MANILA, Philippines - Labor group Trade Union Congress of the Philippines said on Friday said it high time for government to help workers cope with the rising prices of basic commodities and cost of basic services by giving tax breaks.
The TUCP has presented the proposal during the pre-labor day breakfast dialogue with labor groups on April 29. The proposal seeks to enhance the fringe de minimis tax benefits as a way for executive government to help workers cope with soaring prices of basic commodities and cost of services.
The group still awaits for feedback from President Benigno Aquino III.
“It’s been more than a month since this tax break proposal was shown with the President (Aquino) and there has been no response from him since then. His executive action on this one will put more disposable income into workers’ pocket and improve their purchasing power in light of inflation,”Gerard Seno, executive vice president of the Associated Labor Unions-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (ALU-TUCP), said.
TUCP and its 48 other labor organizations under the coalition called Nagkaisa recommended during the dialogue with Aquino to revise the current version of the de minimis benefits enjoyed by thousands of workers to improve the take home pay of workers.
Not subject to any tax, the de minimis benefits are facilities or privileges given or offered by an employer to its employees as a means of encouraging productivity in the workforce. It also promotes company goodwill and appreciation to its employees.
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Seno said the among the proposals of the group is to revise the monetized unused vacation leave credits from the current 10 days to 15 days, retain the monetized value of vacation and sick leave credits paid to government officials and employees, and to raise medical cash allowance to dependents from P750 to P1,500 per employee per month.
He added that TUCP and Nagkaisa are also pushing for Bureau of Internal Revenue Commissioner Kim Henares to stop taxing the minimum wage negotiated out of the collective bargaining agreement.
“We want BIR to impose tax only on the incremental amount and not the entire amount itself,” Seno said.
The TUCP is supporting other tax relief measures pending at the Senate and the House of Representatives aimed at lowering income tax rate from 32 percent to 15 percent by 2015 and from 15 per cent to 13 percent by 2016 and from 13 percent to 10 percent by 2017. - Dennis Carcamo Philstar
Saturday, June 28, 2014
Tuesday, June 17, 2014
Solon seeks inclusion of labor education in college subjects
A lawmaker is calling for the inclusion of labor education in the college curriculum to make students aware of their rights and privileges as workers as well as of their responsibilities to society.
Rep. Raymond Democrito C. Mendoza (Party-list, TUCP) said it is imperative for college students who will eventually join the labor force as workers and employees to have knowledge about labor rights, worker's welfare and benefits, among others.
Mendoza filed House Bill 4399, which mandates the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) to develop a mandatory subject or course on labor education that will be separately offered together with existing subjects in the college curricula.
The bill refers to labor education as the teaching of labor rights, worker's welfare and benefits, the core labor standards, labor laws and regulations, national and global labor situation as well as labor market concerns.
"Labor market concerns include job matching for career guidance, labor issues, overseas work and related problems, decent work and decent wages and other topics related to labor and employment," Mendoza explained.
The party-list solon said the current curriculum in the tertiary level does not equip fresh graduates or the new entrants to the labor force with the basic knowledge of their rights.
"Knowledge of labor rights and standards is critical for college students to understand and use for their own advantage much more for those who opt to work overseas where they are governed by foreign laws and are away from home, their families and their own government and are especially vulnerable to abuse and exploitation," Mendoza explained.
He further added that with trade liberalization and cut throat competition, violations of the internationally accepted core labor standards such as security of tenure, collective bargaining, the right to strike, and the need for workers to receive a decent wage have become more prevalent regardless of a worker's educational attainment or academic background.
Mendoza said violation of workers' rights and core labor standards denigrate the dignity of labor and that the massive practice of contractualization and labor-only-contracting also adds to the woes of workers who continue to be marginalized despite their great contributions to economic and social development.
"Labor education of this sort is absolutely critical for workers to empower themselves and thereby provide them the knowledge to protect themselves from being cheated or taken advantage of by employers or recruiters in a globalized economy where there are no longer secure jobs, where the privatization phenomenon places even the jobs of public sector workers at risk and where the concept of decent work is under constant siege," Mendoza said.
