Wednesday, May 20, 2015
Nagkaisa coalition held a rally to condemn Kentex management poor labor standards that resulted to factory fire killling 72 workers
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| KIlusan Pres Arthur Juego spearheads spray painting of Kentex factory |
Tuesday, May 19, 2015
NAGKAISA labor coalition calls on creation of a tripartite labor laws compliance inspection task force
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| PNOY, nga-nga sa mga manggagawang biktima ng sunog - Ensure health and safety of workers |
The lives and the scathing injury of KENTEX workers are the heavy price for the complete breakdown of government’s labor laws enforcement and for the employers’ patent disregard to the mandatory laws on wages, social protection benefits and the statutory basic workplace safety guidelines.
The KENTEX factory workers’ deaths depict the abominable culture of indifference among many public servants and profit-oriented employers to enforce existing guidelines that uphold workers’ basic rights and well-being.
Therefore, we, the undersigned convenors of the NAGKAISA Labor Coalition, collectively call on Labor Secretary Baldoz to establish a tripartite "Task Force Valenzuela" (TFV) to undertake a surprise sweep and unannounced inspection of factories and plants in the City of Valenzuela to crack down on sweatshops.
In the light of the tragedy that befell our fellow workers in KENTEX, we believe that it now becomes imperative to verify employer compliance with all existing labor laws and safety standards, fire and building structure standards and to determine compliance with all other city requirements for the issuance of business permits and operational licenses.
Justice must now not just be for the KENTEX dead and their families but also for the countless workers nationwide who labor under the same pakyawan system or through unregistered and unregulated labor manning agencies, to be deployed without any statutory benefits, least of all minimum wages, into firetraps where their lives are sacrificed on the altar of profits. Disposable lives and in the case of the KENTEX workers, thrown away.
We strongly believe that the immoral and illegal activities of the KENTEX owners are actually widespread in Valenzuela, and the inspections should begin in the very factory neighborhood where the fire occurred and with those firms also serviced by the unregistered manning agency. The inspections should also cover those firms that undertook voluntary self-assessments of their labor standard compliance. It is never the best way to enforce labor or safety standards by relying on the mere "say-so" of a very self-interested employer and factory owner.
This proposed crackdown in Valenzuela will have national resonance and will hopefully, by making an example of those who will be caught, ensure that labor standard compliance will be honored more in the practice, rather than in its breach.
We urge the DOLE to seize the historical opportunity to render justice not just for the KENTEX workers but to finally break the widespread culture and practice of corporate irresponsibility that made the loss of the workers lives not just immoral but evil and criminal.
Wednesday, May 13, 2015
Palace toots horn on hunger decline
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| HUNGER GAMES Street dwellers take their meals on the pavement along a busy road in Manila. Malacañang claimed credit for the improved numbers shown in the latest SWS survey. PHOTO RUY L. MARTINEZ |
MALACAÑANG on Tuesday attributed the decline in the number of families experiencing “involuntary” hunger in the first quarter of the year to the success of its social welfare program.
“The welfare of the Filipino people has always been at the front and center of the Aquino administration,” its spokesman Edwin Lacierda said in a statement.
The Palace official made the statement in reaction to the release of a Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey showing the nation’s hunger rate for the first quarter of the year declining to 13.5 percent (around 3 million families) from 17.2 percent (3.8 million families) recorded in December 2014.
The 3.7 point decline was the lowest in 10 years, the SWS said.
The March 2015 survey showed that 11.1 percent or an estimated 2.5 million families experienced moderate hunger while 2.4 percent or 522,000 families endured severe hunger in the last three months.
The survey was conducted from March 20 to 23 among 1,200 adults nationwide.
“Moderate Hunger refers to those who experienced hunger only once or a few times in the last three months, while Severe Hunger refers to those who experienced it often or always in the last three months,” the SWS said.
The 2015 first quarter hunger survey was released just a week after the first quarter self-rated poverty among Filipino families was reported at 51 percent, a point below 2014’s fourth quarter of 52 percent.
The first three months’ self-rated food poverty also dropped to 36 percent from the previous quarter’s 41 percent.
Quality of life
Lacierda said government initiatives, such as the conditional cash transfer program and the expansion of PhilHealth coverage and reforms in basic education, among others, were among the factors that contributed to the decline.
The numbers and the rhetorics, however, did not impress 72-year-old Elena who hops from one fastfood restaurant to another in Intramuros, Manila, to ask for leftovers from diners.
Elena, who claims to have been homeless for almost 40 years, told The Manila Times she is lucky if she gets to eat at least once a day.
Totong, a scrawny 12-year old, was sitting by the entrance of a convenience store along A. Soriano Avenue, also in Intramuros, hoping that office workers and students would take pity on him and spare him some loose change or even a piece of candy.
When asked if he had eaten for the day, the boy replied, “Hindi pa po [Not yet].”
Jennifer, 28, a sidewalk vendor, said that despite her meagee resources, she and her family could still have three square meals a day.
‘Pagpag’
The moderate Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP), however, said fewer families experienced hunger because pagpag is now readily and widely accessible to poor families especially in Metro Manila.
Pagpag is Filipino slang for leftover food scavenged from garbage cans and dumps. The word itself literally means to “shake off” and refers to the act of shaking the dirt off of the edible portion of the leftovers. - by CATHERINE TALAVERA REPORTER AND JOEL M. SY EGCO SENIOR REPORTER With JING VILLAMENTE
‘Pagpag’ caused surveyed hunger to drop?
A LABOR group on Tuesday downplayed the results of a survey by the group Social Weather Stations saying the number of people experiencing hunger had declined, saying that was due to the proliferation of “pagpag” food that is accessible to poor Filipinos especially in Metro Manila.
“Pagpag” is a Filipino term for leftover food from fast-food restaurants that is scavenged from garbage sites and dumps.
“We would like to attribute this development to the proliferation of “pagpag” food— very cheap, very delicious and easily accessible to the poor,” said Trade Union Congress of the Philippines-Nagkaisa spokesman Alan Tanjusay.
The TUCP-Nagkaisa said the Aquino administration failed to make quality living for the majority of Filipinos by not meeting three benchmarks, including raising the income of the poor.
“The government failed to make power, water, telecom services affordable and the third is that the government’s enormous savings could have been dedicated to new jobs,” the TUCP said.
SWS said about three milion Filipino families experienced “involuntary hunger” at least once during the first quarter of 2015.
The First Quarter 2015 Social Weather Survey, conducted from March 20 to 23, 2015, also showed that this was 3.7 points below the 17.2 percent (estimated at 3.8 million families) in December 2014, and the lowest in 10 years since May 2005, when it was at 12.0 percent, SWS said.
The survey firm said the measure of “Hunger” refers to involuntary suffering because the respondents answer a survey question that specifies hunger due to lack of food to eat.
SWS said both “Moderate Hunger” and “Severe Hunger” likewise declined.
