Wal-Mart factory workers assaulted, fired for going on strike

In early September, 2006, the International Labor Rights Fund (ILRF) and MSN received an urgent request for the Philippine Workers' Assistance Centre (WAC) to assist Chong Won workers who were being harassed, intimidated and physically assaulted for supporting their union.

WAC also reported that two union leaders had been unjustly fired and that company security guards had distributed flyers to the workers threatening that if they voted in favour of a strike, the company would lose orders and the factory would close.

In the days and months that followed, the workers were forced to go on strike because their employer refused to negotiate with their union, a number of strikers were assaulted by Export Processing Zone (EPZ) police, 117 of the strikers were served termination notices, and many of the strikers were denied entry into the EPZ, leaving a handful of workers on the picket line. WAC's chairperson, Bishop Alberto Ramento, was brutally murdered after being placed on a military hit list. Two union activists from the Solidarity of the Cavité Workers were shot and one of them was killed.

Despite these enormous challenges, the workers fought long and hard to defend their union and their rights. MSN and ILRF pressured Wal-Mart, the factory's biggest customer, to act to protect the rights of the workers. The Worker Rights Consortium (WRC) conducted an independent investigation of the complaint and confirmed egregious violations of worker rights at the factory. A subsequent investigation carried out by Verité on behalf of Wal-Mart confirmed those conclusions. At MSN's request, seven major brands sourcing from the Philippines spoke out publicly on the pattern of violence against trade union and human rights promoters in the country, and eight companies reiterated the call for an independent investigation a second time in August 2007.

And, for the first time in MSN's experience, Wal-Mart proved willing to engage with its critics and to take a stand on the right to freedom of association at its supply factory, rather than cutting and running from the controversial factory.

Unfortunately, the factory's management proved so resistant to the idea of a trade union at their factory that they preferred to forego Wal-Mart's business and close the facility entirely rather than negotiate with the union. The Chong Won facility closed in the spring of 2007.

For MSN, the Chong Won campaign was significant in that Wal-Mart accepted the results of a third party report that addressed freedom of association at its supply factory and demanded respect for the workers trade union rights as a condition of future business. MSN was also able to harness the support of major international brands sourcing in the Philippines to push for human rights guarantees from the government.

However, the case illustrates how a recalcitrant owner can shut down their factory and open a new business even in situations where the buyer is supportive of corrective action. The challenge for the future is to identify the best ways and means of challenging the power of a manufacturer on all levels so that "cutting and running" at the manufacturer level becomes impossible. Our networks also need to successfully address the negative pressure from buyers (including lower prices and short lead times) that make acceptance of a trade union at the factory level anathema to factory owners.

• Read more about the Chong Won case