Rep. Raymond Democrito C. Mendoza (Party-list, TUCP) said it is imperative for college students who will eventually join the labor force as workers and employees to have knowledge about labor rights, worker's welfare and benefits, among others.
Mendoza filed House Bill 4399, which mandates the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) to develop a mandatory subject or course on labor education that will be separately offered together with existing subjects in the college curricula.
The bill refers to labor education as the teaching of labor rights, worker's welfare and benefits, the core labor standards, labor laws and regulations, national and global labor situation as well as labor market concerns.
"Labor market concerns include job matching for career guidance, labor issues, overseas work and related problems, decent work and decent wages and other topics related to labor and employment," Mendoza explained.
The party-list solon said the current curriculum in the tertiary level does not equip fresh graduates or the new entrants to the labor force with the basic knowledge of their rights.
"Knowledge of labor rights and standards is critical for college students to understand and use for their own advantage much more for those who opt to work overseas where they are governed by foreign laws and are away from home, their families and their own government and are especially vulnerable to abuse and exploitation," Mendoza explained.
He further added that with trade liberalization and cut throat competition, violations of the internationally accepted core labor standards such as security of tenure, collective bargaining, the right to strike, and the need for workers to receive a decent wage have become more prevalent regardless of a worker's educational attainment or academic background.
Mendoza said violation of workers' rights and core labor standards denigrate the dignity of labor and that the massive practice of contractualization and labor-only-contracting also adds to the woes of workers who continue to be marginalized despite their great contributions to economic and social development.
"Labor education of this sort is absolutely critical for workers to empower themselves and thereby provide them the knowledge to protect themselves from being cheated or taken advantage of by employers or recruiters in a globalized economy where there are no longer secure jobs, where the privatization phenomenon places even the jobs of public sector workers at risk and where the concept of decent work is under constant siege," Mendoza said.
Saturday, June 7, 2014
TUCP to gov’t: Pay us back while we’re alive, not after we die
THE Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) is stupefied over President Aquino’s issuance of Presidential Executive Order 167 approving the increase in funeral and disability benefits for both public and private sector workers for as long as government institutions can finance them.
“The act of President Aquino issuing an executive order raising funeral and pension benefits as long as government has the money is a cold and surprising presidential prank for workers looking forward to a restful weekend after a week of hard work. Pinipersonal na yata ng pangulo kaming mga manggagawa matapos magtrabaho upang buhayin ang kanyang pamilya at paunlarin ang ating bansa,” said TUCP spokesperson Alan Tanjusay.
“Workers desperately need cash right now. We are desperate for a living wage and decent social protection benefits in raising and educating their children, and caring for our elderly. We demand government to pay us back for building our nation’s wealth during our lifetime and not after we die or when our bodies gives in,” he stressed adding: “At bakit kailangang hintayin pa na magkapera ang gobyerno at doon lamang magtataas ng pensyon at benepisyo?”
Aquino signed the order on May 26 directing the Employee’s Compensation Commission (ECC) to implement, as soon as they have money, ECC resolutions 13-07-14 and 13-11-37 in July and November 2013 approving the increase in funeral benefits from P10,000 to P20,000 for both private and public sector workers and a 10% across-the-board increase in pension only for the private sector.
In the Labor day dialogue with TUCP and other labor groups last month, labor groups asked Aquino to direct Commissioner Kim Henares to enhance fringe and de minimis benefit tax exemptions and remove government E-VAT on systems loss in the electricity cost as government effort to give workers more disposable income.
The demands are among the eight issues raised by the labor sector for Aquino to act on to improve workers’ well-being. - Journal.com.ph
“The act of President Aquino issuing an executive order raising funeral and pension benefits as long as government has the money is a cold and surprising presidential prank for workers looking forward to a restful weekend after a week of hard work. Pinipersonal na yata ng pangulo kaming mga manggagawa matapos magtrabaho upang buhayin ang kanyang pamilya at paunlarin ang ating bansa,” said TUCP spokesperson Alan Tanjusay.