The 13.5 percent total Hunger in March 2015 is the sum of 11.1 percent (estimated at 2.5 million families) who experienced Moderate Hunger and 2.4 percent (estimated at 522,000 families) who experienced Severe Hunger, SWS said.
Moderate Hunger refers to those who experienced hunger “Only Once” or “A Few Times” in the last three months, while Severe Hunger refers to those who experienced it “Often” or “Always” in the last three months.
The few who did not state their frequency of hunger were classified under Moderate Hunger.
Both Moderate Hunger and Severe Hunger fell between December 2014 and March 2015.
Moderate Hunger fell by 2.1 points, from 13.2 percent (estimated at 2.9 million families) to 11.1 percent.
Severe Hunger declined by 1.7 points from 4.1 percent (est. 888,000 families) to 2.4 percent.
Hunger fell amid the decline in Self-Rated Poverty and Self-Rated Food Poverty.
There was a 3.7-point fall in Hunger, a 1-point decline in Self-Rated Poverty, and a 5-point decline in Self-Rated Food-Poverty, between December 2014 and March 2015.
Hunger fell among the Poor, the Food-Poor, the Non-Poor and the Non-Food-Poor.
Overall Hunger (i.e. Moderate plus Severe) fell among the Self-Rated Poor by 2.1 points, from 21.3 percent in December 2014 to 19.2 percent in March 2015.
It fell among the Not Poor/On the Borderline by 5.4 points, from 12.8 percent to 7.4 percent over the same period.
It fell among the Self-Rated Food-Poor by 4.9 points, from 28.8% to 23.9 percent.
It fell among the Not Food-Poor/Food-Borderline by 1.3 points, from 9.0 percent to 7.7 percent.
At any point in time, Hunger among the Self-Rated Food-Poor is always greater than Hunger among the Self-Rated Poor. - By Vito Barcelo, Sandy Araneta | Manila Standard Today
“Pagpag” is a Filipino term for leftover food from fast-food restaurants that is scavenged from garbage sites and dumps.
“We would like to attribute this development to the proliferation of “pagpag” food— very cheap, very delicious and easily accessible to the poor,” said Trade Union Congress of the Philippines-Nagkaisa spokesman Alan Tanjusay.
The TUCP-Nagkaisa said the Aquino administration failed to make quality living for the majority of Filipinos by not meeting three benchmarks, including raising the income of the poor.
“The government failed to make power, water, telecom services affordable and the third is that the government’s enormous savings could have been dedicated to new jobs,” the TUCP said.
SWS said about three milion Filipino families experienced “involuntary hunger” at least once during the first quarter of 2015.
The First Quarter 2015 Social Weather Survey, conducted from March 20 to 23, 2015, also showed that this was 3.7 points below the 17.2 percent (estimated at 3.8 million families) in December 2014, and the lowest in 10 years since May 2005, when it was at 12.0 percent, SWS said.
The survey firm said the measure of “Hunger” refers to involuntary suffering because the respondents answer a survey question that specifies hunger due to lack of food to eat.
SWS said both “Moderate Hunger” and “Severe Hunger” likewise declined.
The 13.5 percent total Hunger in March 2015 is the sum of 11.1 percent (estimated at 2.5 million families) who experienced Moderate Hunger and 2.4 percent (estimated at 522,000 families) who experienced Severe Hunger, SWS said.
Moderate Hunger refers to those who experienced hunger “Only Once” or “A Few Times” in the last three months, while Severe Hunger refers to those who experienced it “Often” or “Always” in the last three months.
The few who did not state their frequency of hunger were classified under Moderate Hunger.
Both Moderate Hunger and Severe Hunger fell between December 2014 and March 2015.
Moderate Hunger fell by 2.1 points, from 13.2 percent (estimated at 2.9 million families) to 11.1 percent.
Severe Hunger declined by 1.7 points from 4.1 percent (est. 888,000 families) to 2.4 percent.
Hunger fell amid the decline in Self-Rated Poverty and Self-Rated Food Poverty.
There was a 3.7-point fall in Hunger, a 1-point decline in Self-Rated Poverty, and a 5-point decline in Self-Rated Food-Poverty, between December 2014 and March 2015.
Hunger fell among the Poor, the Food-Poor, the Non-Poor and the Non-Food-Poor.
Overall Hunger (i.e. Moderate plus Severe) fell among the Self-Rated Poor by 2.1 points, from 21.3 percent in December 2014 to 19.2 percent in March 2015.
It fell among the Not Poor/On the Borderline by 5.4 points, from 12.8 percent to 7.4 percent over the same period.
It fell among the Self-Rated Food-Poor by 4.9 points, from 28.8% to 23.9 percent.
It fell among the Not Food-Poor/Food-Borderline by 1.3 points, from 9.0 percent to 7.7 percent.
At any point in time, Hunger among the Self-Rated Food-Poor is always greater than Hunger among the Self-Rated Poor. - By Vito Barcelo, Sandy Araneta | Manila Standard Today
Sunday, May 10, 2015
Framework for the comprehensive management of hazardous and radioactive wastes pushed
The House of Representatives is set to approve on third and final reading a bill that would formulate a framework for the comprehensive management of hazardous and radioactive wastes.
The House Committee on Ecology, chaired by Rep. Amado S. Bagatsing (5th District, Manila), endorsed and sponsored House Bill 5585, which substituted House Bills 86, 393, 826, 1059, 2585 and 3191 authored, respectively, by Reps. Ma. Lourdes Acosta-Alba (1st District, Bukidnon), Susan A. Yap (2nd District, Tarlac), Marcelino R. Teodoro (1st District, Marikina City), Neptali M. Gonzales II (Lone District, Mandaluyong City), Douglas S. Hagedorn (3rd District, Palawan), and Raymond Democrito C. Mendoza (Party List, TUCP).
"Despite all our laws scattered in different enactments and decrees, we need a comprehensive and consolidated law that will provide us with an effective hazardous and radioactive waste management framework, which would require an inter-agency coordination both in the national and local government to oversee and make inventory of hazardous waste creators and treatment, storage and disposal facilities," Yap said.
According to Yap, there are several laws on the management of hazardous and radioactive wastes. These include Presidential Decree 1152 or "The Philippine Environmental Code," which provides a basis for an integrated waste management regulation starting from waste source to methods of disposal, mandates specific guidelines to manage municipal wastes, sanitary landfill and incineration, and disposal sites in the Philippines.
Yap also cited Republic Act 6969, the "Toxic Substances, Hazardous and Nuclear Wastes Control Act," which responds to increasing problems associated with toxic chemicals and hazardous and nuclear wastes, and Presidential Decree 984 (Pollution Control Law), PD 1586 (Environmental Impact Assessment System Law), RA 8749 (Clean Air Act); and RA9003 (Ecological Solid Waste Management Act), which require hazardous waste management.
As for RA9003, Yap said while it was lauded as a landmark legislation on proper handling of solid waste, it only went as far as defining hazardous wastes and leaving the management to the Local Government Units (LGUs) without providing sufficient enough guidance for the law.
