Workers' daily minimum buying power reduced to P200 per day

The Associated Labor Unions-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines said Saturday the buying power of workers' standard minimum in the private sector nationwide fell to P200 a day.

Citing the group's monitoring and evaluation of the inflation versus the daily minimum wage, ALU-TUCP spokesperson Alan Tanjusay said the average total daily minimum wage nationwide fell today to P200 a day effective this week from P208.83 in June 2018.

In June 2018, the total average of different daily minimum wage rates across the country was P335 and its equivalent buying power is P208.83, according to the labor group.

“What can workers buy for him and for his family nowadays with the value of his minimum pay of P200 a day?” Tanjusay said in a statement.

"Without a serious government social safety program in place and a significant wage increase to address the worsening economic depression, a decreasing buying power of wage bears harmful effect to workers’ health and capacity to produce quality goods and services needed by employers and business owners to thrive," he added.

According to the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA), the amount needed by a family of five in order to live decently is P44,000 a month or P1,400 a day.

The segment of work force already affected by the crisis are those entry-level, rank-and-file, contractual, short-term, and end-of-contract employees receiving minimum pay working in manufacturing and services sector, the labor group said.

However, the most heavily affected segment of the labor force by high inflation and decreasing purchasing power are those 11 million unemployed and those 15.6 million workers working in the informal economy.

“The unemployed obviously are scraping what’s left at rock bottom and very susceptible to any means to survive. While workers in the informal economy —since they have no fixed income —are also very insecure,” Tanjusay said.

With this, the labor group expects a lower output contribution to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) by workers affected by shrinking value of their pay and continuously rising prices.

The shrinking value of their salary, ALU-TUCP said, impacted the workers health and their productivity particularly their capacity to produce quality goods and services needed by employers and business owners to prosper.

“With the poor workers option to buy quality and nutritious food for him and for his family has been decreasing, expect an unhappy and less productive employees in the weeks ahead. Take note that these very vulnerable segment of workers are already have no security of tenure, no fixed income, inadequate social protection benefits and confronted by difficult and stressful external forces,” Tanjusay said.

TUCP Party-list Rep. Raymond Mendoza has filed a bill in the House of the Representatives seeking a P320 a day across-the-board wage increase for workers in manufacturing, agriculture and service sectors.

The ALU-TUCP has also sought government for a P500 monthly grocery subsidy for minimum wage earners to help them cope with rising inflation and eroding wages.

The group also has petitioned the 17 regional wage boards nationwide to increase workers’ pay by P320 a day.

However, only nine regional wage boards have made wage adjustments since May this year ranging from P10 to P56 a day on installment basis, it said. —Ted Cordero/LBG, GMA News

Supreme Court final ruling settles TUCP leadership row

The Supreme Court (SC) on June 20, 2018 issued a resolution denying with FINALITY the motion for reconsideration filed by the group of the former and late Sen. Ernesto Herrera on the issue of determining the legitimate member organizations of the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP). The highest court’s final ruling finally settled the issue of legal and legitimate representation and leadership of the labor center, particularly the legality and legitimacy of convening the TUCP General Council and the hodling of TUCP Convention and election of officers that was held on April 2, 2016 in TUCP Headquarters in Diliman, Quezon City, where all the 27 member-organizations were invited to participate pursuant to Article VI of the TUCP Constitution and By-Laws.

During the said Convention, the 17 member-organizations/federations present and in good standing constituting a quorum elected Rep. Raymond Mendoza from the Associated Labor Unions (ALU) as President; Atty. Arnel Dolendo from the Philippine Trade and General Workers Organization (PTGWO) as General Secretary; and Esperanza Ocampo from the Philippine Government Employees Association (PGEA) as Treasurer. The delegates also elected the other members of the TUCP Executive Board representing other TUCP federations with a 5-year term of office until 2021.

The conduct of the TUCP Convention and Regular Election of Officers, in compliance with the orders and resolutions of the Court of Appeals, the Supreme Court, and the Bureau of Labor Relations, put to rest the issue on TUCP leadership along with the demise of its key leaders – Atty. Democrito Mendoza of ALU, former Sen. Ernesto F. Herrera of AMAPO, Victorino F. Balais of PTGWO and Zoilo dela Cruz of NACUSIP.

The Convention and election of the new officers of TUCP were held in pursuant to the Writ of Execution issued by the Bureau of Labor Relations (BLR) on 11 August 2015 implementing the Decision of the Court of Appeals dated 07 October 2013, as amended by its Resolution issued on 16 June 2014, and as affirmed by the Supreme Court in its Resolutions dated 27 August 2014 and 09 February 2015. The Writ of Execution issued by the BLR on 11 August 2015 with respect to the leadership issue of the TUCP is deemed complied with.

The most recent decision of the Supreme Court has the practical effect of affirming and sustaining the legitimacy of the 02 April 2016 8th TUCP Convention and Regular Election of Officers which resulted to election of current leadership under President Raymond Mendoza.

With the final decision of the Supreme Court, the TUCP could now be able to fully revitalize, consolidate and further expand its membership with an open-door policy to the other 10 legitimate organizations of the TUCP that went with the group of Sen. Herrera during the leadership dispute.

