Labor center to demand new minimum wage

The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP)-Nagkaisa will demand for a new minimum living wage when the government wage board holds its first public hearing on Friday at Philippine Trade Training Center in Pasay City.

TUCP spokesperson, Alan Tanjusay, said they are going to petition P136 on top of the current P466 minimum wage.

“Our economy has been improving and continues to perform better than its peers in the region but the Filipino workers, who largely contributed to that growth, are falling through the cracks and being left behind. Many minimum wage earners are falling by the day and they are being ignored by government,” Tanjusay said.

Tanjusay said workers in Metro Manila, numbering around 800,000, currently receives a nominal wage of P466 a day “but due to inflation and mandatory salary deductions, a worker only receives a real wage of P299.”

He cited an International Labour Organization (ILO) provision that said that remuneration received for a standard 40-hour work week by a worker in a particular place would be sufficient to afford a decent standard of living for the worker and his or her family. - Davao Today

Higher fares, broken down trains

A COMMUTER group on Thursday rejected the government’s claim that low fares led to the deterioration of Metro Manila’s commuter train system.

The Riles Laan sa Sambayanan or Riles Network blamed the deterioration instead on the privatization of the Metro Rail Transit and Light Rail Transit .

“The Aquino administration should stop [its] baseless [excuses] to justify the privatization and burdensome fare hike, said Sammy Malunes, Riles Network spokesman.

Melquiades Robles, former Light Rail Transit Authority administrator, said the ridership of LRT 1 has dropped by 80,000 commuters per day because of the fare hike.

“There are fewer trains and a longer loop time now since they took over in 2010,” he told The Standard.

He attributed poor train service to mismanagement.

“A fare increase is not the response to improve the service,” he added.

Malunes said the fare hike would only benefit the train operators and the Pangilinan-Ayala consortium, and not the 600,000 riders since the proceeds from the increase will go to paying the P5 billion subsidy and to pay off the 15 percent return on investment guaranteed to the MRT Corp. from 2000 to 2025.

The LRT and MRT fares in the past years have been more than enough to maintain and sustain the train operation, he said.

He also criticized the Aquino administration for a recent spate of accidents on the MRT line, saying that the private maintenance service provider, APT Global, continues to earn profits while neglecting the safety and protection of commuters. – With Vito Barcelo and Macon R.Araneta

“The government’s PPP contract with the consortium is lopsided. The LRTA and MRT have defeated their mandate to provide safe, reliable and affordable mass transport service,” Malunes said.

One-sided provisions in the contract gave the concessionaire guaranteed profits despite the poor service.

The inclusion of the LRT1 operations and maintenance in the LRT 1 under the Public-Private Partnership program would give the winning bidder a tremendous advantage, he said.

“What is frightening is the power wielded by the winning bidder. The Ayala-Metro Pacific consortium would eventually control Line 1 operations, the automated fare collection system, and the construct ion of the Line 1 extension. Metro Pacific also controls part of the MRT 3. Moreover, the consortium also intends to bid on the privatization of the LRT2 system. This is a virtual monopoly in the train line, which will remove any possible checks and balances regarding its performance and give them tremendous control to dictate fares,” Riles said.

The Transportation Department on Thursday said the rehabilitation of 63 toilets in 13 MRT stations were underway.

“One of the basic necessities of an MRT-3 rider are functioning and decent comfort rooms. Alongside our improvement projects for train operations is this toilet rehabilitation project, which responds to the call of our commuters for better passenger comfort and convenience,” a department statement said.

This project began Feb. 26 and is scheduled for completion in September.

Opposition Senator Jospeh Victor Ejercito said the public transport system was in disarray, with long lines and breakdowns in the commuter train system, and delayed flights in the country’s airports, and a mismanagement of seaports.

The state of deterioration prompted him, as chairman of the Senate committee on economic affairs, to call a hearing on the transportation sector and the PPP program.

The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP), meanwhile, demanded a P136 wage increase because of the erosion of workers’ buying power amid rising prices, including those for transportation, water and power.

“Our economy has been improving and continues to perform better than its peers in the region but the Filipino workers who largely contributed to that growth are falling through the cracks and being left behind. Working people also deserved a share of the pie that only a few are privileged to have. Many minimum wage earners are falling by the day and they are being ignored by government,” TUCP spokesperson Alan Tanjusay said.

