Govt urged to prepare contingency plans for Pinoys in Greece

A labor group on Tuesday urged the government to prepare contingency plans for Filipinos who may be affected by Greece's economic crisis, less than a week after the debt-ridden European nation voted no to bailout reform proposals.

"The current events had already resulted in a major decline in the service and tourism industry—hotels, restaurants, cruise ships— where majority of Filipino OFWs are employed," said Louie Corral, executive director of the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines-Nagkaisa (TUCP-Nagkaisa), in a statement.

"Clearly, cash will be tight for Greeks and many do not even know where their next paycheck will come from. What more for our OFWs?" Corral added.

Filipinos were unable to remit their money home last week after Greek banks limited their activities due to capital control. Greek nationals were also limited to €60 per ATM withdrawal.

Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said on Monday that Filipinos were secure in their jobs despite the economic crisis and that they may still find jobs in other countries should they need new employment.

Despite this, TUCP-Nagkaisa spokesperson Alan Tanjusay called on the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) and the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to create contingency plans to support OFW's to relieve the impact the Greek financial crisis may have on them.

DFA spokesperson Charles Jose said the government is now studying the effects of the Greek referendum on OFW prospects and that it has already advised Filipinos in Greece to prepare for any eventuality.

There is an estimated 61,500 Filipino workers in Greece. Of this, 11,500, mostly domestic helpers, are land-based, while 60,000 are seafarers.

Majority of Greeks voted against an international bailout offer on Sunday, in a move opposition members warned could result in Greece being booted out of the Eurozone. —Rie Takumi/KBK, GMA News

Salon worker says celebrity boss fired him due to HIV

Celebrity hairstylist Ricky Reyes (left) faces complaints from a former salon employee and now HIV sufferer, Rene Nocos, who has found supporters among labor groups. ALU

A former employee of a beauty salon chain has come out to accuse celebrity hairstylist and makeup artist Ricky Reyes of firing him because he had tested positive for the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

Rene Nocos, 47, filed in March last year a complaint against Reyes for discrimination, unlawful termination and nonpayment of benefits in the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC).

On Wednesday, Nocos went more public about his case in a press conference held by the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) and the Associated Labor Unions (ALU).

“I have committed wrong choices in the past and suffered heavily for it. My entire family has disowned me. My friends have abandoned me. My coworkers have condemned me,’’ he said.

“Despite all these, I need my life back. But I can’t rebuild my life because I was laid off from my job just because I have HIV. I want to put the pieces back together but my employer, Ricky Reyes, denied me of my social protection through SSS (Social Security System) and PhilHealth.”

Nocos said he tried to avail himself of free outpatient HIV/AIDS treatment through PhilHealth, “but I discovered only last year that my employer was not making any payment at all. So I confronted him (Reyes). He then fired me after learning that I have HIV right there and then.”

Fired on Feb. 28, 2014, Nocos filed a complaint in the NLRC three days later against Reyes and Tonette Moreno, vice president of Ricky Superstyle Color Salon.

But in a press statement on Wednesday, Ricky Reyes Corp. gave a different version of the events leading to Nocos’ unemployment and maintained that discrimination had nothing to do with it.

“Based on our records, Nocos became ill in 2013. The company allowed him to go on sick leave, paying him his monthly salary in full. This went on for six months,’’ the company said, without specifying the illness.

Nocos later “recuperated from his sickness” and presented to the head office a medical certificate stating he was fit to work again, it recalled. “So the head office assigned him to a salon branch on España, Manila. But after some time, his illness recurred and he again went on sick leave for three months, with full payment of his salary.”

He was soon working again at the España salon but “his illness was on and off and, sad to say, the salon was not doing good… so management decided to close shop.’’

The affected employees were told to wait as management worked out their relocation to other branches. At this point, “it was best for Nocos to recuperate and have complete rest until such time we could hire him again,” the company said.

“But Nocos demanded to still have his salary in full, [a demand] which management declined. The company waited for him to report back [but] he never did.”

According to the company, the case was unprecedented in the 40-year operations of the Ricky Reyes Group Of Companies. “With the highest degree of respect for persons, we will not allow acts of discrimination, whether from the management or the rank and file.”

At the press conference, ALU policy advocacy officer Alan Tanjusay said they would request the Department of Labor and Employment to conduct an inspection and assessment of all salon outlets owned by Reyes and Moreno for compliance with labor and wage laws.

“We are appealing to the NLRC, SSS and PhilHealth to render as quickly as possible their judgment on the case filed by Rene. The justice rendered by these institutions is very important in Rene’s struggle to move on. There is no closure and there is no new beginning for him if there is injustice.’’ said ALU executive vice president Gerard Seno. - Philippine Daily Inquirer

Tripartite inspection of power plant shutdowns sought

A trade unionist stresses the importance of stable power supply and low power rates in attracting foreign investors and ensuring the competitiveness of local businesses

MANILA, Philippines – Power plant shutdowns should be physically inspected by a 3-party panel composed of representatives from government, civil society, and the power sector to prevent collusion attempts by power players.

