Violence against workers had been a usual sight nowadays. Violence against workers includes failure to pay the legal minimum wage, forced and excessive overtime, and a two year campaign to deny workers their right to unionize. According to www. cleanclothes. org, the violence in the Philippines still continues up to date.
Certain example was the violence in Cavite Export Processing Zone where a labor leader Gerardo Cristobal was shot last April 28, 2006 and chairman of the board of the Workers Assistance Center bishop Alberto Ramento was also killed on October 3 the same year.Another widespread violence against workers is child labor. According to Human Rights Watch (HRW), a worldwide organization that fights against labor violence, domestic workers often experience physical abuse, sexual harassment, psychological abuse, forced labor and trafficking. For this reason, government and non-government organizations take steps to fight against the rampant violence.HRW recommends government to immediately eliminate the worst forms of child labor and collaborate with the International Labour Organization in establishing programs to fight against labor violence.
Another effective step would be enforcing equal protection of the labor laws to domestic workers that includes the right wage, overtime pay, rest days, benefits and compensations. Labor laws must also be enforced and anyone found accountable for the violence must be prosecuted.In addition to these, Network Opposed to Violence Against Women Migrants or NOVA urges the congress of the Philippines to repeal Sec. 29 and 30 of R.
A. 8042 and stop the full deregulation of the labor export industry and recommends the government to create a precise and credible database on the situation of overseas workers, most especially human rights violations and forms of violence that they experience.
