Workers' group asks: Where is govt plan for 800,000 who will lose jobs due to El Nino?

FILE PHOTO BY BERNARD TESTA

MANILA - At least 800,000 to 1 million workers in the agriculture sector may lose their jobs within the next six months of an intensified El Nino dry spell, the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines-Nagkaisa (TUCP-Nagkaisa) said in a news release Sunday.

The scenario prompted the TUCP-Nagkaisa to call for the inclusion of livelihood assistance for them in mitigation plans being drawn up by various national government agencies and local government units.

“We urge government, from the national down to the local government units, to include in their mitigation plan those workers in the agriculture sector who may be rendered jobless due to intense weather phenomenon. They suffer double whammy because not only that they lose their livelihood and income, they also suffer as consumer,” said Gerard Seno, executive vice president of the Associated Labor Unions (ALU).

Seno said the group supports the call of Senator Chiz Escudero for government to create an inter-agency task force that will draw a roadmap in coping with El Nino.

Records from the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics (BAS) showed as of April this year, there are 11.4 million workers working in the agriculture sector, down by 400,000 from 11.8 million by the end 2014. Aside from farming and harvesting, the sector also includes hunting, forestry, and fishing.

TUCP-Nagkaisa spokesman Alan Tanjusay attributed the rapid unemployment during the period to the beginning of El Nino event citing data from BAS saying the agriculture industry contracted by 0.37 percent in the second quarter of the year due to intense heat which affected crops and fisheries subsectors, records from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed.

“Our agriculture workers particularly in the rural areas are underwaged that is why the sector always had the highest underemployment incidence. Besides, we do not see agricultural workers in the El Nino rescue plan of government,” Tanjusay said.

From 11.9 million in 2010, workers in the agriculture rose to 12.2 million in 2011 -- the highest in five-year period -- and dwindled to 12 million in 2012 and further down to 11.83 million in 2013.

In July this year, unemployment in the sector rose to a total of 755,000 workers. National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) secretary-general and Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan blamed the onset of El Nino phenomenon caused the uptick in unemployment in the sector.

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Administration said 58 percent of the country is experiencing effects of El Nino and could increase to 85 percent in February 2016. Provinces heavily affected by the phenomenon are Quirino, Aurora, Quezon, Bohol, Siquijo, Camiguin, and Misamis Oriental. - InterAksyon.com means BUSINESS

SSS urged to step up campaign against erring capitalists

SIX biggest labor organizations and alliances on Friday have strongly prodded the leadership of the Social Security System (SSS) to step up its campaign against capitalists who deliberately refuse to remit their monthly financial obligation collected from their employees.

Leody de Guzman, president of the Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino (BMP), said the leaders and managers of the SSS must oblige all the employers to ensure that they will remit their employees’ monthly obligation and the corresponding employers’ share to the SSS.

Alan Tanjusay, spokesperson of the alliance of Trade Union Congress of the Philippines and Nagkaisa (TUCP-Nagkaisa), added that the SSS should conduct a regular inspection or reminder to all private firms covered to remit to the government’s social security agency the monthly payment of the employees and the corresponding employers’ share.

On September 21, The Manila Times reported that the SSS was able to collect about P1.6 billion from employers who refused to remit to the SSS the employers’ and employees’ monthly financial obligation for the past years.

The Times also reported that the SSS managed to send to jail at least 24 capitalists out of the 7,000 who intentionally violated the SSS Law.

For these accomplishments, Partido Manggagawa (PM) spokesman Wilson Fortaleza said the SSS leadership should step up its efforts so that more capitalists will be incarcerated for violating the agency’s law.

Fortaleza added that the 24 jailed capitalists were not enough since PM strongly believes that there are many businessmen still refuse to give the SSS the monthly payment of the employees together with the employers share.

Although the law stipulates that company employees should lodge a complaint against erring employers before the SSS, Tanjusay, who is also chairman of the Labor Party of the Philippines (LPP), said there is still a huge number of employers who deliberately ignore remitting to SSS the money they collect from their employees.

He also pointed out that the SSS would not act unless an employee will file a complaint against his or her employer who refused to remit the money they chopped from their employees.

Sonny Matula, president of the Federation of Free Workers (FFW), said the action against any erring employer should not only be done by the SSS but by the employees as well in order to win against the SSS Law violators.

Matula stressed that the employees’ decision against their employer is an important act to help SSS do its obligation.

But Matula, who is also a lawyer, should be reminded that the mindset of Filipino workers is filled with fear. They are afraid to file a complaint against their employers who violated even a series of non-remittance to the SSS amounting to two years.

A good example was a call center employee who failed to get her financial incentive from the SSS when she gave birth to her third child two months ago, because her employer did not remit the money they collected.

The employee was then advised to lodge a complaint so that legal actions could be done against the SSS Law violator, but she later on refused out of fear that she might be fired from the company. - by NELSON S. BADILLA, REPORTER / The Manila Times

Six labor groups urge govt to approve workers’ tax cuts

THE six biggest labor groups and alliances in the Philippines on Friday expressed their unity in strongly supporting the reduction of workers’ withholding taxes.