Yap said if only there was already a law on the proper management and disposal of hazardous wastes, the 1996 Marcopper mining disaster in Marinduque would not have happened. The tragedy was one of the largest mining disasters in Philippine history that made headlines around the world, she noted.
"The discharge of mining tailings into the Boac River instantly killed the 27-kilometer long river, decimated the fish and other biodiversity in the habitat, buried at least one village underneath a toxic mud, depriving tens of thousands locals of their livelihood," Yap said.
In 2004, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources ((DSWD) registered 3,801 hazardous wastes generators, which produce 226 million tons of hazardous wastes annually. Meanwhile, the World Health Organization has estimated that, based on population projections, local healthcare waste could reach as much as 69.5 tons per day by 2050.
Just last July, the EcoWaste Coalition, an environmental non-government organization, raised the alarm on the presence of hazardous wastes dumped at Pier 18 of Manila composed of used computer hardware, chip boards, and cellular phones, which contain heavy metals that are toxic to humans.
"Our experience shows that a more comprehensive hazardous and radioactive wastes management is of extreme necessity in order to avert industrial disasters that could potentially destroy our environment and ecology, and ultimately, our people's health and safety," Yap said.
House Bill 5585, to be known as the "Hazardous and Radioactive Wastes Management Act," shall apply to the generation, possession, collection, recovery, reuse, storage, transport, treatment and disposal of hazardous and radioactive wastes in the country and shall cover the entry and transit into the Philippine territory of such wastes.
After formulating the criteria for identifying and listing of hazardous and radioactive wastes, the DENR shall prepare a National Hazardous and Radioactive Wastes Management Status Report (NHRWMS) in coordination with the Department of Health (DOH), the Philippine Nuclear Research Institute (PNRI) and other concerned agencies.
The NHRWMS Report shall be the basis in the preparation and formulating a framework that would embody the policies pursuant to the proposed Act.
The framework shall be adopted as the official blueprint for hazardous and radioactive wastes management with which all relevant government agencies must comply.
The measure creates an Inter-agency Technical Advisory Council for purposes of policy integration, harmonization and coordination of functions.
Aside from provisions of rewards and incentive schemes, the measure also provides liabilities, prohibitions, fines, damages and penalties, administrative sanctions, citizen suits and Strategic Legal Action Against Public Participation.
The DENR, the DOH and the PNRI, shall promulgate the implementing rules and regulations, in consistent with other rules and regulations issued by relevant government agencies and instrumentalities relative to hazardous and radioactive wastes management.
In addition to its mandated functions, the Joint Congressional Oversight Committee created under Republic Act 9003 or the "Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000" shall also monitor the implementation of this proposed Act.
Co-authors are Reps. Christopher S. Co (Party List, AKO BICOL), Rodel M. Batocabe (Party List, AKO BICOL), Agapito H. Guanlao (Party List, BUTIL), CesarV. Sarmiento (Lone District, Catanduanes), Anthony G. Del Rosario (1st District, Davao Del Norte), Victoria G. Noel (Party List, AN WARAY), Emi G. Calixto-Rubiano (Lone District, Pasay City), Belma A. Cabilao (1st District, Zamboanga Sibugay), Dan S. Fernandez (1st District, Laguna), Mel Senen S. Sarmiento (1st District, Western Samar), Eric L. Olivarez (1st District, Paranaque City), Rolando A. Uy (1st District, Cagayan de Oro City), Napoleon S. Dy (3rd District, Isabela ), Erico Aristotle C. Aumentado (2nd District, Bohol), Evelina G. Escudero (1st District, Sorsogon), Sol Aragones (3rd District, Laguna), Ansaruddin A.M. A. Adiong (1st District, Lanao Del Sur), Cheryl P. Deloso-Montalla (2nd District, Zambales), Joseller M. Guiao (1st District, Pampanga), Imelda R. Marcos (2nd District, Ilocos Norte), Alex L. Advincula (3rd District, Cavite), Dakila Carlo E. Cua (Lone District, Quirino), Isidro T. Ungab (3rd District, Davao City), Thelma Z. Almario (2nd District, Davao Oriental), Carlos M. Padilla (Lone District, Nueva Vizcaya), Frederick F. Abueg (2nd District, Palawan), Pedro B. Acharon, Jr. (1st District, South Cotabato), Nicasio M. Aliping, Jr. (Lone District, Baguio City), Magnolia Rosa C. Antonino (4th District, Nueva Ecija), Rosa Marie J. Arenas (3rd District, Pangasinan), Leopoldo N. Bataoil (2nd District, Pangasinan), Silvestre H. Bello III (Party List, 1 BAP), Anthony M. Bravo (Party List, COOP NATCCO), Lawrence Lemuel H. Fortun (1st District, Agusan Del Norte), Gwendolyn F. Garcia (3rd District, Cebu), Ana Cristina Siquian Go (2nd District, Isabela), Anthony V. Gullas Jr.(1st District, Cebu), Fernando L. Hicap (Party List, ANAKPAWIS), Mark Llandro L. Mendoza (4th District, Batangas), Victor F. Ortega (1st District, La Union), Leah S. Paquiz (Party List, ANG NARS), Mariano U. Piamonte, Jr. (Party List, A TEACHER), Terry L. Ridon (Party List, KABATAAN), Roman T. Romulo (Lone District, Pasig City), Estrella B. Suansing (1st District, Nueva Ecija), Randolph S. Ting (3rd District, Cagayan), Eulogio R. Magsaysay (Party List, AVE), Julliette T. Uy (2nd District, Misamis Oriental), Victor J. Yu (1st District, Zamboanga Del Sur), Sharon S. Garin (Party List, AAMBIS-OWA), Pablo R. Nava III (Party List, APPEND), Jonathan A. Dela Cruz (Party List, ABAKADA), Philip A. Pichay (1st District, Surigao Del Sur), Henry S. Oaminal (2nd District, Misamis Occidental), and Arthur R. Defensor, Jr. (3rd District, Iloilo).
SOURCE: Jazmin S. Camero, Media Relations Service-PRIB Media Relations Service, Public Relations and Information Bureau
The House Committee on Ecology, chaired by Rep. Amado S. Bagatsing (5th District, Manila), endorsed and sponsored House Bill 5585, which substituted House Bills 86, 393, 826, 1059, 2585 and 3191 authored, respectively, by Reps. Ma. Lourdes Acosta-Alba (1st District, Bukidnon), Susan A. Yap (2nd District, Tarlac), Marcelino R. Teodoro (1st District, Marikina City), Neptali M. Gonzales II (Lone District, Mandaluyong City), Douglas S. Hagedorn (3rd District, Palawan), and Raymond Democrito C. Mendoza (Party List, TUCP).
"Despite all our laws scattered in different enactments and decrees, we need a comprehensive and consolidated law that will provide us with an effective hazardous and radioactive waste management framework, which would require an inter-agency coordination both in the national and local government to oversee and make inventory of hazardous waste creators and treatment, storage and disposal facilities," Yap said.
