Thanks to Monica Urrutia for forwarding an interesting piece on the Hanjin Company and the struggle that workers in the Philippines faced in forming a Union- this is one of the projects that Precy has been working on.
SAMAHAN observed in the early weeks of March 2011 an alarming frequency in fatal accidents occurring at the Subic site. In a span of six days (March 8 to 14) there were five documented accidents that seriously injured six workers. Also, in April 8 to 15 there were four different serious accidents wherein two workers died. These accidents required confinement in the hospital. Less serious accidents such as minor skin wounds or abrasions, skin irritation, swollen and irritated eyes from over-exposure to welding fumes and metal fillings and a loss of a limb or two occur with alarming frequency. Every day, the long line of workers awaiting treatment from the nurses on duty at the small clinic has become a living testimony to how dangerous shipyard work is. In a bid to promote a safer workplace, the workers struggled to organize a union.
Continue reading at the Economic, Cultural, and Social Rights website.