Alan Tanjusay, spokesperson of one of the alliances, the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines and Nagkaisa (TUCP-Nagkaisa), said the two labor alliances together with the newly-formed Labor Party of the Philippines (LPP) have not withdrawn their strong support to the efforts of three senators and two congressmen who aim to lower the percentage of the taxable income of salaried workers since it will surely help raise the purchasing power of every employee.

Tanjusay, who is also the chairman of LPP, said that TUCP, Nagkaisa, and LPP are thinking of different forms of struggle to convince President Aquino 3rd on the correctness and positive effect on the economy should the workers’ tax cuts be approved.

At present, the withholding taxes on workers’ income range from 10 to 30 percent annually depending on the yearly salary.

Minimum wage earners are exempted from tax cuts.

Proposed laws being tackled in both chambers of the Congress and the Senate have two intentions: widen the coverage of the low withholding taxes on the one hand, and increase corporate taxes on the other hand.

Despite the fact that this proposal could add up to his good legacy, Mr. Aquino vehemently opposed the idea of the pro-administration lawmakers, including his first cousin, Sen. Benigno Paolo “Bam” Aquino 4th, due to the possible downgrading of the Philippines’ credit capacity ranking.

Even Bureau of Internal Revenue Commissioner Kim Henares was more concerned on the country’s possible downgraded credit rating, rather than the increase of the workers’ purchasing power.

Wilson Fortaleza, spokesman of Partido Manggagawa (PM), stressed the truth of the matter that workers with a living wage less than P1,500 per day must be exempted from paying a withholding tax.

He said tax exemptions on the biggest number of workers, both in the private and government sectors, have been a long-time agenda of PM.

Fortaleza added that the utmost concern of PM is to increase the living wage of the Filipino working class, saying it is an important issue that his group will bring up in the House of Representatives not only today but also in the future.

Sonny Matula, president of the Federation of Free Workers (FFW), pointed out that reduced withholding taxes for the salaried workers not only brings a good effect on the workers but more so in the country’s economy.

Matula, who is also a lawyer, said the tax cuts on the annual income of the salaried workers are definitely beneficial to the economy because more workers could buy more products.

Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino (BMP) President Leody de Guzman strongly agreed with his fellow labor leaders, saying the “tax exemption would result in the much-needed increase in take-home pay for wage and salaried workers who earn more than the atrociously-low minimum wage and are not covered by the orders of the regional wage boards since their creation in 1989.”

He said he could not understand why Mr. Aquino rejected the idea of tax reduction when in fact it “would not cause a big loss in the tax base for the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), since the increase in take-home pay will spur consumption and increase the collections for the value-added tax.”

De Guzman could not hide his disgust with the Aquino administration because it could “afford to give billions in tax breaks and incentives to foreign multinational monopolies … [but] it has the gall to complain of the P30 billion that would be reduced from the nation’s coffers due to the [tax reduction on withholding taxes].” - by NELSON S. BADILLA, REPORTER / The Manila Times

Cebu: Labor groups express dismay at P13 increase

THE P13 adjustment in the minimum wage approved by the regional wage board for minimum wage earners in Metro Cebu is not enough, according to labor groups.

“We are dismayed by the increase. It is too far from our demand,” said Dennis Derige, spokesperson for Partido ng Manggawa (PM) in Cebu.

He said that the increase is not enough to provide for a worker’s daily subsistence.
Art Barrit of the Associated Labor Union-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (ALU-TUCP) expressed a similar sentiment, saying ALU-TUCP anticipated a higher wage hike.

Proposal

“We did not expect that amount. We were expecting more than P50," Barrit told Sun.Star Cebu in an interview yesterday.

He laments that despite the figures they had shown during the deliberation, the wage board has not bothered to consider their proposal.

Last July, the group filed a petition before the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB) 7 for a P92 increase in the daily minimum wage.

Barrit said that the RTWPB “always” ruled in favor of the management sector.
Barrit said they are prepared to file a motion for reconsideration before the National Wages and Productivity Council (NWPC) in Manila.

Cities

Labor groups also pointed out that the P13 increase only applies to the cities of Carcar, Danao, Cebu, Mandaue, Lapu-Lapu, and the town of Cordova.

Derige said that PM is asking Congress to abolish the RTWPB and replace it with the National Living Wage Commission.

Joe Tomungha, labor sector representative in the RTWPB, said that he thought of resigning from the post last year but decided not to because the move would impair the sector’s representation in the wage board.
Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) 7 Exequiel Sarcauga said in an interview that he respects the opinion of the labor groups.

Sarcauga said that a regionalized wage classification was set in place because of regional disparity in standard of living and economic profile.

He said that the wage adjustment only covered Metro Cebu, the center of economic activity in Cebu.

He said that to address the issue, the rest of Cebu should be opened to investments.

He said that if the RTWPB is abolished, the DOLE will comply with the order. - By EARL JON M. RALLOSPublished in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on September 12, 2015.