“Workers desperately need cash right now. We are desperate for a living wage and decent social protection benefits in raising and educating their children, and caring for our elderly. We demand government to pay us back for building our nation’s wealth during our lifetime and not after we die or when our bodies gives in,” he stressed adding: “At bakit kailangang hintayin pa na magkapera ang gobyerno at doon lamang magtataas ng pensyon at benepisyo?”
Aquino signed the order on May 26 directing the Employee’s Compensation Commission (ECC) to implement, as soon as they have money, ECC resolutions 13-07-14 and 13-11-37 in July and November 2013 approving the increase in funeral benefits from P10,000 to P20,000 for both private and public sector workers and a 10% across-the-board increase in pension only for the private sector.
In the Labor day dialogue with TUCP and other labor groups last month, labor groups asked Aquino to direct Commissioner Kim Henares to enhance fringe and de minimis benefit tax exemptions and remove government E-VAT on systems loss in the electricity cost as government effort to give workers more disposable income.
The demands are among the eight issues raised by the labor sector for Aquino to act on to improve workers’ well-being. - Journal.com.ph
Friday, June 6, 2014
AANHIN PA ANG DAMO ...| 'Take care of the living before the dead,' TUCP tells PNoy
MANILA, Philippines -- A major labor organization on Friday blasted a Malacanang order increasing death and disability benefits for workers once funds are available, saying government should first look to workers’ demands for decent wages and social protection.
“The act of President Aquino issuing an executive order raising funeral and pension benefits as long as government has the money is a cold and surprising presidential prank for workers," Alan Tanjusay, spokesman of the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines, said in a statement.
"Workers desperately cash right now. We are desperate for a living wage and decent social protection ... We demand (that) government … pay us back for building our nation’s wealth during our lifetime and not after we die or when our bodies gives in,” Tanjusay said.
Executive Order No. 167, issued May 26, raises Employees’ Compensation Funeral Benefits for both the private and public sectors from P10,000 to P20,000 and employees’ compensation pension for all permanent partial disability, permanent total disability and survivorship pension in the private sector by 10 percent, across-the-board.
However, it also says the increases can be implemented only when "the stability of the State Insurance Funds is not affected and there is no corresponding increase in the employees’ compensation contribution from the employers.
These benefits are covered by Article 177(e) of Presidential Decree No. 626, as amended, which mandates the Employees’ Compensation Commission (ECC) to put in place a program to provide a package of benefits for public and private sector employees and their dependents in the event of work-connected contingencies such as sickness, injury, disability or death.
The TUCP said during their Labor Day dialogue with Aquino, they presented an eight-point list of demands to uplift the condition of the country's workers, including increased tax exemption and removal of the value added tax on systems loss in electricity bills. - InterAksyon.com
“The act of President Aquino issuing an executive order raising funeral and pension benefits as long as government has the money is a cold and surprising presidential prank for workers," Alan Tanjusay, spokesman of the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines, said in a statement.
"Workers desperately cash right now. We are desperate for a living wage and decent social protection ... We demand (that) government … pay us back for building our nation’s wealth during our lifetime and not after we die or when our bodies gives in,” Tanjusay said.
Executive Order No. 167, issued May 26, raises Employees’ Compensation Funeral Benefits for both the private and public sectors from P10,000 to P20,000 and employees’ compensation pension for all permanent partial disability, permanent total disability and survivorship pension in the private sector by 10 percent, across-the-board.
However, it also says the increases can be implemented only when "the stability of the State Insurance Funds is not affected and there is no corresponding increase in the employees’ compensation contribution from the employers.
These benefits are covered by Article 177(e) of Presidential Decree No. 626, as amended, which mandates the Employees’ Compensation Commission (ECC) to put in place a program to provide a package of benefits for public and private sector employees and their dependents in the event of work-connected contingencies such as sickness, injury, disability or death.
