Labor group blames high power rate

THE Associated Labor Union-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (ALU-TUCP) yesterday said the purchasing power of workers in Cebu and other parts of the country are greatly affected by the high cost of electricity.

ALU-TUCP education director Art Barrit said that business operations are no longer competitive due to high power rates in the country. As a result, most employers can hardly comply with the minimum wage order set by the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (NWPC).

“Our economy is fueled by the remittances of OFW (Overseas Filipino Workers), not by FDI (foreign direct investment) which posted only $4 billion last year, whose total FDI in the Asean region registered at $120 billion,” Barrit said.

Based on their study, Barrit said the biggest budget outlay and the business operation is not the salaries in wages of the ordinary workers but on power and electricity.

“This is the reason why workers are asking Malacañang to review and revisit the Epira (Energy Power Industry Reform Act) and to have a cap on power rates,” Barrit said.

A letter dated June 17, 2014 was sent to President Benigno Aquino III through Department of Labor and Employment (Dole) Sec. Linda Dimapilis-Baldoz and Secretary to the Cabinet Rene Almendras by the Nagkaisa Labor Convenors.

“It has been 59 days today since you said you will meet us again to give your response to important various issues we raised with you and your cabinet during the nationally shown pre-labor day breakfast dialogue on April 29, 2014,” read the letter.

“With our local unions and members nationwide egging us for your feedback we would highly appreciate if you let us know if you are still inclined to meet with Nagkaisa to give your response to the issues on the table,” the letter further read.

Barrit said the labor sector has been asking Malacañang for a meeting on the power issue. Relatively, the Aquino administration is amenable to their proposals. - By Elias O. Baquero / SunStar

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

Peace panels to create team to oversee ARMM-Bangsamoro transition

The peace panels of the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) are putting together a team that would coordinate preparations for the smooth transition of government functions from the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) to the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA).

In a press statement, government peace panel head Miriam Coronel-Ferrer said the creation of the composite team was agreed upon during the three-day meeting held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia last September 27 to 29. She said the team will be in charge of all the preparations in anticipation of the passage of the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) by Congress and its subsequent ratification through a plebiscite.

“The composite team will be made up of members coming from the central and ARMM governments and the MILF,” Ferrer said.

“The terms of reference of said composite team is being drafted and is expected to be signed soon,” she added.

Job loss fears to be addressed

Ferrer said that among the supposed functions of the composite team is to address the concerns of thousands of ARMM employees who might get affected by the transition.

“The Civil Service Commission and other relevant agencies will be consulted to ensure a smooth transition,” Ferrer said.

The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP)-Nagkaisa had earlier estimated that about 24,000 government workers in the ARMM might lose their jobs once the region is dissolved and replaced by the Bangsamoro government.

The TUCP-Nagkaisa said the Civil Service Commission (CSC) should make sure that the existing workforce will be integrated into the new Bangsamoro government through "lateral transfer and merit-based integration."

Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Teresita Quintos Deles said that civil service rules will be followed and civil service eligibilities and entitlements of ARMM employees will be respected during the transition phase.

“We imagine that there may be some reorganization of the governmental structures in consonance with the proposed ministerial form [of government of the Bangsamoro],” Deles said, emphasizing that, “certainly in doing that, there will be a clear plan, separation benefits if necessary.”

“We’ll follow the laws of the land. Certainly to those who have civil service eligibility, we’ll have different options open to them such as being transferred to another area or by choice, being separated with due compensation. This will all undergo due process,” Deles said.

Deles added that the transition process will only begin once the BBL is passed and ratified in a plebiscite.

BTA interim government

The BBL will serve as the legal basis for the creation of the Bangsamoro juridical entity that will replace the ARMM.

Under the Comprehensive Agreement of the Bangsamoro (CAB) signed between the government and the MILF last March, the BTA shall serve as the interim government prior to the establishment of the Bangsamoro government and the assumption of its elected leaders in 2016.

According to the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPPAP), aside from the creation of the composite team, both panels have recently formalized the bodies and mechanisms that will roll out the normalization plans stated under the CAB.

These bodies include the Independent Decommissioning Body (IDB), which shall oversee the decommissioning of firearms of MILF combatants; the Joint Normalization Body (JNC), which shall coordinate the different normalization processes and mechanisms; and the Transitional Justice and Reconciliation Commission (TJRC) which, under the CAB, “shall study and recommend the appropriate mechanisms to address legitimate grievances of the Bangsamoro people, correct historical injustices, and address human rights violations through land dispossession.” — Elizabeth Marcelo/BM, GMA News

Over 24,000 Filipinos to lose job next year: TUCP

MANILA: Many workers in the Philippines and abroad are expected to be displaced next year, labor groups and recruitment industry officials has warned the national government.

The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) was quoted as saying by Philippine Star that about 24,000 local government employees are likely to lose their jobs with the setting up of Bangsamoro Transition Council next year.

“Workers employed in municipalities, cities, provincial and regional offices will be displaced once the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao is dissolved and taken over by the Bangsamoro Transition Council,” TUCP executive director Louie Corral reportedly said.

“The major responsibility of the government is to provide safety nets for these workers who had been serving the bureaucracy quietly,” he reportedly said, adding that the Aquino government apparently has no not yet planned for the impending displacement of government employees.

He also called on the Civil Service Commission (CSC) to step in and take the necessary course of action.

“We are wondering why the commission has not geared up for one of the very important elements of the transition issue,” TUCP official Gerard Seno was quoted as saying.

Seno further said the CSC should ensure that the affected workers are integrated into the new Bangsamoro government using lateral transfer and merit-based integration rather than leaving their fate to circumstance.

Officials of the job placement industry have reported that around 4,000 Filipino workers employed in US bases in Afghanistan are also expected to be displaced by the impending pullout of US troops from Afghanistan by the end of the year.

They reportedly said about 4,000 Filipinos are still posted in Bagram Air Base and Kandahar Airfield and only around a thousand will be retained for maintenance of the military facilities.

Some of the workers are expected to return home starting November as their companies shut down after losing bids to supply logistics to the US forces.

But the workers are hoping that they will still be needed by international contractors hired by the US government, the recruitment officials were quoted as saying by Philippine Star. - The Filipino Times