The militant Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) lambasted the Hacienda Luisita Inc. management for again insisting that its anti-worker and and-peasant stance concerning the labor and land dispute in the estate should prevail. 

According to Ka Willy Marbella, “instead of meeting the aggrieved farmworkers halfway the HLI management still refuses to reinstate the retrenched 73 farmworkers from the United Luisita Worker’s Union (ULWU) and the 35 workers from the Central Azucarera de Tarlac Labor Union (CATLU). What is worse is that now the supposedly guaranteed mandays for the farmworkers is also being scrapped by the management. This ultimately means that the farmworkers would have no job security and they will be worse off, than before,”

“We will not allow this to happen. The HLI management seems to have a blatant disregard for the welfare of its workers and farmworkers. Worse it seems that the management had also maneuvered to reclassify 3,200 hectares of the estate, an illegal move under their own rules in th stock distribution option (SDO), without even the knowledge of its stockholders, the farmworkers,” added Marbella.

As for his part Rodelson Mesa, spokesperson of AMBALA and is also an adviser of ULWU, “the management is again trying to fool us and and we have had enough. For more than a decade we have called for the junking of the SDO but the Department of Agrarian Reform has done nothing. If still the HLI management fails to meet the farmworkers halfway on the last negotiation this coming Wednesday then we will withdraw all our stocks in the corporation,”

“We will reclaim our lands and be our own masters. They have abused and exploited us long enough. It is time for us to take what is rightfully ours,” ended Mesa. # # #
 

KMP - 22 February 2005