Outrage at murder of trade unionist in the Philippines

The ITUC has condemned the brutal murder of Filipino labour organiser Leonides "Dennis" Sequeña. Men riding a motorcycle shot Sequeña in Cavite, Philippines while he was attending a workers’ meeting on Sunday 2 June 2019. He was pronounced dead after arriving at the hospital.

“The Philippines has sank into a quagmire of brutality and the Duterte government bears heavy responsibility for this. The extra-judicial killings cannot continue with impunity and those responsible must be brought to justice. The government must ensure that the lives and security of workers and those who defend fundamental rights and freedoms are guaranteed,” said ITUC General Secretary Sharan Burrow

This is the 43rd case on record of assassinated labour rights defenders under the Duterte administration. The ITUC was informed that Sequeña was most recently working on several petitions for union certification elections in three companies inside the Cavite Export Processing Zone in Rosario. The ITUC has written to Secretary of Labor and Employment Silvestre Bello calling on him to fulfil his responsibilities and demanding an emergency meeting of the Monitoring Body of the National Tripartite Industrial Peace Council (NTIPC) to examine this case.

Read the letter to the Labor Minister

Read this article online

The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) represents 207 million members of 331 affiliates in 163 countries and territories.

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