A COALITION of labor groups will drop its annual luncheon meetings with Pres. Benigno S.C. Aquino III, sector leaders announced Monday, saying workers’ concerns have fallen on deaf ears in Malacañang these past five years.
“There will not be any dialogue between workers and Malacañang this May 1,” Annie E. Geron, convenor of the Nagkaisa labor coalition that is composed of 49 organizations deemed the sector’s moderates, said as she read a prepared statement in Filipino in a press conference in the City of Manila yesterday.
“The entire force of Nagkaisa will take to the streets to seek justice for the Filipino worker.”
Pressed for details, Ms. Geron said the Aquino administration’s failure to act on concerns presented by labor groups in 2010 left them with no choice but to abandon talks with the Executive.
The list consisted of full employment, an across-the-board wage hike, quality public service, primary universal health care, protection for all Filipino migrant workers, and lower prices of goods and utilities. Particular reforms included the Security of Tenure bill and the proposed Freedom of Information act, both of which remain stalled in Congress.
TUCP-Nagkaisa started its annual May 1 talks with Mr. Aquino in 2012, but the group said these were fruitless.
“If the government did not act on our concerns these past five years, what else can we expect in this remaining one year of the administration, given that it faces so many issues: OFWs [overseas Filipino workers in trouble] and China,” Ms. Geron said, noting that “labor issues always take the back seat and are overshadowed by the emerging issues of the day.”
At the same time, however, Ms. Geron said members of her group will still negotiate directly with state agencies and private sector employers. “We need to go to each agency... rather than wait for him (Mr. Aquino) to give them orders (on labor concerns).”
A P15 increase in daily minimum wage for private sector workers in Metro Manila took effect on April 4, but this was far from the P136 wage hike sought by TUCP-Nagkaisa.
Sought for comment, Presidential Spokesperson Edwin S. Lacierda told reporters in a regular briefing yesterday that Malacañang will still reach out to labor groups.
“We will continue to engage any sector that is willing to listen to us. We have always spoken to TUCP. There are certain issues that have been discussed with the secretary of Labor and we continue to discuss those things,” Mr. Lacierda said.
“Perhaps, some of them may not be to the entire satisfaction but we have certainly addressed a number -- if not most -- of the issues that they have raised and we will continue to do so,” he added, citing, for instance, subdued increases in prices of basic goods.
“We always talk to people who would like to discuss matters with us. But if they chose not to, it’s our obligation to continue to fight for... and protect the rights of our workers.”
Rene E. Ofreneo, director of the Center for Labor Justice at the University of the Philippines School of Labor and Industrial Relations, said it is time for government to review its programs.
Noting that Mr. Aquino’s “term is ending”, Mr. Ofreneo said in a telephone interview: “Many labor groups have the same sentiment.”
“They have high expectations following Mr. Aquino’s social contract in 2010. They are now looking for results, asking: ‘Where are they?’”
TUCP-Nagkaisa has around 2.7 million worker-members, said the group’s spokesperson Alan A. Tanjusay, with most coming from the informal sector. At least 25,000 are expected to join the group’s Friday march in Metro Manila and similar protest actions will be held in other regions.
The Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP) asked TUCP not to halt consultations with Malacañang.
“It will be unfortunate if TUCP will close the door on the presidential dialogue on employment issues,” ECOP President Edgardo G. Lacson said via text.
“The journey towards progress and full employment is a long-term aspiration that should not be put on hold by unmet present demand for short-term gains like a substantial wage adjustment now. ECOP urges TUCP to reconsider its decision to boycott the dialogue with the president even if it has low expectations on the outcome of such consultations.” By Melissa Luz T. Lopez, Reporter BusinessWorld
Monday, April 27, 2015
Aquino has not achieved anything to uplift the lives of the workers - TUCP
MALACAÑANG dismissed Monday the allegation of a labor group that the Aquino administration has not achieved anything to uplift the lives of the workers.
Presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said that the government has been trying to address the labor issues being raised by different groups, such as the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP).
He said some of them might not be fully satisfied with what the government has been doing, "but we have certainly addressed a number if not most of the issues that they have raised; and we will continue to do so.
"I will certainly disagree with them that we have not done anything to improve the plight of workers in this country," he added.
Lacierda said that the Department of Labor and Employment has beefed up the labor standards and has made sure that employers complied with the law.
He also cited that since 2010, the number of strikes per year has been limited to less than 10.
"In 2014, for example, out of 159 notices of strike and lockout, only two finally pushed through. This is a result of the agency’s efforts in implementing the Single Entry Approach or SEnA, through which filed labor cases go through a 30-day conciliation-mediation period," the Palace official added.
TUCP has said that they would stop holding dialogue with the government as what they used to do in time for Labor Day, May 1.
The group has said that there was "no substantial progress" on the issues that they have raised during the past five years of the Aquino government.
TUCP is one of the members of Nagkaisa, an organization of labor federations planning to mobilize some 25,000 people for a protest march on Labor Day.
Nagkaisa spokesperson Alan Tanjusay said the march from España to Mendiola in Manila will start at 8 a.m.
