It’s ‘abuse’ to prevent workers’ evacuation during earthquake – labor group

TUCP says it received complaints from call center workers who were not allowed to evacuate and were told to continue working after a magnitude 6.1 earthquake hit Luzon on Monday

EVACUATE. Shoppers seen rushing outside as they evacuate the Robinson Place Manila mall following an earthquake that hit Luzon on April 22, 2019. Photo by Inoue Jaena/Rappler 

MANILA, Philippines – Labor group Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) hit employers who refused to let workers evacuate from buildings when a magnitude 6.1 earthquake rocked Luzon on Monday, April 22, and then made them resume work right after, without waiting for the structural integrity of the buildings to be checked.

TUCP president Raymond Mendoza said the group received several reports from employees about managers, supervisors, and employers who did not practice safety precautions as workers were made to remain indoors during the earthquake.

He said some employees were also ordered to keep working “despite of the dangers and hazards on the workplace caused by the quake.”

“This company practice or policy is a form of abuse and it must be condemned because it imperils the lives of their employees and jeopardizes the safety and health of workers,” Mendoza said on Tuesday, April 23.

TUCP did not name the companies where workers were supposedly prevented from evacuating. However, TUCP spokesperson Alan Tanjusay said they received complaints from workers in call centers and the business process outsourcing industry.

After the strong earthquake in Luzon was felt at 5:11 pm on Monday, evacuations of government offices, private offices, schools, and buildings were conducted as a precautionary measure.

In the event of an earthquake, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) recommends that people find a safe exit and move to an open area that's far away from trees, power lines, posts, and concrete structures.

Safety first always

Mendoza reminded employers and business owners that it is their responsibility to put safety first and ensure their employees are kept safe and secure during workplace disasters, earthquakes, and fires, among others.

Employers, he said, should check on buildings and workplaces for possible damage caused by tremors during the earthquake to prevent future accidents from occurring.
“It is possible that the damage may not be immediately obvious, but it already impacted the integrity of the workplace structure and may cause irreparable damage upon aftershocks and future earthquakes,” Mendoza said.

The group reminded employees that under Republic Act 11058 or An Act Strengthening Compliance with Occupational Safety and Health Standards, workers have the right to refuse work if the workplace is unsafe.

The law says workers may do so, without threat from their employer.

“If workers were forced to work despite of the notice of unsafe workplace, employers, contractors and business-owners are administratively liable,” Mendoza said.

Under RA 11058, employers, contractors, sub-contractors, or work supervisors who violate this law, will have to pay a fine of P100,000 for every day that a violation is not remedied, counting from the day the employer is notified or the compliance order is issued by the Department of Labor and Employment.

Past noon on Tuesday, April 23, a stronger earthquake – with a magnitude of 6.5 – struck parts of the Visayas. – Rappler.com

Cebu Pacific cabin crew establish new union

Interaksyon file photo

CEBU Pacific Air Inc. is gearing up for upcoming negotiations with its new cabin crew union, Juan Wing Regular Cabin Crews of the Philippines, after the union was formally established last week.

“In the coming weeks, we will be meeting with representatives of the Juan Wing cabin crew union. We intend to engage in healthy dialogue and ensure a positive and productive relationship,” Cebu Pacific COO Michael Ivan S. Shau told BusinessWorld on Sunday.

Last week, the ballot counting from the April 1 to 5 elections for the establishment of a union for cabin crew showed 1,124 out of 1,135 votes cast chose “Yes to union.” Both the elections and counting were overseen by the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE).

The Associated Labor Union — Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (ALU-TUCP), with which Juan Wing is affiliated, said that the newly-formed union is preparing to discuss issues like security of tenure, improved benefits, and fair wages for cabin crew.

“The union will negotiate for better wages and benefits, better working conditions, and better terms under the existing labor policies and regulations to improve… (the) working climate that would benefit the interests of both the union members and the management,” said TUCP President Raymond C. Mendoza in a statement on Sunday.

Mr. Shau said that the airline’s desire to provide all Cebu Pacific employees better labor rights has always been a top concern.

