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Luisita unions call for reinstatement of members

TARLAC CITY (April 28) — The United Luisita Workers Union (ULWU) and Central Azucarera de Tarlac Labor Union (CATLU) called on the Hacienda Luisita management to reinstate 35 union members, mostly CATLU officers, before undergoing negotiations.

CATLU Adviser Rene Tua said the management still refuses to give in to their demands even if the call for wage increase was reduced to P32 from the original P100, and P12,500 from the original P30,000 signing bonus.

“We decided to lower our demands but our co-workers who have been terminated should be reinstated”, he said.

In a separate interview, ULWU President Rene Galang said the management is willing to reinstate only 17 of the 35 retrenched workers.

“Majority of the 35 workers are CATLU officers, including their president, Ricardo Ramos. How can we pursue negotiations and settle disputes if such is the case?” he asked.

Meanwhile, the “Justice for Councilor Abelardo Ladera and other victims of Human Rights Violations” which is part of a nationwide campaign to stop the killing of political activists will be launched on May 1 as part of the Labor Day celebration.

Galang said the government has failed to give justice to the victims of the November 16 massacre in the Hacienda and other killings in the region particularly in Tarlac.

Aglipayan priest William Tadena and Tarlac City Councilor Abelardo Ladera were slain in March this year. The two were Bayan Muna members and known to be supporters of the workers’ strike.

“We fear that more cases of human rights violation will take place here since the government is not doing anything to solve the cases, especially now that military presence inside Hacienda Luisita has increased,” he added. # Joel A. Capulong for NORDIS

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