Several labour forums to protest against train fare hike

The North Avenue Station platform area

The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP)-Nagkaisa will join other groups in holding mass action against the impending fare hike in the Metro Rail Transit 3 (MRT 3) and Light Rail Transit to pressure the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) to defer the fare adjustment, which it described as “anti-people and oppressive.”

Alan Tanjusay, TUCP-Nagkaisa spokesperson, said they are set to join a big labour group coalition in holding protest actions in MRT and LRT stations until Monday.

Last month, the DOTC said it will increase rates for the two rail lines effective January 4, 2015. With the new fare scheme, rates for end-to-end trips on the MRT-3 will increase to P28 from P15 (from North Avenue to Taft Avenue and vice versa); P30 from P20 for LRT-1 (from Baclaran to Roosevelt and vice versa); and P25 from P15 on LRT-2 (from Recto to Santolan and vice versa).
Tanjusay said minimum wage earners will be the hardest hit by the fare increase.

He explained that the P466 daily wage rate in the National Capital Region (NCR) is already affected by inflation and by the mandatory salary deductions, thus, workers’ take home pay is only P362.

“With no wage hike in sight and no immediate measure for the government to cushion the impact, minimum wage earners will be hit hard by the fare adjustment,” Tanjusay noted.

He lamented that the government failed to consider the plight of minimum wage earners when it decided to increase rail rates.
With the MRT 3 and LRT fare increase, Tanjusay said “the working poor (will) remain poor.”

“In fact, not a soul from labour groups such as the TUCP-Nagkaisa and other large workers’ representative organisations were invited for a public consultation for the planned increase if there were any. But a big chunk of their take home pay will be taken away from them by Secretary Abaya without their consent and approval. So this fare increase is an open robbery of workers, anti-people and very oppressive,” he added.

Citing the Government Family Income and Expenditures Survey in 2009, the TUCP official said data showed that a family of six needs at least P1,200 a day in order to survive. - By Robertzon F Ramirez/Manila Times

Labor group: MRT, LRT fare hike to erode poor workers’ take home pay further

The implementation of fare hike for the Metro Rail Transit and Light Rail Transit systems would further erode minimum-wage workers' daily take home pay, the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines said Saturday.

In a press statement, TUCP spokesperson Alan Tanjusay said the daily wage rate of a minimum-wage earner in the National Capital Region is at P466, but due to inflation and mandatory salary deductions, their net take home pay is at P362.

"With the new round of fare hike in both the MRT and the LRT systems, they approximate the take home pay of hundreds of thousands of riding minimum-wage workers to be roughly close to around P322," he said.

"The consequences of the fare adjustment will make the working poor remain poor. This very important piece of information was not [considered as a factor] in the government decision-making process," he added.

Also, he said that based on the Government Family Income and Expenditure Survey in 2009, a family of six would need at least P1,200 a day to "normally survive."

On the other hand, Tanjusay said they are set to join a protest against the LRT-MRT fare hike on Sunday and Monday to pressure Transportation and Communications Secretary Jose Emilio Abaya to postpone the implementation of the fare adjustment.

Earlier on Friday, Bayan Muna party-list Rep. Neri Colmenares said the Department of Transportation and Communication's decision to start the implementation of the fare hike on a Sunday may be intentional.

"Mukhang tinayming nila na Sunday mag-take-effect. Walang korte, walang Kongreso, lahat may hangover pa from New Year. Siguro protesta na lang ng taumbayan ang makahaharang nito sa Sunday," he said.

"Magsara man ang korte, masara man nila ang Kongreso, hindi naman nila masasara ang kalsada. So far, sa tatlong attempt nila sa pag-increase ng fare, nahaharangan ng protesta ng mga tao," he added.

Earlier in December, the DOTC announced that it would implement an increased base fare of P11 for both the MRT and the LRT systems, with P1.00 charged per additional kilometer on Jan. 4.

Based on the new fare matrices issued by the DOTC, rates for end-to-end trips on the MRT-3 will increase to P28 from P15 (from North Avenue to Taft Avenue and vice versa); P30 from P20 on LRT-1 (from Baclaran to Roosevelt and vice versa); and P25 from P15 on LRT-2 (from Recto to Santolan and vice versa). — Amanda Fernandez/LBG, GMA News

ALU-TUCP: Additional tax relief long overdue

CEBU, Philippines – The Associated Labor Unions-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines welcomed the additional tax break granted by the national government to minimum wage earners.

ALU-TUCP spokesperson Art Barrit said the P10,000 additional tax relief has been long overdue.

“It’s a long overdue tax relief demanded by the ordinary workers. It’s a welcome development that the government gave respite to the ordinary workers. We have been clamoring for this tax exemption,” Barrit said.

The P10,000 tax break for minimum wage earners took effect yesterday after President Benigno Aquino III approved the new guidelines set by the Department of Finance and the Department of Labor and Employment.

Minimum wage earners can now enjoy a maximum tax exemption of up to P104, 225 from P94,225.

Barrit said that the “de minimis” tax benefits granted by the Aquino administration will surely increase the take-home pay of the workers.

Barrit said that the vaunted economic growth rate in the country does not trickle down to the ordinary workers.

“The promise made by the administration that the best is yet to come is still a dream for the workers,” he said.

Barrit explained that the amount is negligible compared to the billions of pesos lost to corrupt government officials, tax evasion, and smuggling.

“We urged the government to run after the tax evaders and smugglers in order to give justice to the taxes paid by the ordinary workers be it in private or public sector,” Barrit stressed. — By Mitchelle L. Palaubsanon/FPL (The Freeman)

Increased 'de minimis' is good but we want discount card, too - labor group

Laborers buying snacks (file photo)

MANILA, Philippines -- While thanking the Aquino administration for increasing workers’ “de minimis” benefits by P10,000, a labor group said on Monday the government could do more for workers by providing them with discount cards they can use to purchase groceries or pay tuition, subsidized by unspent appropriations in the 2014 budget.

"We want to see President Benigno Aquino III make a long-lasting and meaningfully impacting reward in spending (the) 2014 excess annual budget for working Filipinos,” Gerard Seno, executive vice president of the Associated Labor Unions, said in a statement.

De minimis benefits are small benefits not covered by withholding tax that are given to employees on top of their wages and are supposed to go to workers’ health, company goodwill and efficiency.

Starting January, workers’ de minimis benefits will increase from the current P94,225, implemented in 2012, to P104,225.

Current de minimis coverage includea P750 medical cash allowance for dependents, P1,500 rice subsidy, P4,000 annual uniform and clothing allowance, P10,000 annual medical allowance, P300 laundry allowance, P10,000 for employees’ achievement award, P5,000 Christmas gifts and/or anniversary certificates, and 25 percent meal allowance for overtime work and nightshift in all regions.

Aside from proposing discount cards, ALU also suggested that government spend any budget surplus by building a workers’ center where local talent may be trained and certified based on the needs of the domestic labor market.

The discount card and workers’ center were among the 10 demands presented by the Nagkaisa labor coalition during their April 29 Labor Day breakfast with Aquino.

“We don’t want Mr. Aquino’s legacy for working people to be known for improving de minimis benefits alone. He can improve their lives by investing on a training center or impacting their lives with a discount card,” Seno said. - By: Lira Dalangin-Fernandez, InterAksyon.com