CPP-NPA INFILTRATION OF THE LABOR SECTOR

The theory of Marxism that is the basis of the Communist struggle throughout the world anchors in the belief of mobilizing the workers to triumph over the ruling class. The workers are considered as the driving force that will lead the masses towards a socialist revolution.  Having such a significant role in the communist struggle, the labor sector is recognized and used by the local insurgent movements.  Capitalizing on labor unrest, workers are poised to go on strikes, pickets  and the like which results in the weakening of the country's economy and political system while the insurgents exploiting this condition is able to expand its influence and power.

            The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) utilizes the workers through the formation of legal fronts, underground organizations and armed organizations in the labor sector. The building up of said machineries is done through the infiltration of labor unions. Their primary targets of infiltration are the garment and textile, transport, communication and food industries because of their importance to the country's political and economic ’stability. Infiltration is based on the factory's labor strength, the growing discontent of workers and its proximity to government forces.

            Infiltration starts with the deployment of full time party cadres, called the labor cadre team (LCT), in factories and enterprises to arouse, organized and mobilizes the labor sector. It consists of two to three CPP cadres who shall conduct initial politization and investigate the social background of the workers. Those who seem to have potentials are organized to form the Propaganda Organizing Study Struggle Team (POSST), the basic building block for the CPP underground in the labor sector, which shall assist in conducting PBI of all factory workers, conduct propaganda activities and hold seminars on Genuine Trade Unionism (GTU). The POSST is composed of 3 - 6 workers whose proletarian consciousness has been activated.

            Once there are already six POSSTs formed with a minimum of 15 to 25 members, the Katipunan ng Rebolusyonaryong Manggagawa (KRM) Provisional Chapter is created. This chapter consisting of two subchapters is supervised by the central chapter managed by KRM officials. As their clout expands with at least 12 POSSTs formed, the formal KRM chapters can be established.  This chapter with sixty members comprising four subchapters is now able to control workers in every department of the factory. By this time, the basic Party Branch (PB) is established. The following are the purpose and objectives of the KRM: (1) promote and protect CPP interest in the labor sector; (2) support the NDF program; (3) destroy the pro-government movements like the TUCP, ALU and its principal federations; (4) raise the economic struggle to the political struggle; (5) launch a national general strike; and, (6) prepare for a national insurrection to support the NPA. 

            With the established underground organizations in every factory, they can easily form unions or influence existing unions which they organize to form alliances and/or federations. These organized labor forces are then used by the CPP in its destabilizing activities. These activities can either be categorized as militant legal struggles (e.g. strikes, boycotts, barricades, rally,  demonstrations,  confrontations and court cases) or workers' armed struggle (e. g. popular insurrection or armed uprising, raids, partisan warfare, sabotages and confiscations).

            Mobilization of workers for mass actions is the main tool of the insurgents in the labor sector in their campaign to overthrown the government. It is said that through mass actions, workers are able to actualize their revolutionary consciousness which is necessary in waging the socialist struggle. In order to mobilize the workers, agitation-propaganda is resorted to through seminars on theories and practices. Specifically, courses like Genuine Trade Unionism (GTU), Panimulang Araling Manggagawa(PAMA), Kursong Paggawang Organisasyon (KPO), Basic Mass Course (BMC), General Mass Course(GMC), Kursong Oryentasyong Pampartido (KOPP), Kurso ng Pambansang Demokratiko (KPD), Araling Aktibista (ARAK), Sosyalismo and Batayang Kursong Pampartido (BKP) are undergone by union members. Mao’s Five Golden Rays (5GR) and Marx’s Dialectical and Historical Materialism (DM), andPolitical Economy (Poli-eko) are sub-courses within the BKP.

            To help orienting the awareness of the workers towards militancy, the CPP has several education fronts to assist in doing the task. Among such organizations are the following: Ecumenical  Institute  for  Labor Education and Research (EILER), Labor Unity Forum (LUF), Visayas Institute for Research and Trade Union Education (VIRTUE), Center for Labor Education, Assistance and Research(CLEAR, Baguio), Self-Help Institute for Education and Labor Development (WIELD, Pasay and Makati), Bulacan Workers Institute (BWI), Central Luzon Workers Institute for Development and Education (C.L. WIDE), Area Institute for Development of Education and Services (AIDES, Marikina) and the Catholic church-based Labor Apostolate. These said organizations are responsible to the upliftment of the Filipino workers' level of consciousness which pushes the latter to be active in their pursuit of a national democratic society with a socialist perspective.

            International agencies like APHD or Asia Partnership Human Development, the National Center for Development Aid (NCOS-CNCD) in Belgium and in the Netherlands Organization for International Development Corporation (NOVIB), help in this task of preparing the minds of the workers by instituting projects in the form of seminars and other similar activities.

            Once the workers have been educated and their awareness have the level of critical militancy", they can be easily agitated and mobilized for mass actions either for local or domestic issues (i.e. factory related grievances) or national concerns such as US imperialism, capitalism, feudalism, oil price hike and the like. Both of these are then used as a thermometer for their preparedness in their eventual launching of a nationwide general strike which is the ultimate instrument of the working class in the socialist war.