The Center for Trade Union and Human Rights or CTUHR calls on the management of electronics giant Nexperia to respect its Filipino workers’ right to strike and on the Philippine government to protect this right. The workers have legitimate grievances which the Nexperia Philippines Inc management refused to adequately address and which left them with no other choice than to hold a strike.

After protesting at the Labor Department head office in Intramuros, Manila yesterday morning, the Nexperia workers trooped to the company’s premises inside the Light Industry Science Park of the Philippines, a special economic zone located in Cabuyao town, Laguna province.

The workers, led by the Nexperia Philippines Workers Union (NPWU), an affiliate of the National Federation of Labor Unions of national labor center Kilusang Mayo Uno (NAFLU-KMU), started their strike yesterday, refusing to leave the factory premises. They are demanding the reinstatement of the union president and three other union officials, a significant wage increase, and an end to the series of layoffs in the company.

In front of the Labor Department’s office, Nexperia workers condemned the collusion between the Nexperia management and the government, as Labor Secretary Antonio Laguesma assumed jurisdiction over the labor dispute at the factory more than one month ago. The injunction orders the workers and the management to return to the status quo before the dispute, and workers who violate it may face dismissal and charges as well as the force of state forces that may be deployed to the workplace.

The Nexperia workers and their supporters argue that the company is not “indispensable to national interest” and should not be covered by the Labor Secretary’s power to assume jurisdiction. This power has also been criticized by the International Labour Organization’s Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions (ILO CEACR) for violating ILO Conventions 87 and 98 pertaining to workers’ right to unionize and collectively bargain.

Shortly after the workers started their strike, the management set in place various restrictions in the factory such as turning off the air conditioning and water supply and preventing use of utensils for eating. Electricity supply was cut off but was immediately restored. These actions, based on experiences with strikes, are usually preparations for repression.

We are therefore calling on the Nexperia management to respect their workers’ right to strike. Nexperia workers are producing chips that are essential to the functioning of electronic gadgets which have become vital to people’s lives and the economy. The public will not take it kindly if electronics workers face repression in asserting their rights amidst serious and legitimate grievances.

We are therefore calling on the Philippine government, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr and Labor Secretary Laguesma, to protect the Nexperia workers’ right to strike. The rights and lives of 1,800 Nexperia workers are on the line. The NPWU is one of the oldest labor unions in the country. Electronics is one of the government’s priority industries. The Nexperia workers’ strike is a litmus test for the government in upholding labor and human rights.