The Alyansa sa mga Mamumuo sa Sugbo-Kilusang Mayo Uno (AMA Sugbo-KMU) condemned the impending termination of 200 workers at the Coca-Cola plant in Cebu. Among those to be terminated are all the members of the Progressive Workers Association in Exeltech and Manpower Services Incorporated – Coca-cola Cebu (PWAETMSICCC-IBM-KMU).

The mass termination and union-busting will be carried out through the replacement of the manpower agency from which the company sources its workers. The company switched from its contracted Exel-Tech Manpower and Services to the manpower agency Xisco. Many of those terminated have been working for the company for 12 to 17 years.

“This is clearly an attack on job security and an attempt at union busting,” according to the January 13 statement of AMA Sugbo-KMU. Instead of regularizing the workers as ordered by the Department of Labor and Employment, Coca-Cola is set to slyly carry out the mass termination using the “end of contract” clause with its manpower agency. The group called for regularization and non-termination, and an end to all forms of contractualization.