Buklod ng Manggagawa ng FCF Manufacturing (BMFCFM) members voted in favor of staging a strike at FCF Manufacturing Corporation due to the company’s extremely stingy and insulting ₱2 wage increase offer in its Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) negotiatins. The union held a strike vote from February 29 to March 3.

Majority of the BMFCFM union members voted in favor of the strike (1,040 votes) while only 100 voted against it. The said company employs about 3,000 workers including contractuals. Its factory is located in the Freeport Area of Bataan (FAB) in Mariveles, Bataan. It produces luxury products such as leather bags and wallets under the Coach and Kate Spade brands. The FCF is a subsidiary of Fashion Focus Ltd, a China-based company.

The Nagkakaisang Manggagawa sa FAB (NMFAB) congratulated the BMFCFM on the successful poll. “The solidarity shown by the FCF workers to fight for their demands for higher wages and benefits is excellent,” according to them.

By voting to strike, the workers defeated the company management’s blatant acts of intimidation and repression. It can be recalled that the management of FCF and its sister company FPF secretly gathered the workers on February 26 to intimidate and campaign not to support the strike vote. Workers were also asked to transfer to the FPF and to voluntarily resign without wages purportedly due to lack of production.

“This just shows that FCF workers are not cowed and are determined to fight for their right to a living wage and benefits,” NMFAB said. Although this is a major victory, the group insists it is just the beginning of the fight for higher wages and benefits.

They say this sends a message to the FCF management. If the company continues to refuse to recognize the workers’ grievances, and not meet their reasonable demands, the union said workers should “continue and prepare well for the strike while continuing to educate fellow workers to study our conditions and mobilizing them to join our fight.”

The strike is a powerful weapon of workers showing how it is them who create wealth in the factory, said the NMFAB. “Also through the strike, we can show the capitalists that we are also people who should live in comfort and not a tool they can discard after use.”