According to Yap, there are several laws on the management of hazardous and radioactive wastes. These include Presidential Decree 1152 or "The Philippine Environmental Code," which provides a basis for an integrated waste management regulation starting from waste source to methods of disposal, mandates specific guidelines to manage municipal wastes, sanitary landfill and incineration, and disposal sites in the Philippines.
Yap also cited Republic Act 6969, the "Toxic Substances, Hazardous and Nuclear Wastes Control Act," which responds to increasing problems associated with toxic chemicals and hazardous and nuclear wastes, and Presidential Decree 984 (Pollution Control Law), PD 1586 (Environmental Impact Assessment System Law), RA 8749 (Clean Air Act); and RA9003 (Ecological Solid Waste Management Act), which require hazardous waste management.
As for RA9003, Yap said while it was lauded as a landmark legislation on proper handling of solid waste, it only went as far as defining hazardous wastes and leaving the management to the Local Government Units (LGUs) without providing sufficient enough guidance for the law.
Yap said if only there was already a law on the proper management and disposal of hazardous wastes, the 1996 Marcopper mining disaster in Marinduque would not have happened. The tragedy was one of the largest mining disasters in Philippine history that made headlines around the world, she noted.
"The discharge of mining tailings into the Boac River instantly killed the 27-kilometer long river, decimated the fish and other biodiversity in the habitat, buried at least one village underneath a toxic mud, depriving tens of thousands locals of their livelihood," Yap said.
In 2004, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources ((DSWD) registered 3,801 hazardous wastes generators, which produce 226 million tons of hazardous wastes annually. Meanwhile, the World Health Organization has estimated that, based on population projections, local healthcare waste could reach as much as 69.5 tons per day by 2050.
Just last July, the EcoWaste Coalition, an environmental non-government organization, raised the alarm on the presence of hazardous wastes dumped at Pier 18 of Manila composed of used computer hardware, chip boards, and cellular phones, which contain heavy metals that are toxic to humans.
"Our experience shows that a more comprehensive hazardous and radioactive wastes management is of extreme necessity in order to avert industrial disasters that could potentially destroy our environment and ecology, and ultimately, our people's health and safety," Yap said.
House Bill 5585, to be known as the "Hazardous and Radioactive Wastes Management Act," shall apply to the generation, possession, collection, recovery, reuse, storage, transport, treatment and disposal of hazardous and radioactive wastes in the country and shall cover the entry and transit into the Philippine territory of such wastes.
After formulating the criteria for identifying and listing of hazardous and radioactive wastes, the DENR shall prepare a National Hazardous and Radioactive Wastes Management Status Report (NHRWMS) in coordination with the Department of Health (DOH), the Philippine Nuclear Research Institute (PNRI) and other concerned agencies.
The NHRWMS Report shall be the basis in the preparation and formulating a framework that would embody the policies pursuant to the proposed Act.
The framework shall be adopted as the official blueprint for hazardous and radioactive wastes management with which all relevant government agencies must comply.
The measure creates an Inter-agency Technical Advisory Council for purposes of policy integration, harmonization and coordination of functions.
Aside from provisions of rewards and incentive schemes, the measure also provides liabilities, prohibitions, fines, damages and penalties, administrative sanctions, citizen suits and Strategic Legal Action Against Public Participation.
The DENR, the DOH and the PNRI, shall promulgate the implementing rules and regulations, in consistent with other rules and regulations issued by relevant government agencies and instrumentalities relative to hazardous and radioactive wastes management.
In addition to its mandated functions, the Joint Congressional Oversight Committee created under Republic Act 9003 or the "Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000" shall also monitor the implementation of this proposed Act.
Co-authors are Reps. Christopher S. Co (Party List, AKO BICOL), Rodel M. Batocabe (Party List, AKO BICOL), Agapito H. Guanlao (Party List, BUTIL), CesarV. Sarmiento (Lone District, Catanduanes), Anthony G. Del Rosario (1st District, Davao Del Norte), Victoria G. Noel (Party List, AN WARAY), Emi G. Calixto-Rubiano (Lone District, Pasay City), Belma A. Cabilao (1st District, Zamboanga Sibugay), Dan S. Fernandez (1st District, Laguna), Mel Senen S. Sarmiento (1st District, Western Samar), Eric L. Olivarez (1st District, Paranaque City), Rolando A. Uy (1st District, Cagayan de Oro City), Napoleon S. Dy (3rd District, Isabela ), Erico Aristotle C. Aumentado (2nd District, Bohol), Evelina G. Escudero (1st District, Sorsogon), Sol Aragones (3rd District, Laguna), Ansaruddin A.M. A. Adiong (1st District, Lanao Del Sur), Cheryl P. Deloso-Montalla (2nd District, Zambales), Joseller M. Guiao (1st District, Pampanga), Imelda R. Marcos (2nd District, Ilocos Norte), Alex L. Advincula (3rd District, Cavite), Dakila Carlo E. Cua (Lone District, Quirino), Isidro T. Ungab (3rd District, Davao City), Thelma Z. Almario (2nd District, Davao Oriental), Carlos M. Padilla (Lone District, Nueva Vizcaya), Frederick F. Abueg (2nd District, Palawan), Pedro B. Acharon, Jr. (1st District, South Cotabato), Nicasio M. Aliping, Jr. (Lone District, Baguio City), Magnolia Rosa C. Antonino (4th District, Nueva Ecija), Rosa Marie J. Arenas (3rd District, Pangasinan), Leopoldo N. Bataoil (2nd District, Pangasinan), Silvestre H. Bello III (Party List, 1 BAP), Anthony M. Bravo (Party List, COOP NATCCO), Lawrence Lemuel H. Fortun (1st District, Agusan Del Norte), Gwendolyn F. Garcia (3rd District, Cebu), Ana Cristina Siquian Go (2nd District, Isabela), Anthony V. Gullas Jr.(1st District, Cebu), Fernando L. Hicap (Party List, ANAKPAWIS), Mark Llandro L. Mendoza (4th District, Batangas), Victor F. Ortega (1st District, La Union), Leah S. Paquiz (Party List, ANG NARS), Mariano U. Piamonte, Jr. (Party List, A TEACHER), Terry L. Ridon (Party List, KABATAAN), Roman T. Romulo (Lone District, Pasig City), Estrella B. Suansing (1st District, Nueva Ecija), Randolph S. Ting (3rd District, Cagayan), Eulogio R. Magsaysay (Party List, AVE), Julliette T. Uy (2nd District, Misamis Oriental), Victor J. Yu (1st District, Zamboanga Del Sur), Sharon S. Garin (Party List, AAMBIS-OWA), Pablo R. Nava III (Party List, APPEND), Jonathan A. Dela Cruz (Party List, ABAKADA), Philip A. Pichay (1st District, Surigao Del Sur), Henry S. Oaminal (2nd District, Misamis Occidental), and Arthur R. Defensor, Jr. (3rd District, Iloilo).