He said they are also going to file a wage increase petition of P136 on top of the current P466 minimum wage before the Regional Tripartite Wage And Productivity Board for Metro Manila. – By Rio N. Araja With Vito Barcelo and Macon Ramos-Araneta - Manila Standard Today

TUCP to ask additional P136 for minimum wage

Labor group TUCP wants an additional P136 increase to the mimimum wage to make it a "living wage."

MANILA, Philippines - The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines-Nagkaisa (TUCP-Nagkaisa) will demand for an additional P136 to the current minimum wage during the first public hearing at Pasay City on Friday.

The wage board will be conducting the first public hearing for the wage petition around 9 a.m. at the Philippine Trade Training Center in Pasay City.

"Our economy has been improving and continues to perform better than its peers in the region but the Filipino workers who largely contributed to that growth are falling through the cracks and being left behind. Working people also deserved a share of the pie that only a few are privileged to have. Many minimum wage earners are falling by the day and they are being ignored by government," TUCP spokesperson Alan Tanjusay said.

He said the group will file a wage increase petition of P136 on top of the current P466 minimum wage.

Workers in Metro Manila, numbering around 800,000, now receive nominal wage of P466 a day but due to inflation and mandatory salary deductions, they only actually get P299, Tanjusay said.

He cited International Labour Organization provision saying the living wage is the remuneration received for a standard 40 hour work week by a worker in a particular place sufficient to afford a decent standard of living for the worker and his or her family.

"So is the P299 a decent wage? Is it the living wage? We are going to pose these questions tomorrow," he added. - By Dennis Carcamo (philstar.com)

Solons. party-list and labor groups file petition at SC to halt train fare hike.

(Photo via Noel Alamar)

The groups filed today at the Supreme Court a petition for certiorari and prohibition with prayer for issuance of Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) against the recently implemented fare hike in the Light rail Transit and Metro Rail Transit.

The petitioners, led by Senator Joseph Victor G. Ejercito, 2nd District Parañaque Rep. Gustavo Tambunting, Ang Nars Partylist Rep. Leah Paquiz, Buhay Partylist Congressmen Lito Atienza, Irwin Tieng and Mariano Michael Vellarde, former Cavite 3rd District Rep. Crispin "Boying" Remulla, Allan Tanjusay, Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP); Allan Montaño, Federation of Free Workers (FFW); Leody De Guzman, Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino (BMP); Rene Magtubo, Partido Manggagawa (PM); and Annie Geron of PS LINK, said that the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) failed to coordinate and direct the Land Transportation Franchise and Regulatory Board (LTRFB) to comply with the publication, notice and hearing requirements for the fare hike.

According to Executive Order (EO) 202, the LTFRB has the "adjudicatory power to determine, prescribe and approve and periodically review and adjust, reasonable fares, rates and other related charges, relative to the operation of public land transportation services provided by motorized vehicles." This function of LTFRB is also in relation to the 2011 LTFRB Rules of Procedure. Instead, however, the DOTC issued Department Order No. 2014 - 014 on December 18, 2014, which announced the fare increase.

The petitioners added that DOTC unilaterally proposed, approved and implemented the fare adjustment. Hence, DOTC has no authority to issue the assailed Department Order and therefore can be considered null and void.

Named respondents were LTFRB Chairman Winston M. Ginez, DOTC Secretary Emilio Abaya, MRT 3 Office Officer-in-Charge Renato Z. San Jose, Metro Rail Transit Corporation and Light Rail Manila Consortium (LRMC) Administrator Honorito D. Chaneco.

The petitioners also called the fare hike as "heartless" since majority of the commuters taking the LRT and MRT are employees, laborers, small workers and minimum and informal wage earners who can only afford to spend a small portion of their salary for transportation expense.

They added that the responsibility to protect the economically underprivileged from injustice and oppression was neglected when the government unilaterally implemented the fare adjustment.

Furthermore, the petitioners also registered that continuing maintenance problem besetting the MRT, which caused trip delays and breakdowns is one of the clear reasons that the implemented fare hike was inappropriate and unreasonable. - Senate Press