Simultaneous protests will also be held in Cebu, Bacolod, Davao, General Santos, Cagayan de Oro, Cavite and parts of Southern Tagalog. - SunStar (SDR/FP/Sunnex)
Presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said that the government has been trying to address the labor issues being raised by different groups, such as the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP).
He said some of them might not be fully satisfied with what the government has been doing, "but we have certainly addressed a number if not most of the issues that they have raised; and we will continue to do so.
"I will certainly disagree with them that we have not done anything to improve the plight of workers in this country," he added.
Lacierda said that the Department of Labor and Employment has beefed up the labor standards and has made sure that employers complied with the law.
He also cited that since 2010, the number of strikes per year has been limited to less than 10.
"In 2014, for example, out of 159 notices of strike and lockout, only two finally pushed through. This is a result of the agency’s efforts in implementing the Single Entry Approach or SEnA, through which filed labor cases go through a 30-day conciliation-mediation period," the Palace official added.
TUCP has said that they would stop holding dialogue with the government as what they used to do in time for Labor Day, May 1.
The group has said that there was "no substantial progress" on the issues that they have raised during the past five years of the Aquino government.
TUCP is one of the members of Nagkaisa, an organization of labor federations planning to mobilize some 25,000 people for a protest march on Labor Day.
Nagkaisa spokesperson Alan Tanjusay said the march from España to Mendiola in Manila will start at 8 a.m.
Simultaneous protests will also be held in Cebu, Bacolod, Davao, General Santos, Cagayan de Oro, Cavite and parts of Southern Tagalog. - SunStar (SDR/FP/Sunnex)
Labor groups to hold prayer, candle vigils for Mary Jane Veloso on Tuesday
 |
| Mary Jane Veloso (Photograph: Jefta Images/Barcroft Media) |
Various labor organizations will hold prayer and indoor candle-lighting vigils for Mary Jane Veloso, the 30-year-old Filipino scheduled to be executed in Indonesia on Tuesday.
The vigils will be held at the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) compound and Occupational Safety and Health Center in Quezon City at 9 a.m. and 10:30 a.m., respectively, on April 28.
Veloso, arrested in an Indonesian airport for carrying 2.6 kilos of heroin in 2010, is scheduled to be executed by firing squad on Tuesday afternoon.
The TUCP-Nagkaisa is still hoping that the Indonesian government will reconsider the sentence imposed on Veloso.
“While we fervently hope for the Indonesian government to stay her execution,” the group said in a statement Monday.
“We also hope that the painful process will translate into real, immediate reforms in job-creation and wage policies so that Filipinos will no longer aspire to work abroad,” it added.
Incidentally, the group will be celebrating the International Workers Memorial Day (IWMD) and the launching of Workers' Rights on Wheels on the same day, to commemorate victims of construction accident and intensify calls for safe, decent work for all in Diliman, Quezon City.
Members of the Global union federation Building and Woodworkers International (BWI) together with affiliates Associated Labor Unions (ALU-TUCP) and National Union of Building and Construction Workers (NUBCW) will be joining the event.
Monday activities
For Monday, the Church Task Force to Save the Life of Mary Jane Veloso will be holding a candle-lighting and "prayer action" gathering in front of the Indonesian Embassy in Makati City at 6 p.m.
The group previously started an online petition calling on Indonesian President Joko Widodo and President Benigno Aquino III to save Veloso via clemency and pardon.
As of this posting, the petition has gathered more than 31,600 supporters.
The group invited signatories to the online petition, as well as supporters on Twitter using the hashtag #SaveMaryJane, "to offer a prayer and light a candle for Mary Jane."
"Bring your family, friends, classmates, or officemates. The bigger we are, the stronger our message will be," their invite said. "If you are living outside the Philippines, we encourage you to do the same. Please light a candle in front of the Embassy of Indonesia in your country and say a prayer."
For its part, the Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development called on Widodo to halt Veloso's execution and grant her "a full re-trial."
In a statement, the group pointed out that Veloso was not granted a fair trial because she wasn't given the free assistance of an able interpreter as well as the denial for review of the case.
It added that Veloso's case should instead instigate a look into the plight of Indonesian women and migrant workers.
Veloso, a mother of two, vehemently denied that she's a drug smuggler, saying she was tricked into carrying the suitcase by a Filipino friend who also acted as her recruiter.
Veloso, who was transferred to Indonesia's execution island last Friday, is set to be executed by firing squad.
The Philippine government has already filed its second appeal for judicial review on Veloso's case, hoping to commute her sentence to life imprisonment
Manila first sought an appeal last March, questioning the competence of the translator provided to Veloso during the trial. It was rejected by Indonesia's Supreme Court, but its laws allow death penalty cases to be appealed and reviewed despite a final ruling.
The second appeal includes proof that Veloso is not a drug smuggler based on the findings of a Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency team who visited her in prison last month. — with Rose-An Jessica Dioquino/KBK/RSJ, GMA News
Friday, April 24, 2015
Press conference on Labor Compliance System with Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz
 |
| Kilusan Pres. Arthur Juego with Atty. Sonny Matula of FFW |
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)