Photos from the Lepanto Strike 2005
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Last updated: November 29, 2006
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LEPANTO STRIKE 2005 PHOTO GALLERY

NOT ALL IS LOST. After braving three months of toil and strife, the labor dispute at the Lepanto Consolidated Mining Company in Mankayan, Benguet province has been put to rest with the sighning of a Memorandum of Agreement and the Lepanto Employees Union-NAFLU-KMU. For now, the signing of the MOA is a victory for the workers, yet the lessons and gains are far better victories in the course of the strike. The LEU went on strike also in 2003 and had almost all of its demands heeded.

The Cordillera Peoples Alliance salutes the 19 union officers for resolutely leading the union in their battle despite brutal attacks from the company and State armed forces, for making the supreme sacrifice of accepting their dismissal from work to save the union membership. Please attribute all photos to Cordillera Peoples Alliance/NORDIS Photos.

The Cordillera Peoples Alliance gives its thanks and appreciation to all individuals and organizations who extended their support (solidarity statements, pressure letters to concerned individuals, organizations, and agencies; logistical and financial support) to the Lepanto Employees Union on the duration od ther 101-day strike versusu the Lepanto Consolidated Mining Company, from June 2 to September 10. Your concern and support to the workers' strike has advanced the struggle of indigenous peoples in the Cordillera region against national oppression and capitalist exploitation.
 
   
           
The strike started on June 2, 2005. All five main portals to the underground mines were manned in shifts by the workers, their wives, and the nearby communities. The workers picketed the Department of Labor and Employment in Baguio City to condemn the said agency's decisions that mostly favored the company. The concerted efforts of nearby peasant communities helped sustain the picketlines.
 
           
Between tears, Salem Dilem, a miner's daughter, salutes her father and the miners for standing their ground and advancing the workers' interests and their families' on the 3-month strike.  

The Lepanto Management, aside from its own security force, had the State armed forces on its side, committing human rights violations against the workers and their families. The Cordillera Labor Center has documted over 20 cases of human rights violations committed against the workers.

 

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