SOURCE: Jazmin S. Camero, Media Relations Service-PRIB Media Relations Service, Public Relations and Information Bureau
Is minimum wage bad for poor?
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| “March of Labor in the Philippines” by Neil Doloricon, one of the 30 paintings at SiningSaysay art exhibit about Philippine history at Gallery Mall in Cubao, Quezon City. LEO M. SABANGAN II |
It is one of our most enduring shibboleths: “Workers are entitled to a just wage, which is defined as no lower than a legal minimum wage (LMW). Only in this manner can we reduce poverty and achieve social justice.”
This logic seems irrefutable. However, recent Philippine studies estimating the impact of LMW on employment and household income have raised serious questions about the wisdom of this generalization.
The good intentions behind LMW may have unintended consequences that are harmful if not expressed through appropriate policies. Good intentions, in fact, may end up paving the road to perdition—in this case, persistent unemployment and underemployment, lack of investment and continuing poverty.
Case against LMW
Every year, there is a clamor for large increases in LMW. As expected, last January the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP)-Nagkaisa and other labor groups, together with their political allies, filed a demand for a huge LMW increase: an additional P136 a day on top of the minimum wage of P466 a day for workers in Metro Manila. [The National Wages and Productivity Commission announced in March a P15 increase in the daily minimum wage in Metro Manila, raising the daily minimum pay to P481.]
The proposed increase was supposedly due to the 36-percent loss in the value of wages—an amount that, by the way, was wildly out of line with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas headline inflation rate of 4.4 percent.
The reader might ask: What would be the economic impact of an increase in LMW, especially such a large one? If we consider how real employers behave in real-life markets, one might be shocked to find out that such an increase can actually be antipoor and antiemployment.
To illustrate: Consider a typical small- and medium-scale enterprise (SMSE). The owner has a limited amount of capital, with which he can hire either 20 workers at the lowest wage that he thinks they will accept, or only five workers at a higher LMW. Since he has no choice but the second scenario, he will of course hire only the five best qualified ones and send the other 15 home to join the ranks of the unemployed.
With only five workers, even if they’re the best of the lot, it is likely that our owner will also end up producing less than he would have produced with all 20. His business volume and profits are smaller, his rate of expansion slower.
If this example is multiplied across the millions of enterprises in our country, we have a situation where the 15 who were sent home, together with millions of others who like them lack skills, will remain unemployed and poor longer.
SMSEs, supposedly the engine of our economic development, are thus the big casualty of LMW policy. Unlike large enterprises, they have little, if any, monopolistic power to control their selling prices, or monopsonistic power to dictate the wages they pay. Without our SMSEs, we will not have the inclusive growth that everybody dreams of.
To add further injury, uncontrolled increases in LMW over time—at the instigation, say, of populist activists and politicians—may trigger an upward wage-price spiral. This inflation will hit hardest the poor, unskilled and unemployed, including the 15 who were sent home.
Rounding out the case against LMW is the concern that an unreasonably high LMW could undermine the country’s international competitiveness. This in turn affects its ability to attract foreign investment in labor-intensive tradable commodities.
More importantly, the same report revealed that the Philippine minimum wage, as a percentage of value added per worker, lies at the high end of a wide range of comparable countries. (See Figure 1.) This is especially true in Metro Manila, or NCR, where the average worker is legally entitled to keep nearly 70 centavos out of every peso he adds in value. This is even higher than the United States’ and is exceeded only by Guatemala’s.
Monopsony
Notwithstanding the general case described above, it is possible under certain circumstances for the LMW to enhance overall welfare. In the special case of monopsony, a given labor market may be dominated by one or a few influential firms, which can set the wages they pay instead of having to match the wages offered by many competing firms.
A labor monopsonist, thus, has the ability to pay its workers below the market, thereby generating excess profits. An LMW forces the firm to share those excess profits with its workers, either through higher wages or more employment.
However, this is possible only up to a point—specifically, when the wage of the newest worker is equal to his expected marginal contribution to revenue. Beyond that point, a higher LMW would incur losses. This forces the firm to stop hiring or even reduce workforce.
There are three important implications from the special case of monopsony:
Labor might be better protected by getting rid of the laws, regulations and other privileges that confer firms with monopsonistic as well as monopolistic powers. This, in fact, is an anchor principle of the Foundation for Economic Freedom (FEF) as a free-market advocacy.
Even when the LMW might be welfare-enhancing in certain types of labor market, this is possible only up to a certain point. Excessive LMW increases are a problem no matter what the market situation is.
The Philippine economy, like many others, is best described as a collection of firms in different types of labor market, ranging from highly competitive to highly monopsonistic. Thus, when evaluating the wisdom of a legal minimum wage, whether for a specific industry or for the entire country, we need to rely, first of all, on what the evidence tells us.
Impact
International studies reviewed by the World Bank (2013) found that the impact of LMW on employment is mixed. A similar conclusion was reported by Canales (2014), who however noted, in addition, that the LMW employment effects were generally negative in developing countries.
What’s the story in the Philippines? By way of an answer, we summarize below the findings from available Philippine studies. There are only a few of them but they cover different LMW outcomes and they all use accepted tools of good impact evaluation.
The results are as follows:
Hours of work significantly declined and the probability of gaining and retaining employment fell by about 8 to 22 percentage points, following an increase in LMW (Canales 2014). These adverse employment effects are inconsistent with the predictions of monopsony, leading Canales to conclude that the Philippine labor market as a whole is better described as competitive rather than monopsonistic.
The LMW had a “significant” negative impact on labor force participation by all individuals, notably among the young, inexperienced, less educated and women. These groups presumably showed lower productivity relative to their older, more educated, experienced and male competitors for jobs (Lanzona 2014).
This is evident in Table 1, which shows long-term “elasticities”—the estimated percentage change in the labor participation rate of a person in a given group for each unit percentage change in the minimum wage.
Using the fixed effects model alone, an increase in LMW of 10 percent would lead to declines in labor participation rate (negative elasticities) by -6.36 percent (for all workers), by -5.97 percent and -3.64 percent (among teenagers and young adults, respectively, relative to 50 years old and over) and by -2.36 percent (no schooling relative to college educated).
The average real income of households would have grown faster by about 20 percent—and household poverty would have been lower—if the LMW had increased more slowly over time (Paqueo, Orbeta, Lanzona and Dulay 2014).
The total income of a household with just one minimum-wage earner is likely to be smaller than a household where the wife, and perhaps the older children too, can also work but at lower, market-determined wages. Interestingly, the study finds that a faster rise in LMW significantly increases poverty incidence by 1.7 to 3.0 percentage points.
The LMW had a “significant” adverse impact on employment by smaller firms, those with average assets below P1.1 billion (Lanzona 2014). (See Table 1.) In contrast, larger companies (asset size above P1.1 billion) showed much smaller negative and even some positive, elasticities. These might be monopsonists that enjoy greater hiring leeway because of their size and market presence (Lanzona 2014).