The TUCP under the leadership of Rep. Mendoza can now fully revive its participation in the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) and re-connect wih other national and international labor and fraternal organizations. Also, the organization can now proceed full steam ahead to reconstituting its working committees and functional deparments to develop and offer more programs and services to its members in the manufacturing, services, transportation, and agriculture sectors nationwide including its OFW members both land and sea-based. It can also now fully develop its properties and facilities without legal question or any impediment which will greatly help in strengthening the operations of the TUCP for the benefit of workers, their families and communities.

The TUCP leadership is very grateful to all its allies and supporters in the government, in the media, and in the Nagkaisa Labor Coalition who believed in the legitimate leadership of the TUCP under Rep. Mendoza. The labor center commits to continue its work to serving the Filipino workers in the country and overseas. - TUCP Labor Center Statement

‘Price swings erode workers’ buying power’

The Associated Labor Unions-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines said Tuesday high inflation was pushing down the workers’ buying power as it criticized the government and employers for their alleged lack of social responsibility.

The labor group said the rising prices of goods and the surging cost of services were continuing to pull down the capacity of workers to buy goods and to pay for services.

In other developments:

• The poorest 60 million Filipinos suffered income loss due to inflation in the first six months of 2018, the research group IBON Foundation said on Tuesday.

It estimated loss at between P993 and P2,715 and blamed it on high inflation.

The inflation rate increased from 3.4 percent in January 2018 to 5.2 percent in June of the same year.

• Finance Secretary Carlos Dominquez on Tuesday assured senators that his department’s prudent debt management and fiscal discipline had prepared it for the changing global trends.

Speaking during the Development Budget Coordination Committee Senate briefing, Dominguez said they had exceeded growth expectations while the revenues were above target.

“Higher government spending means more services delivered to our people. We have put more money in people’s pockets,” he said.

ALU-TUCP spokesman Alan Tanjusay said before the government’s Tax Acceleration and Inclusion or TRAIN Law, the total average daily minimum wage of minimum wage earners for contractualized and entry-level employees nationwide for the month of October 2017 was P327 a day and its equivalent purchasing power was P212.89 a day.

In April 2018 and in light of the wage increases from the regional wage boards, the total average daily minimum wage of workers for the same set of workers rose to P330.47, but due to rising inflation, their buying power fell to P208.38 a day.

However, despite another round of wage increases in some regions, the workers’ total average nationwide pay in June 2018 rose to P335 a day, but their purchasing power remained at P208.83 a day.

“The cost of living was rising and workers and their families were having difficulty coping with the prices of food, particularly the price of rice, electricity and tuition, transportation and house rent, but we don’t know when will the government step in and extend social safety net programs to the poor workers,” Tanjusay said.

The National Economic and Development Authority set the standard amount at P1,400 a day―the amount needed by a family of five to live comfortably.

The labor group has petitioned the regional wage boards with a P320 across-the-board wage increase, but only nine have made wage adjustments. Eight other regional wage boards have yet to adjust the wage rates in their regions. - Vito Barcelo With Rio N. Araja and Macon Ramos-Araneta

Nagkaisa! condemns violence against workers across the country

Nagkaisa! Labor Coalition is deeply concerned over the spate of violence that befell workers in separate incidents across the country.

“We condemn in the strongest terms possible, the attempted murder of a trade union leader in Cebu City and the violent dispersal of striking workers of food giant NutriAsia and their supporters, in Marilao, Bulacan," Atty. Sonny Matula, chairperson of Nagkaisa! said.

The display of violence happened a few hours apart yesterday.

“There was an apparent attempt on the life of Jessielou Cadungog, labor leader of ALU-TUCP, vice chairman of the Oriental Port and Allied Services Corporation (OPASCOR) and it involved the police," Matula said.

The Philippine National Police (PNP) in Cebu are owning up to the incident as a legitimate police operation.

Meanwhile, in Marilao, Bulacan, the picket of protesting workers and their supporters was violently dispersed by operatives of PNP Bulacan and security personnel of giant food manufacturer NutriAsia.

“A peaceful concerted action demanding the recognition of rights of workers such as what was being done by workers of NutriAsia, should never ever merit any and all kinds of violence, especially those perpetrated by the police and private security personnel," Matula said.

Based on workers' accounts, some 100 security forces, including 30 police officers violently dispersed the picket line as protesters were holding a religious ecumenical service.

At least 19 were arrested and scores arrested as many of the protesters scrambled for safety amid the chaos.

Back in Cebu, the gunman who was killed in the encounter by Cadungog's aide was identified as PO2 Eugene Alcain Calumba. The accomplice who was taken into custody by the PNP was Michael Banua.

“Now, the PNP is trying to portray the assassination attempt on Mr. Cadungog as a legitimate police operation identifying him as a 'person-of-interest' involved in shabu," Michael Mendoza, president of ALU-TUCP, a Nagkaisa member said.

“We stand by Mr. Cadungog and condemn this sordid attempt to justify and cover-up for what is clear police involvement," said Mendoza.

Meanwhile, police in Bulacan are claiming that some of the arrested protesters had guns and drugs with them.

“It is becoming a sad refrain. The campaign against drugs is being used by the police as a flimsy excuse to either justify the use of violence or use it as an escape goat, when harassing workers and citizens who are exercising their legitimate trade union and human rights," Matula said.

“We are calling on the authorities to conduct a thorough and objective investigation of the twin incidents of violence against workers that occurred yesterday. The police officers and their superiors who will be proven to have done wrongdoing should be made accountable. The culture of impunity must stop," Matula said.