This is according to Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) executive director Louie Corral, who noted the swiftness of the order of Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz for a tripartite inspection of Valenzuela city factories following a massive factory fire that killed at least 72. (READ: Dire conditions found in factories around Kentex)

Corral said such inspections should be preventive rather than reactive across industries, not just in manufacturing.

He urged the energy department to issue a department order allowing consumers to be represented in the inspection of outages in power plants.

In a recent interview, the trade unionist said such a move would disable the artificial inflation of power rates. Corral cited the alleged jacked up prices of power distribution firm Manila Electric Company (Meralco), when it bought supply from the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM).

The whopping P4.15 per kilowatt hour (kWh) power rate increase became controversial in 2014 as Meralco was forced to source its power requirements from the WESM, which is subject to volatile prices. The Supreme Court has since issued a temporary restraining order on the price hike. (READ: SC extends TRO on Meralco rate hike indefinitely)

Bulk of the rate increase was due to generation charges or the cost of producing the electricity, which generation companies collect from power distribution firm Meralco. Meralco, in turn, passes on this cost to consumers.

The power distributor had to source power from WESM due to the scheduled maintenance shutdown of its main power source, the Malampaya gas field.

Meralco also had to contend with the simultaneous outages of the power plants it had existing power supply agreements with. These outages coincided with that of Malampaya which, Meralco explained, led to the record-high increase.

Meralco was accused before the High Court of inflating charges by selling to WESM at ceiling price the power it already bought from power generation company Therma Mobile Inc.

Meralco countered that it was merely a victim of WESM's must-offer rule and of arbitrary bids that messed up pricing.

Corral told Rappler the tripartite inspection will partly address power shortages caused by the deliberate withholding of power supply by generation companies, noting the dubious simultaneous outages.

Physical inspection of the plants are a must during shutdowns to avoid reliance on mere paper work, he added.

He stressed the importance of stable power supply and low power rates in attracting foreign investors and ensuring the competitiveness of local businesses.

Tripartite inspection instead of joint assessments?

TUCP also urged tripartite inspections in the manufacturing industry to replace the current framework of joint assessments under the Labor Laws Compliance System (LLCS).

Under the LLCS, workplaces are jointly assessed by a labor law compliance officer from the labor department, a representative from among the workers in that workplace, and the employer or his or her representative.

TUCP spokesperson Alan Tanjusay said the workers' representative would necessarily be afraid to reveal any labor standards violations for fear of losing his or her job. He said the workers' representative should be a trade unionist instead, with no employer-employee relationship to the company being assessed.

In a statement Wednesday, June 24, TUCP claimed that compliance officers and labor leaders were offered bribes during the DOLE-ordered tripartite inspections in Valenzuela. Employers reportedly offered cash in an attempt to expedite the assessment and be granted a compliance certificate.

Tanjusay said the government needs to come up with an additional mechanism to deal with bribery under the LLCS.

Calls to overhaul the LLCS intensified in the aftermath of the fire that killed 72 people in the two-storey footwear factory of Kentex Manufacturing in Valenzuela City in May.

The deadly Kentex factory blaze is seen as a setback for the Philippine manufacturing industry, an industry that draws foreign investors partly due to cheap labor.

Corral argues that the way to attract investors should be through lower utility costs and upgraded skills of workers, instead of lax labor standards and low pay. – Rappler.com / Buena Bernal @buenabernal

Valenzuela fire inspection to affect 12,000 workers

Closure of several business establishments that are not complying with fire safety laws in Valenzuela City will displace at least 12,000 workers, according to a labor group. 

MANILA, Philippines - At least 12,000 workers will be affected by the closure of business establishments in Valenzuela City, labor coalition Trade Union Congress of the Philippines-Nagkaisa (TUCP-Nagkaisa) said on Friday.

Alan Tanjusay, the group's national spokesperson, said that the number could balloon if Valenzuela Mayor Rex Gatchalian would continue with his plan to shut down businesses that failed to comply with fire safety requirements.

"Rather than immediate closure, we suggest that erring and non-compliant companies should be given at least 10 days to correct themselves. Unless, Mayor Gatchalian does have immediate alternative plans to provide jobs to those thousands of workers who might be affected by his closure plan and prevent a massive problem, we recommend that he be rational at this time," Tanjusay said.

He said Gatchalian should devote local government resources to enforcing existing fire safety laws and ensure labor standards are being faithfully observed by companies within the city.

Tanjusay said labor coalition Nagkaisa have forged an agreement with the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to inspect and assess all factories in Valenzuela.

He said Nagkaisa, with TUCP as one of the 49 convenors, will make comprehensive recommendations in reforming the enforcement and compliance to the Labor Law Compliance System being implemented by DOLE.

The launching of the joint inspection will be announced later.

The city government has intensified its inspection on business establishments after the May 13 fire that razed a slippers factory, killing 72 persons. - By Dennis Carcamo (philstar.com)