The JG Summit Holdings, Inc. unit said it practices are in line with the group’s engagement policy with its workers.

“(C)ebu Pacific believes that there is no differentiation between unionized and non-unionized employee groups when it comes to listening to and providing for the needs of our employees. In fact, JG Summit has a track record of maintaining open, transparent and mutually beneficial relationships with all 27 unions existing across the conglomerate,” he said. — Gillian M. Cortez

Government urged to reevaluate standards for meeting basic needs

HARD STATS According to the Philippine Statistics Authority, “no less than P10,481 on the average” is needed by a family of five to meet both their monthly basic food and nonfood needs. Residents of this slum area in Binondo, Manila, may find that hard to believe. —RICHARD REYES

A monthly budget of P7,337 that the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said was enough to feed a family of five translates to less than P50 for three meals a day for every family member, lower than the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology’s P60 daily budget for food for every inmate, according to a senatorial candidate.

“If that is the standard of the PSA, life may even be better for prisoners or inmates. At least they don’t have to worry about paying for electricity, water and rent,” Ding Generoso said on Thursday in a statement.

Generoso, former spokesperson of a consultative committee created by President Duterte to draft a proposed federal Constitution, recalled that the Food and Nutrition Research Institute had determined that in 2015, a Filipino would need at least P88 a day to meet calorie and nutrition requirements.

On Wednesday, the PSA said the poverty threshold was set at “no less than P10,481 on average,” the amount needed by a family of five to meet both their monthly basic food and nonfood needs.

This means that each member, on average, is allocated a budget of just P70 a day.

Labor groups on Thursday urged the PSA to reevaluate the poverty threshold, lamenting that the amount did not reflect the current expenses of families.

Sonny Matula, chair of Nagkaisa labor coalition, said the monthly budget that the PSA construed as enough for a family to meet its needs was just a little higher than the P60 subsistence daily allowance of prisoners.

Asked if the amount set by the PSA was enough for a family of five to survive, presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo said: “It might depend on the lifestyle of the family. If you ask the poor, they might say that they will be content to eat rice with salt.”

Wage increase

The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) said that if the PSA maintained this computation, workers might find it difficult to press the government and the private sector for a just wage.

TUCP president Raymond Mendoza said employers could justify their stand against a significant wage increase by citing the current minimum wage as already above government standard.

“This very low standard erases the need for wage boards to provide significant wage increases. It gives us the impression that ‘everything is okay’ and there’s no need for wage increases because minimum wages are higher than the minimum threshold,” Mendoza said.

At present, the highest daily minimum wage in the country is P537, which is enjoyed by workers in Metro Manila.

Partido Manggagawa (PM) said a family of five, especially those in Metro Manila, would need a budget of at least P39,000 a month. Of this amount, 44 percent is allocated for food.

PM chair Rene Magtubo pointed out that PSA’s computation did not seem to take into account realities consumers were facing.

“Out of the P7,337 food budget of PSA, we guess that P2,000 is allotted for rice. Such a budget can only buy 60 kilos of P32 NFA (National Food Authority) rice—which is hard to find in the market—for one month or two kilos per day to be shared by five people,” Magtubo said.

The party-list ACT Teachers said the government was using meager statistics on poverty threshold to justify denying its workers salary increases.

“The Duterte administration, through the PSA’s too conservative numbers, aims to present diminishing statistics on the income gap, poverty gap and severity of poverty, and thus silence the deafening demand of the people for living salaries and wages,” said ACT Teachers Rep. Antonio Tinio.

Even the P10,510 received by the lowest-paid government employee is not enough to keep families afloat, Tinio said.

Professionals like public school teachers, who currently receive a minimum salary of P20,179, are still forced to take out multiple loans to meet their needs, he said. —REPORTS FROM JEROME ANING, JOVIC YEE, JULIE M. AURELIO AND MELVIN GASCON

Philippine Statistics Authority report aims to stop wage hike — labor groups

The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) expressed concern that the PSA figures were released to lower wage standards and discourage workers from seeking salary hike. File photo

MANILA, Philippines — Organized labor yesterday debunked the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) findings that monthly income of a little over P10,000 is sufficient for a family of five, and claimed that the report would discourage wage increases.

