente added.
Pattern of repression alleged
In a separate statement, Defend Workers Southern Tagalog also denounced the dispersal, linking it to what it described as a pattern of repression associated with businesses under Tan’s conglomerate, including Asia Brewery, Inc…
The group recalled a 2015 incident involving workers of Tanduay, also owned by Tan, where dozens of protesters and supporters were reportedly injured during a strike dispersal.
“This latest incident exposes how enormous wealth is accumulated, through wage suppression and the violent silencing of workers,” the group said.
Economic zones under scrutiny
CTUHR also pointed to long-standing concerns over labor rights conditions inside special economic zones, which it said often operate with “a climate of impunity.”
“Special economic zones appear to function under their own set of rules, undermining protections guaranteed by the Constitution and labor laws,” Deligente said. “This systemic problem must be investigated, and reforms must be enacted.”
The incident comes amid growing calls for wage hikes and wealth redistribution, as workers grapple with rising prices of basic goods and services.
“Billionaires have amassed vast wealth from the labor of workers and the people,” Deligente said. “At a time of deepening economic crisis, addressing inequality is not only just, it is urgent.” (JDS, RVO)
The post Workers face dispersal in Laguna economic zone amid CBA deadlock appeared first on Bulatlat.
From Bulatlat via This RSS Feed.