Bi帽an City in Laguna map
MANILA, Philippines 鈥� Mario Fernandez, the leader of the Technol Eight Philippines Workers Union (TEPWU), has been a subject of surveillance and even stalking by still unknown men ahead of collective bargaining talks with the company, Technol Eight Philippines Corporation, next month.
In a statement released on Thursday, TEPWU alleged that an unknown armed man was caught on CCTV outside of Fernandez鈥檚 home in Cavite on August 16. The man, the statement read, 鈥渟tood in front of the family鈥檚 home for a few minutes before throwing a plastic bag that contained a sim card and money.鈥�
Fernandez also recounted that a man followed him after work at the TEPC factory in Binan, Laguna.
TEPWU also claimed that the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) and local barangay tanods also approached Fernandez鈥檚 family on August 12.
鈥淭hey pressured Fernandez鈥檚 wife and nephew to sign and receive a letter addressed to Fernandez from the NTF-ELCAC鈥� the statement read.
With TEPWU set to have a collective bargaining negotiation this month, the union believed that these incidents constitute 鈥渂ad faith鈥� on the part of the company.
鈥淲e heavily condemn the increased surveillance and intimidation on Mario Fernandez and his family and any attempt from the management, NTF-ELCAC, and the LGU to illegitimize our legal right to organize,鈥� TEPWU stated.
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