Labor group supports optional AIDS tests for employees

A LABOR group expressed support for a Department of Health (DoH) policy that makes tests for the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) optional for employees.

This is a “more viable government response to a very insidious spread of HIV” compared to mandatory testing, Associated Labor Unions executive vice-president Gerard R. Seno said in a press statement.

According to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the prevalence of the diseases in the country is relatively low, however, the country is “one of only seven countries globally” where there has been an increase in HIV cases from 2001.

A total of 4,814 cases of HIV/AIDS were noted in 2013, data from the DoH HIV (Human Immonodeficiency Virus) and AIDS registry showed.

For its part, the Philippine National AIDS Council (PNAC) has yet to come up with a definite stand on the matter as its members remain unable to arrive at a consensus due to the contentions raised -- that the proposed policy would subject infected individuals to stigma and discrimination.

“There is no right or wrong in the opposing arguments offered by government and advocates,” Mr. Seno said. “(W)e have to address the problem as quickly as possible without infringing the right of an individual in making choices for himself.”

The TUCP has been taking up steps to address HIV/AIDS discrimination in the country and has recently partnered with the PNAC, Pilipinas Shell Foundation, the DoH, PhilHealth, and the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) to conduct seminars on this.

“The seminar module was designed to mainstream ALU organized workers with HIV and AIDS and to empower participants with a conviction to share the information with their relatives, friends, and co-workers,” TUCP Spokesperson Alan A. Tanjusay said.

The DoH is currently lobbying for the adoption of the policy in the amendments currently made in the National AIDS Law.

Officials from the DoH could not be reached for further comment. -- J.V.D. Cabuenas / Bworldonline

Wage board optimistic on P89 wage hike appeal in Northern Mindanao

AFTER completing three provincial wage consultations last month, the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board in Northern Mindanao (RTWPB) is hopeful for the immediate deliberation of the P89 wage increase petition filed by the Associated Labor Union-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (ALU-TUCP) on July 16, 2014.

Lawyer Gretchen Lamayon, RTWPB-10 information officer, said the wage board has been doing its best to cap off remaining consultations in Lanao del Norte and Misamis Occidental by the end of September.

Lamayon, however, admitted to Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro that various reactions from the workers and employers sectors are obstacles needed to be overcome to come up with a fast resolution.

"So far, from the three provinces, some agreed with the increase. There were some who said it has to be reduced. And, of course, there were those who said P89 is too much," she said Tuesday.

Wage consultations have already been conducted in the provinces of Camiguin, Misamis Oriental, and Bukidnon in August 2014.

Lamayon said the executive board of the RTWPB-10 needs more time to deliberate to produce an outcome that is favorable to all concerned sectors.

The wage board also has several considerations in deliberating the petition, which include the social economic conditions of the employers, she noted.

The labor union is optimistic the RTWPB will support the daily minimum wage increase petition even if results of the first round of deliberation have not been disclosed to the public yet.

If approved, the daily minimum wage in the region will become P395 for agricultural and non-agricultural workers.

The board discussions will be attended by the heads of the region's Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and National Economic and Development Authority (Neda), two representatives from the Department of Labor and Employment (Dole), and two representatives from the private sector.

In a petition passed to RTWPB-10, the ALU-TUCP justified the requested increase as beneficial to the working population amid the increasing cost of standard of living.

"The P89 daily increase is essential if workers are to cope with the increasing prices of commodities and cost of living, if they are to meet the basic needs of their families, even if only partial, and if the country gives meaning and substance to the policy of equitable distribution of income and wealth. The increase, small as it is, has been overtaken by increases in power and water rates, in health and education costs, the prices of oil and its products, LPG, and basic goods and services," the petition read.

"Prices of goods and services in the following months are also expected to rise by at least 5 percent which would require an additional P21.42 adjustment in wages considering the increasing prices of goods and services especially power rates because of the current power shortage in Mindanao. Also, the daily take home pay of wage earners is lower due to legally mandated deductions such as SSS, PhilHealth and Pag-Ibig contributions and income tax," it added.

Wildon Barros, Kilusang Mayo Uno-northern Mindanao chairperson, told this paper that although they are pushing for the P125 minimum wage across the board since last year, they would also support ALU-TUCP's endeavor.

"We still want the RTWPB to say yes to this because it is for the benefit of our workers at the end of the day," Barros said by phone.

On May 15, 2013, the RTWPB-10 approved the latest P306 wage increase per day from P286 for the wage earners in northern Mindanao. - By Mario C. Manlupig Jr. SunStar