AKBAYAN Solon Slams DOLE for Hanjin Deaths Cover-up

Calling the investigation of the Department of Labor and Employment haphazard and tantamount to a cover-up, AKBAYAN Party-list Representative Risa Hontiveros lambasted the findings of the DOLE Regional Office in Central Luzon for clearing Korean shipbuilder Hanjin of liability in the death of a worker.

“It is very suspicious why the DOLE Regional Office only investigated the last accident when at least 17 workers died since 2006 in the Korean shipbuilding facility. For almost two years now the DOLE has been remiss in its duties of ensuring workers safety in the shipyard, suddenly they will clear the Korean company of any liability,” the AKBAYAN representative pointed out.

The solon is particularly alarmed by the timing of the release findings on the accident. “DOLE cleared Hanjin of any responsibility a few days before the inauguration of its first ship on July 4 which President Arroyo is set to attend. Could it be that the DOLE is just sanitizing the reputation of the Korean firm since the President and other high ranking government officials will grace the unveiling of its first vessel?”

Rep. Hontiveros chided the DOLE Regional Office for what she calls the callousness of its investigation. “The DOLE failed to seriously investigate the occupational health and safety conditions. It is quite obvious that Hanjin has serious lapses in this concern given the many deaths and injuries caused by work-related accidents in the shipyard. Did the DOLE team even bother to interview workers regarding their conditions?”

Citing Article 128 of the Labor Code, Rep. Hontiveros said that the Secretary of Labor or his/her representatives has visitorial and enforcement powers. “The DOLE should have inspected the Hanjin facility a long time ago. After so many accidents, a comprehensive investigation unlike the mere inspection they did must be done immediately.”

The AKBAYAN solon stressed that other than investigating the occupational health and safety standards in the Hanjin facility, the DOLE should also investigate the labor subcontracting practices of the Korean company. “We have received reports that almost ninety percent of labor in Hanjin is subcontracted. This is made more serious by Hanjin’s practice of blaming its labor subcontractors for the accidents in its shipyard.”

Rep. Hontiveros is the author of HB 2453, a legislation to strengthen the security of tenure and promoting regular employment.

WORKERS COMMEMORATE MEMORIAL DAY FOR THOSE WHO DIED IN THE WORK PLACE

Highlights Workers’ Plight in Subic Korean Company

A ceremony and press conference will be held on Sunday, 27 April 2008 10am at Max's Restaurant, Olongapo City

“Jobs should provide workers with a living, not cause deaths”

For the International Commemoration Day for Dead and Injured Workers, activists and workers will reiterate the call for safe working environments. The Philippine commemoration will focus on the unsafe and “deadly” working conditions in the ship-building facility of Hanjin-Philippines in Subic where accidents and deaths are prevalent.

Panel:

AKBAYAN Rep. Risa Hontiveros-Baraquel
National Union of Building and Construction Workers (NUBCW)
Ship-builders and Construction Workers Association (SCWA)
Kilusan para sa Pambansang Demokrasya (KPD)
Task Force Hanjin (TFH)

AKBAYAN to seek congressional probe over corruption

AKBAYAN to seek congressional probe over corruption, other illegal acts in Hanjin investment


Deputy minority leader and AKBAYAN Rep. Risa Hontiveros said today that the explosion at the dry dock of Hanjin Heavy Industries & Construction Co. Ltd in Subic is just the tip of the iceberg, adding that allegations that corruption and other illegal acts have been committed by public officials involved in the largest foreign investor under the GMA administration.

Rep. Hontiveros said that AKBAYAN would push for a congressional probe on the controversy once session resumes on January 28.

The solon, who was in Subic to inspect the relocation site for the fisherfolks who were illegally displaced to construct Hanjin's dry dock in Redondo Peninsula, Brgy. Cawag in Subic, said that occupational safety standards were not observed by the Korean firm. She urged the Labor Committee of Congress to investigate the lapse in enforcing labor standards in Hanjin.

"This was a tragedy waiting to happen. Clearly, there was negligence and a lapse in enforcing safety standards," she said. "There was not even a doctor in Hanjin's clinic when the explosion took place, proving that contingency measures are not in place in the site at all."

She also urged Congress to investigate allegations of corruption involving the relocation of fisherfolks displaced by the dry dock.

"Hanjin reportedly gave the government 18 million to relocate the fisherfolks. Ironically, the fisherfolks were relocated to a site on top of the mountain. Substandard and overprice materials were clearly used, and the living condition of the relocatees was disturbing," Rep. Hontiveros said.

She likewise said that overpriced materials were apparently used. "A bamboo flagpole cost P17,000, while incomplete bathrooms were priced at P400,000 each," she revealed. "About 23 projects for the relocation of fisherfolks were clearly ghost projects."

She said that the law was also violated when the fisherfolks were evicted from their homes to give way to the construction of Hanjin's dry dock. "There was no court order or damage compensation, as provided by existing laws. This is an act of development aggression," Rep. Hontiveros said, saying that the failure of the government to observe the law and the rights of Filipinos in attracting foreign investments should likewise be probed.