The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) expressed concern that the PSA figures were released to lower wage standards and discourage workers from seeking salary hike.

“This very low standard erases the need for wage boards to provide significant wage increases. It gives us the impression that ‘everything is OK’ and there’s no need for wage increases because minimum wages are higher than the minimum threshold,” TUCP president Raymond Mendoza said.

Mendoza said employers and business groups are going to use the PSA data to defend their position against any salary increase and argue that the wage standard is lower than the current minimum wage.

But he said the PSA standard is so low and it would appear that there is no sense of urgency to uplift the condition of Filipino workers.

The PSA said that a salary of P10,481 a month is enough for a family of five to survive.

The militant Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) claimed that the PSA is ridiculous and inaccurate.

“The level of fantasy the PSA has reached to come up with this is significantly high. It’s impossible to comprehend how the PSA could have arrived at such a conclusion that P10,000 is sufficient to sustain an ordinary Filipino family with five members,” said Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) secretary general Jerome Adonis.

The PSA, Adonis said, did not consider shelter, transportation, utilities, health care and education costs when it came up with its new poverty threshold figure.

“Neither did it consider the continued increases in oil prices, electricity and water rates as effects of the TRAIN law,” Adonis said.

Adonis said P10,000 monthly income is only enough to feed Filipino families once a day and who do not use electricity or pay rent.

He suspects that the PSA findings were released to prevent workers from seeking pay hike.

Labor groups have been actively pushing for a P750 daily minimum wage.

“Workers need and deserve a substantial wage increase because the current P537 minimum is way below the P1,000 estimated Family Living Wage,” Adonis pointed out.

Adonis said workers are getting measly salaries despite their consistent productivity.

Adonis said recent studies showed that labor productivity in Metro Manila grew by 35 percent from P456,059 per worker to P614,297.

However, Adonis said the real value of the mandated minimum wage increased by only 11 percent in real terms at constant 2012 prices.

Adonis said officials of PSA and other government agencies should try to survive on P10,000 for a month – using only that amount to pay for all their basic needs and to cover whatever contingencies and emergencies that may arise.

He said PSA and the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) keep adjusting poverty level standards and computations to project an image of the country’s economic progress at the expense of workers and other poor.

Federation of Free Workers (FFW) president Sonny Matula said the P10,000 monthly earnings is just a little higher than a prisoner’s allowance.

“Are we approximating a prisoner’s life with this PSA computation? With the higher cost of commodities, I don’t know how a family of five would survive with P10,841 pesos a month,” Matula said.

He said the PSA data were apparently taken from a world of make believe.

Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) activists yesterday described the poverty threshold set by the government as “unrealistic.”

“The latest government data showing poverty incidence going down is not something to be happy about, considering the very low poverty threshold that government set. The P10,481 poverty line is unrealistic,” said Bayan secretary-general Renato Reyes.

“How can five people meet their basic food and non-food needs for a month with this very small amount? This translates to a mere P70 per person per day. Prices of food, transportation and other utilities have gone up significantly the past few years,” he added.

He added it also provides a justification not to increase wages and salaries since people can make do with P10,481 a month.

Marawi civic leader and opposition senatorial bet Samira Gutoc said the PSA report is unbelievable, saying that the agency should come up with better, more credible research in making its reports.

“Let us examine the figures. This translates to P244 a day or P81.33 a meal for a family of five. Broken down further, about P16.26 per person per meal in the family. In contrast, meal allowance of one who works in government is from P150 to P220… This is really disconcerting,” Gutoc said.

“If we were to take PSA’s estimates at face value, the meal stipend can almost feed five people: one mouth as opposed to five poor ones. This is why I have a problem with PSA’s assertions. I do not believe five persons can eat on a budget of P244 a day,” Gutoc added. – Mayen Jaymalin (The Philippine Star) With Rhodina Villanueva, Cecille Suerte Felipe