Recommendations
FEF shares the rest of the country’s commitment to protect a minimum standard of living, strive for full employment and provide equal employment opportunities to all. But theory and evidence both show that a legal minimum wage is not a good way to get there and may even work against these laudable objectives. Instead, we offer the following suggestions:
Exempt SMSEs from the legal minimum wage requirement. However, they will continue to support the social protection provided by institutions like the Social Security System and PhilHealth, whose actuarial health critically depends on the laws of large numbers.
Amend LMW laws to allow firms to hire low-skilled workers who voluntarily opt out of the minimum wage.
Minimize labor regulations and practices that discriminate against the poor and low-skilled.
Require future LMW increases not to exceed the official inflation rate and to prove that they will not adversely affect the overall employment prospects of the low-skilled.
Learn from the 4 Ps (cash transfer) program by providing time-bound direct assistance to the eligible poor and near-poor families based on number of days spent working and training by firms. Employers should not have to carry all the burden of putting up with, or improving low-worker productivity. This burden is properly shared by taxpayers at large.
These suggestions should be accompanied by a larger package of supporting reforms. Improvement in agricultural productivity (not land reform) and rice import liberalization will help bring down the cost of rice and other food staples and the resulting need for high nominal wages.
Foreign investment liberalization will increase competition for labor and reduce the monopsony enjoyed by the largest local firms. More and better infrastructure will help improve labor productivity.
Vicente B. Paqueo Ph.D., recently retired after 25 years with the World Bank in Washington. Gary Olivar is a banking and political consultant. Both are fellows of the Foundation for Economic Freedom, an advocacy for free-market reforms supported by good governance) - Vicente B. Paqueo and Gary B. Olivar @inquirerdotnet Philippine Daily Inquirer
Tuesday, May 5, 2015
Aquino told: Tell Canada to take back toxic trash
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| RETURN TO SENDER Protesters tell Canada to take back tons of garbage illegally shipped to a port in Manila from Canada two years ago. NIÑO JESUS ORBETA |
MANILA, Philippines–Labor groups on Monday joined environmental organizations in asking President Aquino to tell the Canadian government to take back illegal trash shipped to Manila two years ago.
Aquino leaves for a state visit to Canada on Wednesday. He will take a side trip to the United States on May 7 to 9.
Ban Toxics, Greenpeace, EcoWaste Coalition and Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives protested in front of Malacañang in Manila, the Department of Foreign Affairs in Pasay City, and the Canadian Embassy in Makati City to drum up interest in the issue in time for Aquino’s visit to Canada.
They urged the President to take up with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper the return of containers full of trash that were illegally shipped to Manila two years ago.
“This is a rare opportunity for President Aquino to assert his authority as head of state and demand that Prime Minister Harper take back Canada’s waste,” said Angelica Carballo-Pago, spokesperson for Ban Toxics.
PH demand dropped
Environment Secretary Ramon Paje told the Inquirer last week that the government has dropped its demand that Canada take back “for the sake of our diplomatic relations” the 50 containers loaded with what authorities said were household waste and scrap plastic.
Four labor groups joined their voices to the calls from environmental and public health advocacy groups in asking the President to include the trash issue on his Canadian visit agenda.
The trash has been rotting at the Manila and Subic ports since June 2013 pending a decision in a case brought against the local counterpart of the Ontario-based exporter Chronic Inc. and negotiations between the Philippines and Canada.
The groups Sentro ng mga Nagkakaisa at Progresibong Manggagawa, Associated Labor Unions-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines, Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino and Partido ng Manggagawa said the government’s decision to drop its demand for the return of the trash to Canada was tantamount to “an open invitation to garbage smugglers.”
Take trash back
Since last year, EcoWaste Coalition, Ban Toxics, Green Convergence for Safe Food, Healthy Environment and Sustainable Economy, and Ang NARS party list have been holding rallies, asking the Canadian government to take back the trash.
EcoWaste coordinator Aileen Lucero said the garbage dumping was a “blatant case of environmental injustice” in light of an international treaty signed by the Philippines and Canada that seek to prevent developed nations from dumping trash in developing nations.
“This is one agreement that should be on Aquino’s priority list, a tangible indicator by which the success of his trip will be judged,” Lucero said.
In an earlier interview, Paje said the government was waiting for clearance from the Manila Regional Trial Court, after government prosecutors in February asked that the trash be disposed of in local landfills while the case continued.
Paje said the Bureau of Customs would dispose of the trash, and that the cost would be charged to the importer, Chronic Plastics.
He said the Canadian government would not shoulder the cost, nor would the exporter, adding that the government could go after the importer only.
‘Private matter’
The Canadian Embassy has refused to take back the garbage, saying the issue is a “private commercial matter” between a Canadian exporter and its Philippine importer-partner.
“The issue is as friendly countries, would you insist on hurting diplomatic relations if there is another way?” Paje said.
“They promised they would prevent a repeat. Canada will also look into their policies to avoid a repeat. They will go after their exporter,” he added.
On fears that the government’s handling of the issue could serve as a precedent, Paje said he believed the court case brought against the importer would discourage trash shipments.
“Isn’t that a major deterrent? How can we be a dumping ground when we’re vigilant. They were caught. Who else will have the courage to import if they will be caught?” he said.– Dona Z. Pazzibugan With a report from Nathaniel R. Melican | Philippine Daily Inquirer
Saturday, May 2, 2015
Protests, presidential tour, Veloso case mark Labor Day 2015
AMID THE BACKDROP of the Mary Jane Veloso case, activist groups commemorated this year's Labor Day with protest rallies in Metro Manila, while President Benigno S.C. Aquino III traveled to Cebu to attend a job fair and the inauguration of a cement plant -- practically the same activities in Mr. Aquino's Labor Day schedule in 2014.
Mr. Aquino arrived late at Friday morning's Jobstart Philippines Forum, sponsored by the Labor department and its partners, and went around in this gathering, before proceeding to the University of Cebu Medical Center also in Mandaue City to inspect a new facility. Thereafter he went to Naga City to attend that day's inauguration of a plant by multinational cement firm CEMEX that was completed last year.
Labor Day protests followed Mr. Aquino in this province, even right outside the job fair. And in Cebu City, labor groups of different stripes joined forces in a protest rally denouncing what they called Mr. Aquino's disregard of the workforce.
“[We are calling for] justice for all workers [who] until now [are experiencing] job contractualization [and are not given] decent working conditions,” Dennis S. Derige of the Partido ng Manggagawa's Cebu chapter said in an interview.
Mr. Derige noted the diversity of the ralliers, including the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) and the Bukluran ng Mangagawang Pilipino.
In Manila, labor groups under the Nagkaisa coalition marched from Welcome Rotonda to Mendiola on Friday morning. The protests here and elsewhere in the metropolis lasted well into the evening.
