The Situation of Workers in Sakamoto International Packaging Corporation (SIPC):

For more than 10 years, many of us have worked in Sakamoto. But despite our long service, dedication, and sacrifice, we are still not recognized as regular employees of the company. Instead, we are forced into being “agency workers.”

During the Petition for Certification of Election (PCE) at the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), Sakamoto argued that there is “no employer-employee relationship.” This is a clear denial of their responsibility to us, the workers who run and sustain their production every single day. Without workers, there is no Sakamoto. It is only just that we be recognized as regular employees of the company.

Like many other workers, we never applied to serve agencies—we chose to work directly for Sakamoto. However, the company utilizes labor agencies and contractualization schemes to evade its obligations, deny us our rights, and undermine our struggle for freedom of association and collective bargaining.

Both the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR, 1948) and the 1987 Philippine Constitution (Article XIII, Section 3) affirm our right to secure work, just wages, and humane working conditions. Yet, the Labor Code and DOLE’s Department Orders allow contractualization—a system that companies like Sakamoto exploit to strip us of benefits, union rights, and dignity at work.

This is a direct attack on human rights, workers’ rights, and the spirit of the Constitution.

Our Call to Action:

We, the workers of Sakamoto, call on:

• The company to stop denying our rights and recognize us as regular employees.
• The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) is to stand for workers, not corporations, and ensure the full protection of our constitutional rights.
• Our fellow workers, youth, and communities to support our struggle for genuine security of tenure, dignity at work, and the right to organize.

Together, let us fight contractualization, defend the freedom of association, and build a future where work is respected and rights are not treated as a privilege, but as a basic guarantee of justice and human dignity.                             

YCW-Philippines

United Concern Workers of Sakomoto and FIBC