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Nestle Union President and KMU Leader Shot Dead! Justice Now for Nestle Workers! |
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Campaign Unavailable We're sorry, this alert is no longer available. If you would like to learn more about ways you can take action, please visit United Students Against Sweatshops.The short explanation of this alert was: Diosdado Fortuna, the leader of the Nestle workers' union in the Philippines which has been on strike since January 14, 2002 and the chairperson of the KMU (Kilusang Mayo Uno) regional chapter of the Solidarity of Workers in Southern Tagalog, was shot dead in Southern Tagalog on Sept 22, 2005. He was killed by unidentified motorcycle-riding gunmen on his way home. Fortuna, fondly called Ka Fort by friends and comrades, was the president of the Union of Filipro Employees Drug, Food & Allied Industries (UFE-DFA-KMU) in Cabuyao, Laguna. Fortuna, 50 years old, was an active member of KMU National Council and had served the militant labor movement for 29 years since 1976 as a labor leader of the multinational company Nestle workers' union. "As a principled labor leader, Ka Fort manned the Nestle picketlines since their strike started in January 2002. He consistently advocated workers' rights and welfare by actively serving the union and progressive people's movement in Southern Tagalog, despite dangerous conditions and threats on his life. He braved and fought the government's militarization campaign and atrocities on the people's rights and livelihood," said KMU Chairperson Elmer Labog. Ka Fort had received death threats and was under constant surveillance and harassment by military and paid goons of Nestle since the Cabuyao plant went on strike on January 14, 2002 over a deadlock in the collective bargaining agreement (CBA). The Nestle management refuses to include the retirement benefits of the workers in the CBA, despite an earlier ruling of the Supreme Court in favor of the workers. KMU also noted that on the day Fortuna was killed, there was heightened police and military presence in Laguna and several checkpoints were set up. Likewise, in the provincial rally on Sept 21, an alarming number of military forces were deployed both inside and outside the perimeter of Nestle plant, carrying long firearms. This tragic news comes on the heels of another Nestle-linked assassination, that of Luciano Enrique Romero Molina, who was a trade union leader and Nestle worker in Colombia with SINALTRAINAL. It comes as a personal shock to some of us here at USAS, as Ka Fort had met extensively with USAS's international intern this summer in the Philippines, as well as staffperson Camilo Romero.
Stand in solidarity with Nestle workers by expressing your outrage to the Nestle management, to Pres. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, Department of Labor and Employment for the Philippines and other concerned agencies.
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