Thursday, November 20, 2014

House Bill 2547 authored by Rep. Raymond Mendoza passed the comitte level on Labor and Employment

(L-R) Rep. Karlo Nograles, Rep. Raymond Mendoza, Tem Dejon of AWATU and Arthur Juego of Kilusan TUCP


HB02547 - AN ACT INSTITUTING WORKER'S CLAIM AS STATUTORY FIRST LIEN ON THE ASSETS OF THE BANKRUPT EMPLOYER, AMENDING FOR THIS PURPOSE ARTICLE 110 OF PRESIDENTIAL DECREE NO. 442, AS AMENDED, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE LABOR CODE OF THE PHILIPPINES



Wednesday, November 19, 2014

RTWPB Central Visayas lumps P13 Cola, wage

THE Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB) 7 approved the integration of the P13 cost of living allowance (Cola) in the minimum wage.

Businessman Philip Tan, a member of the RTWPB, said in a text message to Sun.Star Cebu that the integration of the Cola is in the final stage and awaits the signature of Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz.

The minimum daily wage in Central Visayas for the non-agriculture sector ranges from P295 to P340 as specified in a March 21, 2014 wage order. Those who work in the agricultural sector should have a minimum wage of P275 to P322 a day.

Art Barrit, spokesman of the Association of Labor Unions-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (ALU-TUCP), said the minimum daily wage of P340 is not enough to feed a family of five as the worker still has to pay mandatory premiums for Pag-IBIG, Philhealth and Social Security System.

Barrit said that because of the mandatory deductions, the average take-home pay of a worker ranges from P269 to P279 per day.

He pointed out that a family of five consumes about three kilos of rice at P40 per kilo. A minimum wage earner can hardly pay for the household's utility bills and the tuition of his children, he said.

"ALU-TUCP is planning to file another wage increase petition before May 1, 2015," Barrit said.

Cebu City Councilor Gerardo Carillo said labor and management sectors should not only focus on salary but also on the quality of labor.

Carillo said that if a company has high productivity and more profits, it would be able pay higher wages. - By Elias O. Baquero / SunStar

Monday, November 17, 2014

FB Kilusan inks CBA with First Balfour

Congratulations to the  recent Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) signing last Friday attended by union members of FB Kilusan and the management. The CBA covers the next three years between employees and management.












Tuesday, November 11, 2014

Combating Precarious Work

In cooperation of Friedrich Ebert Stiftung , the NAGKAISA held a 2-day  Workers’ Symposium on Policies and Regulations to combat Precarious Employment

Some types of precarious employment arrangements would include:
• outsourcing, contracting-out or subcontracting
• casualization, contractualization, contingent or fixed-term contracts, leading to the creation of a large pool of permanently 'temporary' employees
• use of labour agencies
• bogus “self-employment” and independent contractors
• abusive use of seasonal and probationary employment and traineeships

Precarious work in all its forms - when it is not being praised, encouraged and promoted for contributing to labour market 'flexibiilization' - is usually discussed in relation to declining living standards, discrimination, the feminization or poverty etc.

A typical example would be "Precarious employment is employment that is low quality and that encompasses a range of factors that put workers at risk of injury, illness and/or poverty. This includes factors such as low wages, low job security, limited control over workplace conditions, little protection from health and safety risks in the workplace and less opportunity for training and career progression." (Gerry Rodgers & Janine Rodgers, Precarious Jobs in Labour Market Regulation; the Growth of Atypical Employment in Western Europe, 1989).

Campaign goals:

• To stop the massive expansion of precarious work
• To make wages and conditions of precarious workers equal to those of regular workers
• To get workers directly hired and discourage indirect employment
• To limit precarious employment to cases of legitimate need