The court contrives and proceeds in a way so as to discount the testimony of the Filipino/a victims of this horrid chemical. Dole simply doesn't want to accept its responsiblity to the people it employs. What is the labour-union situation of these Filipino/a workers, many of them aging? Are they represented by a labour union at all? Is the representation any good? Perhaps they need a
Christian Labour Association of the Philippines to represent them, while not unnecessarily antagonizing management further. But Dole has advanced techniques of squelching labour unions, and woud undoubtedly go for a single unions represents all situation, not a plurist system of workers representation where each worker is represented only by the union, of many, which the worker selects among the competing unions, as most in accord with the worker's own values. (A Christian union doesn't exclude anyone who chooses representation under the Christian social principles, including sphere responsibility.) But, I woud imagine that relations are already strained in a major way between the banana plantation workers and the the international food company Dole. I certainly don't trust Dole.
Finally, in that this case was tried in a USA court in Los Angeles, it's obvious that Dole had already had its first advantage in these proceedings. But maybe the Filipino govt had already waived its right to try an American company within the jurisdiction of the Philippines own courts. This is often the price exacted from developing countries in order to get a company like Dole to invest there in the first place, and Dole's been there for at least 30 years according to the victims complaints. The news article didn't mention the banana plantation workers as having any union, nor did it mention what law firm represented them. Good things to know.
— Lawt
, refWrite Frontpage columnist for economics, business and labour news
ABS.CBNnews.com (Sept8,2k12) — this is a fine Philippines newspaper with print and online editions
US court dismisses
Filipino workers' lawsuit vs Dole
ABS-CBNnews.com
Posted at 08/09/2012 10:34 AM | Updated as of 08/09/2012 10:34 AM
MANILA, Philippines - A Los Angeles superior court has dismissed the lawsuit against Dole filed by Filipino banana plantation workers, who claimed to have been injured from exposure to the agricultural chemical DBCP.
The lawsuit, Macasa v. Dole, was filed last year with the 2,935 Filipino plaintiffs "claiming to be banana workers who had been injured from alleged exposure more than 30 years ago to the agricultural chemical DBCP."
The Philippine Supreme Court had already dismissed an identical lawsuit which was filed 13 years earlier.
"The (LA) Superior Court dismissed a case that should never have been brought in the first place. There is simply no reliable scientific basis for alleged injuries from the agricultural field application of DBCP, and the fraudulent claims in Macasa were no different than other similar cases," C. Michael Carter, Dole's executive vice president and general Counsel, said in a statement.
