By JULIE ANNE DIMAPILIS

May 13, 2015 is one day that the families of the workers of Kentex Manufacturing Incorporated will never forget. That day, 72 workers died, most of them women and 20 have gone missing from the fires that smouldered the factory. Kentex is one of the leading suppliers of synthetic slippers in the Philippines. News reported that the factory went up in fire when an unlabeled container holding super seal (glue) caught incendiary sparks from the welding activity in the factory.

Reports stated that the factory had no fire alarms and no fire exits. There was only one door by which the workers can enter and exit. The garage door where the trucks were parked was locked. The windows were blocked by grills and chicken wire to prevent pilferage or thieves from sneaking out items from the factory. Witnesses of the tragedy said that the workers could have escaped if not for these grilled windows. The owner of the factory did not allow the windows to be destroyed in order to save the workers. Most of the bodies found after the fire were found near the windows on the second floor.

The May 13 tragedy was a stark reflection of the poor working conditions prevailing in this country. The fire exposed not only the unfair treatment of factory workers, but also, the struggle the workers waged in the workplace just to be able to work and to earn something to fend for their families. We see how the prevailing system in Philippine society oppress the working masses whose labor is mainly for the profit of the few elite. We see how these people in power tighten the noose around the workers’ necks to produce more. We see how capitalists disregard the safety of the human workers to cut the cost of production.

This is not the first time that factories were burned and workers have died. May 2011, 11 workers from Eton Greenbelt died; May 2012, 17 workers died from a fire in Novo Factory, Butuan City; May 2014, 8 workers died in an illegally-operating electronics warehouse in Pasay City; January 2014, 12 workers died when a wall collapsed in a factory in Bulacan. All of these tragedies were not given justice and were unaccounted by any authority. We must not let the Kentex tragedy add to the list. Furthermore, we must see to it that no such tragedies shall follow.

It is unnerving to think that people in power become blinded by their greed and desire for more wealth and power. The management of Kentex factory is to be blamed for the inhumane work setting as well as their taking advantage of the conditions of their workers. The Kentex factory must own up to their fault and pay in full for their accountability.

I think that aside from creating more humane and safe work environments, workers must be given and granted all the rights that they are entitled to- rights that those people in power deny them. We owe so much to these workers who beat the clock five times a week in order to provide for our necessities. They deserve justice. They deserve to be free from fear of any kind of repression from people in power. # nordis.net

* The author is a fourth year BA Social Sciences student at the University of the Philippines Baguio.