An officer of the Manila Police District said the morning crowd was an "estimated 1,500" and described the protests as "generally peaceful."
For its part, the TUCP reiterated its call for the government to adopt its proposals on unemployment insurance and security of tenure, among other issues that have hounded Mr. Aquino in most Labor Day celebrations on his watch. (Unemployment remains a theme this year, despite its considerable decline and downward trend, according to the latest quarterly survey by the Social Weather Stations released last month.)
Early this week, the coalition canceled its annual luncheon with Mr. Aquino, citing his inaction on these and other labor concerns since 2011, the first Labor Day celebration under his administration.
But in March, the Labor department announced a new round of increases in the mininum wage covering the National Capital Region and prompted in part by a petition by the TUCP. The group's spokesperson Alan A. Tanjusay, however, criticized this P15 increase, as opposed to TUCP's proposed P136 across-the-board increase, as "revolting" and "unacceptable."
Mr. Tanjusay also lamented early Friday that Mr. Aquino "could have honored the workers" with a Labor Day message, which, to be sure, Malacañang published that day on gov.ph
Labor groups as well as the media have been attentive to any pronouncement or activity from Mr. Aquino on that occasion. In 2013, the Palace moved Labor Day activities to April 30, upon the Labor department's recommendation, "so as not to crowd the labor group activities for May 1," Presidential Spokesman Edwin Lacierda said at the time. As that year was an election year, Mr. Aquino was in his home province of Tarlac to campaign for his candidates. Last year, the Labor department held job fairs while Mr. Aquino went to Laguna to deliver his Labor Day speech at a semiconductor facility.
His Labor Day message this year said in part, “Pangunahin sa adhikaing ito ang siguruhing ligtas at may kakayahan ang ating kababayan na magtagumpay sa buhay. Saanmang sulok ng mundo sila naroroon, sinisikap tugunan ng pamahalaan ang kanilang mga pangangailangan, lalo na sa larangan ng edukasyon, pagsasanay at agarang ayuda.” (Forermost in our aspirations is to ensure the safety and capability of our countrymen to succeed in life. Wherever they are in the world, the government aims to fulfill their needs, especially in education, skills training and prompt assistance.)
Sought for comment at the continuing protest in Mendiola by Friday night, activist and former business-section editor Satur C. Ocampo also spoke within the clear context of current events: "The workers…are demanding [the abolition of] labor export policy -- the dependence of the economy to the OFWs while neglecting the development of Philippine agriculture. We are also against labor contractualization which prevents duly recruited workers from joining trade unions." -- with reports by A.M. Monzon, Elizabeth Escaño, and Jauhn Etienne Villaruel | BusinessWorld
Mr. Aquino arrived late at Friday morning's Jobstart Philippines Forum, sponsored by the Labor department and its partners, and went around in this gathering, before proceeding to the University of Cebu Medical Center also in Mandaue City to inspect a new facility. Thereafter he went to Naga City to attend that day's inauguration of a plant by multinational cement firm CEMEX that was completed last year.
Labor Day protests followed Mr. Aquino in this province, even right outside the job fair. And in Cebu City, labor groups of different stripes joined forces in a protest rally denouncing what they called Mr. Aquino's disregard of the workforce.
“[We are calling for] justice for all workers [who] until now [are experiencing] job contractualization [and are not given] decent working conditions,” Dennis S. Derige of the Partido ng Manggagawa's Cebu chapter said in an interview.
Mr. Derige noted the diversity of the ralliers, including the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) and the Bukluran ng Mangagawang Pilipino.
In Manila, labor groups under the Nagkaisa coalition marched from Welcome Rotonda to Mendiola on Friday morning. The protests here and elsewhere in the metropolis lasted well into the evening.
An officer of the Manila Police District said the morning crowd was an "estimated 1,500" and described the protests as "generally peaceful."
For its part, the TUCP reiterated its call for the government to adopt its proposals on unemployment insurance and security of tenure, among other issues that have hounded Mr. Aquino in most Labor Day celebrations on his watch. (Unemployment remains a theme this year, despite its considerable decline and downward trend, according to the latest quarterly survey by the Social Weather Stations released last month.)
Early this week, the coalition canceled its annual luncheon with Mr. Aquino, citing his inaction on these and other labor concerns since 2011, the first Labor Day celebration under his administration.
But in March, the Labor department announced a new round of increases in the mininum wage covering the National Capital Region and prompted in part by a petition by the TUCP. The group's spokesperson Alan A. Tanjusay, however, criticized this P15 increase, as opposed to TUCP's proposed P136 across-the-board increase, as "revolting" and "unacceptable."
Mr. Tanjusay also lamented early Friday that Mr. Aquino "could have honored the workers" with a Labor Day message, which, to be sure, Malacañang published that day on gov.ph
Labor groups as well as the media have been attentive to any pronouncement or activity from Mr. Aquino on that occasion. In 2013, the Palace moved Labor Day activities to April 30, upon the Labor department's recommendation, "so as not to crowd the labor group activities for May 1," Presidential Spokesman Edwin Lacierda said at the time. As that year was an election year, Mr. Aquino was in his home province of Tarlac to campaign for his candidates. Last year, the Labor department held job fairs while Mr. Aquino went to Laguna to deliver his Labor Day speech at a semiconductor facility.
His Labor Day message this year said in part, “Pangunahin sa adhikaing ito ang siguruhing ligtas at may kakayahan ang ating kababayan na magtagumpay sa buhay. Saanmang sulok ng mundo sila naroroon, sinisikap tugunan ng pamahalaan ang kanilang mga pangangailangan, lalo na sa larangan ng edukasyon, pagsasanay at agarang ayuda.” (Forermost in our aspirations is to ensure the safety and capability of our countrymen to succeed in life. Wherever they are in the world, the government aims to fulfill their needs, especially in education, skills training and prompt assistance.)
Sought for comment at the continuing protest in Mendiola by Friday night, activist and former business-section editor Satur C. Ocampo also spoke within the clear context of current events: "The workers…are demanding [the abolition of] labor export policy -- the dependence of the economy to the OFWs while neglecting the development of Philippine agriculture. We are also against labor contractualization which prevents duly recruited workers from joining trade unions." -- with reports by A.M. Monzon, Elizabeth Escaño, and Jauhn Etienne Villaruel | BusinessWorld
‘Aquino abandoned workers’
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| Labor Day rally. Thousands of workers from different organizations gathered on Mendiola in Manila to celebrate Labor Day on Friday. Lino Santos |
A BIG labor group on Friday accused President Benigno Aquino III of abandoning his commitment to uplift the economic conditions of millions of Filipino workers nationwide.
The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) who joined other labor groups in the Labor Day protest at Mendiola, Manila, slammed the President for his failure to respond to the eight-point agenda raised by the groups in 2012.
“President Aquino’s choice to go to Cebu today rather than confront and respond to the frustrations of the workers on this Labor Day is both an abandonment and a form of cowardice,” TUCP spokesperson Alan Tanjusay said.
