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Hundreds of workers from southern Philippines have been camping out in Manila since 27 November 2018 to protest the labour conditions on Japanese-owned Sumitomo Fruit
Corporation (Sumifru) plantations. Since declaring a strike on 1 October 2018, the
workers have faced multiple attacks, including the killing of a prominent union member and the burning down of the union’s office and the houses of some members.

The company still fails to regularise its workers and instead uses contractualisation – short and fixed-term employment where workers do not have security of tenure, pensions or other protections or rights, illegal under Philippine law. The company also uses piece-rate schemes that reduces workers' pay to under half the legal minimum wage.

I've worked on bananas in several countries. Chiquita Brands paid $1.7m to AUC paramilitaries to assassinate trade union leaders, hundreds of them. Dole and others have knowingly used chemicals that endangered their workers lives. I was in meetings between workers and mangement of one farm in Costa Rica where 10,000 men had become sterile because of the chemicals, just on one farm.

Watch where your bananas come from, many of the producer companies have blood on their hands. Support the SUMIFRU workers strike!

Filename
Philippines_Hawkey_20190330_840.jpg
Copyright
Sean Hawkey, all rights reserved
Image Size
5760x3840 / 14.1MB
Contained in galleries
Lumad Bakwit School
Hundreds of workers from southern Philippines have been camping out in Manila since 27 November 2018 to protest the labour conditions on Japanese-owned Sumitomo Fruit<br /> Corporation (Sumifru) plantations. Since declaring a strike on 1 October 2018, the<br /> workers have faced multiple attacks, including the killing of a prominent union member and the burning down of the union’s office and the houses of some members. <br /> <br /> The company still fails to regularise its workers and instead uses contractualisation – short and fixed-term employment where workers do not have security of tenure, pensions or other protections or rights, illegal under Philippine law. The company also uses piece-rate schemes that reduces workers' pay to under half the legal minimum wage.<br /> <br /> I've worked on bananas in several countries. Chiquita Brands paid $1.7m to AUC paramilitaries to assassinate trade union leaders, hundreds of them. Dole and others have knowingly used chemicals that endangered their workers lives. I was in meetings between workers and mangement of one farm in Costa Rica where 10,000 men had become sterile because of the chemicals, just on one farm. <br /> <br /> Watch where your bananas come from, many of the producer companies have blood on their hands. Support the SUMIFRU workers strike!