The TUCP said during their Labor Day dialogue with Aquino, they presented an eight-point list of demands to uplift the condition of the country's workers, including increased tax exemption and removal of the value added tax on systems loss in electricity bills. - InterAksyon.com
Wednesday, June 4, 2014
Anti-age discrimination advocates call for swift passage of a law
InterAksyon.com
The online news portal of TV5
MANILA - A multi-sectoral group on Tuesday called on the House of Representatives to take its cue from the Senate in moving to ban age discrimination in the workplaces.
Various labor groups including the Blas F. Ople Policy Center, that make up the "Abilidad, Hindi Edad" Coalition, made the call citing information that the Senate labor committee is now circulating its committee report on the proposed law.
"As advocates for the welfare of Filipino workers here and abroad, we believe that a qualified job applicant should be allowed to vie for a position without being judged solely because of his or her age," OFW advocate Susan Ople said.
"Various OFW groups and trade unions are united in calling for the swift passage of a law to stop the discriminatory practice of imposing age requirements on job applicants, thus causing demoralization among Filipino workers including our OFWs," she said.
During the CBCP Forum, Ople was joined by former OFW Violeta Moraleta, who narrated how she felt discriminated against due to age when she applied for a local job.
Pearl Teves of Pinoy Expats/OFW Blog Awards (PEBA) and Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) representative Flor Cabatingan were also present to express support for the passage of a law banning age discrimination in the workplace.
After conducting a public hearing, the Senate Labor Committee chaired by Sen. Jinggoy Estrada is expected to submit to the floor a committee report on the anti-age discrimination bill, logged as Senate Bill (SB) 29 and authored by Sen. Pia Cayetano.
The "Abilidad, Hindi Edad" Coalition is composed of the representatives of the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP), Ang Nars Partylist, the Blas F. Ople Policy Center, PSLINK, Obrero Pilipino-APL, Mandaluyong City Councilor Jesse Cruz, and the Federation of Free Workers.
The Ople Center serves as the coalition's secretariat.
Those who believe that age discrimination in the workplace should be prohibited can contact the policy center via 833-5337 for updates on its activities.
They can also support the online petition on age discrimination by via www.change.org/abilidadhindiedad.
During the first organizational meeting of the Coalition, resource person Diane Lynn Respall, programme officer of the United Nations International Labor Organization, noted that the Philippines does not have a specific law that prohibits discrimination in the workplaces despite being a signatory to ILO Convention 111, which states that all workers should be protected against discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, political opinion, national extraction or social origin, and other factors preventing them from participating in the labor market and reaching their full potential.
"We need the support not only of our national legislators but also among our local elective officials, especially those sitting in the local legislative councils," said city councilor Cruz, who once served as Mandaluyong’s vice mayor for three consecutive terms.
Cruz recently filed a resolution with the city council expressing support for the passage of an anti-age discrimination law.
Ople said the coalition intends to bring the issue not only to the attention of Congress but also to local governments that can pass ordinances to discourage discriminatory labor practices in their localities.
"Our OFWs whom we call our modern heroes, as well as all local workers, should be given fair and equal opportunity to land jobs in the country because of their skills and competence, and not with age as sole determinant. Unfortunately, a lot of our workers believe that there are better chances of finding work overseas because the work environment is not as restrictive and unfair," she said.
Last May 1, the Blas F. Ople Policy Center initiated an online petition seeking public support for the passage into law of a measure prohibiting age discrimination in workplaces.
To date, it has garnered 4,600 signatures and still counting.
Tuesday, June 3, 2014
A bill of Rep. Raymond Mendoza requires schools to teach labor subjects
The TWG on labor education bill filed by Rep. Raymond Mendoza has agreed to make labor education a stand alone mandatory subject in secondary level and voctech, and a free elective at the tertiary level. All schools are required to offer labor education both as a subject and an elective. The Committee on Higher and Technical Education is set to draft the substitute bill for adoption of Congress.
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