Labor mission to look into plight of banana workers

DAVAO CITY — The International Labor Solidarity Mission has started looking into the plight of Southern Mindanao’s banana plantation workers who have reportedly long been suffering from unfair labor practices.

The labor mission is conducting a fact-finding mission starting today to find out what ails the banana industry and if the different concerns of its workers are adequately addressed by the multinational firms operating in the region.

The banana industry, which is the country’s leading export industry, is mostly based in Southern Mindanao where several plantations are located, employing close to 100,000 workers who claimed to be grossly underpaid and do not enjoy any benefits.

More than three-fourths of the banana workers were said to be working on contractual basis in spite of the harsh labor conditions they are subjected to.

According to the Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) Southern Mindanao chapter, the woes of the plantation workers have reportedly continued despite the fact that banana exports last year earned nearly $1 billion.

The Philippines is said to rank No. 2 among banana-exporting countries in the world as export demand continues to grow by three to six percent annually.

"What is said is the transnational companies that operate these banana plantations continue to rake in huge profits but much to the disadvantage of the workers," said KMU Southern Mindanao chairman Romualdo Basilio.

To be participated in by more than a dozen foreign delegates, the international labor mission that starts today will conduct a four-day fact-finding mission in the banana plantations in Compostela Valley.

The results of the fact-finding mission shall be presented to the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) and other international human rights and labor organizations, including the International Labor Organization and the United Nations.

KMU-Southern Mindanao Secretary-General Omar Bantayan told The STAR that banana industry workers are among the most underpaid and overworked workers in the country.

Aside from extreme low wages that are below minimum wage levels, among the problems of the banana workers are the lack of proper safety equipment for handling tools and chemicals, long working hours, health problems and obliging entire families to work the field through piece rate without compensation so as to meet production quota.

"These are matters that need to be addressed. The welfare of the workers have to be attended to and not just for the sake of profits that the multinational firms get," Bantayan added.