Tanjusay said the President’s trip to Cebu was also a sign of the chief executive’s disconnect with the problems of the workers.
“It is now clear that he is still uninterested and disconnected with the... problems confronting the workers and besetting the labor sector,” Tanjusay said.
“With only 14 months left before his administration ends, the workers are expecting nothing from Aquino and what we are now doing is just waiting for the new president in 2016 to decide on the groups’ proposals,” he said.
Included in proposal are the streamlining of contractual job scheme, increasing the wages of private employees and government workers, lowering the cost of electricity and ensuring the reliability of supply, implementing an agro-industrial plan to create stable jobs and allowing public sector workers to form unions. - By Vito Barcelo | Manila Standard Today
Friday, May 1, 2015
Labor Day 2015: 6 continuing concerns
LABOR Day is celebrated in many countries around the world on May 1. It was first declared International Workers Day in 1891 by the Second International, originally the Socialist International.
Although May Day became an important holiday in socialist countries such as China and the former Soviet Union, the Catholic Church in 1955 dedicated May 1 to Saint Joseph, the Worker, patron saint of workers and craftsmen. In the Philippines, Araw ng Manggagawa on the Monday nearest May 1 is listed among the nation’s regular holidays in RA 9492.
An annual meeting with labor leaders in Malacañang has long been a highlight of the celebration of Labor Day in this country. This year, however, a coalition of labor groups announced that they are not attending any Labor Day meeting in Malacañang. Instead, the coalition of labor groups with the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines–Nagkaisa faction said they will take to the streets “to seek justice for the Filipino worker.”
The coalition said the national government has failed to act on six concerns which they presented as early as 2010, the first year of the Aquino administration. The six concerns are their calls for full employment, an across-the-board wage hike, protection for all Filipino migrant workers, quality public service, primary universal health care, and lower prices of goods and utilities.
All these six are worthy goals for the nation, but we can understand the great difficulties in the way of their realization by the government. These are all major problems of the country, particularly the call for more job opportunities, which has been blamed for the continuing problem of mass poverty. It is also behind the tragedy of Mary Jane Veloso who got entangled with drug-traffickers in her search for a better life for her family.
Instead of a Labor Day reception in Malacañang, President Aquino will be in Cebu and Bacolod today. There he may meet with local labor leaders along with local government officials. He might take the opportunity to review with them what the government has done for the workers of his country during the last five years. These accomplishments may not be up to the expectations of the nation’s labor leaders, but they could be substantial enough under the present difficult circumstances. And the President may be able to come up with some good news for labor in the last year of his administration. - Tempo
Although May Day became an important holiday in socialist countries such as China and the former Soviet Union, the Catholic Church in 1955 dedicated May 1 to Saint Joseph, the Worker, patron saint of workers and craftsmen. In the Philippines, Araw ng Manggagawa on the Monday nearest May 1 is listed among the nation’s regular holidays in RA 9492.
An annual meeting with labor leaders in Malacañang has long been a highlight of the celebration of Labor Day in this country. This year, however, a coalition of labor groups announced that they are not attending any Labor Day meeting in Malacañang. Instead, the coalition of labor groups with the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines–Nagkaisa faction said they will take to the streets “to seek justice for the Filipino worker.”
The coalition said the national government has failed to act on six concerns which they presented as early as 2010, the first year of the Aquino administration. The six concerns are their calls for full employment, an across-the-board wage hike, protection for all Filipino migrant workers, quality public service, primary universal health care, and lower prices of goods and utilities.
All these six are worthy goals for the nation, but we can understand the great difficulties in the way of their realization by the government. These are all major problems of the country, particularly the call for more job opportunities, which has been blamed for the continuing problem of mass poverty. It is also behind the tragedy of Mary Jane Veloso who got entangled with drug-traffickers in her search for a better life for her family.
Instead of a Labor Day reception in Malacañang, President Aquino will be in Cebu and Bacolod today. There he may meet with local labor leaders along with local government officials. He might take the opportunity to review with them what the government has done for the workers of his country during the last five years. These accomplishments may not be up to the expectations of the nation’s labor leaders, but they could be substantial enough under the present difficult circumstances. And the President may be able to come up with some good news for labor in the last year of his administration. - Tempo
Workers to PNoy: Labor justice needs powerful execution, not endless dialogue
A big march to Malacanang with simultaneous actions in other cities nationwide marked today’s celebration of Labor Day as workers protested the government’s failure to address their bottom line issues such as jobs and job security, living wage, trade union rights, and decent working and living conditions.
In Manila, thousands of workers from different federations and labor organization comprising the Nagkaisa! coalition marched from Mabuhay Welcome Rotonda to Mendiola under the theme, “Hustisya sa Manggagawa at Sambayanan.”
The cry for justice, according to Nagkaisa!, is labor’s summation of failed engagement with President Aquino, whom the group insisted, “never stood on the side of labor since the PAL dispute in 2011” despite the rhetoric of ‘tuwid na daan’.
“President Aquino should have learned a valuable lesson from his last minute intervention on Mary Jane’s case. That in order to move a quixotic boulder up the mountaintop, a firm decision and solid determination is needed — a resolve he never had in addressing labor problems during the last five years in office,” said Partido Manggagawa (PM) chair Renato Magtubo and one of Nagkaisa! convenors.
The group disclosed earlier that none of labor’s bottom line issues such as contractualization, low wages and power rates reduction have been addressed by Malacanang after four years of dialogues.
“During the last five years we didn’t ask President Aquino to produce miracles. Yet a simple certification of pro-labor measure such as the Security of Tenure bill to regulate contractualization did not even warrant his attention,” said Frank Mero, President of Sentro ng Nagkakaisang Manggagawa (Sentro), another convenor of Nagkaisa!
Labor justice, he added, needs a powerful execution not an endless dialogue.
Another convenor, Annie Geron of the Public Services Labor Confederation (PSLINK), public sector unions are disappointed that the President was not even aware of the fact that the government bureaucracy itself is implementing a widespread and worst kind of contractualization called ‘job orders’.
However, Nagkaisa! conceded that President Aquino has earned credits for saving the life of Mary Jane Veloso. But the group said that won’t change the fact that beyond his buzzer beater intervention on Mary Jane’s behalf, many labor issues that translate into social problems like human trafficking and the exodus of Filipinos to foreign lands persist.
“Filipino are hopelessly enmeshed in an unchanging political system serving the affluent elite and betraying the destitute millions. They sense that no one is fighting for them,” said Gerard Seno, Vice President of Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP)-Nagkaisa!
Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino (BMP) President accused the Aquino administration of perpetuating the old system of elite rule.
“PNoy has resolutely protected controversial allies and lifted no fingers on political dynasties. But never had he shown a grain of disposition for the working class,” said De Guzman.
Other than Manila, labor marches were also held in the cities of Cebu, Iloilo, Bacolod, Davao, General Santos, and in Cavite and Laguna provinces.
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