Quezon City to open night markets for displaced vendors

Two night markets will open in Quezon City this month to provide livelihood to street vendors displaced by road clearing operations earlier this year.

The night markets, called Sari-Sari Kyusi 2019, will open on Nov. 24 at the Ayala Vertis North grounds and at the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) compound near the city hall.

It will be open from 3 p.m. to midnight at the TUCP compound, and from 5 p.m. to 3 a.m. at Vertis North. The night markets will be in operation until Jan. 19.

“The Quezon City government wanted to establish and develop a space for street vendors who had lost their livelihood because of the clearing operations,” Mayor Joy Belmonte said during the formalization of the city government’s partnership with Ayala and TUCP on Thursday.

The night markets will be able to cater to some 800 vendors displaced by road clearing operations conducted in line with an earlier directive of President Duterte to Metro Manila mayors. - Janvic Mateo (The Philippine Star)

Labor group hits government bid to tax salty food

ILL-ADVISED? Iloilo Rep. Janette Garin calls the proposal to tax salty food ill-advised, considering the vital role played by “tuyo,” (dried salted sardine) “daing” (dried fish) and “bagoong” (shrimp paste) in Filipino diet. —GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE , Inquirer.net

The labor group Associated Labor Unions-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines on Monday slammed the government-proposed measure to impose tax on salty food and food ingredients, and instead recommend that government develop healthier, affordable and accessible alternatives than levying tax on salty food.

“With this measure to tax salty food, the government is pushing the poor informal sector workers and their families to fall into deep poverty rather than building ladder to help and empower them,” Gerard Seno, ALU-TUCP national executive vice president, said.

“There is no need to tax salty food and ingredients at this time. We rather strongly recommend government to develop research-and-development-based healthier, cheaper alternatives and options and make these accessible in the market,” he said in a statement.

“But if we raise their income, have developed and made these cheap, healthy food and ingredients alternatives very accessible to the market, then that’s may be the time that we talk about imposing tax on salty food,” Seno said.

Seno said poorly-waged working people and their families are aware that most of their daily meals that they can afford to buy with their meager daily budget are those foods with salty ingredients are mal-nutritious, unhealthy and brings ill-health to their family such as instant noodles, food flavoring, snacks, and dried fish.

However, because of their meager salary, short term, temporary jobs, inadequate social protection safety nets, poor workers have no choice but to purchase these because they are cheaper and more available in the market.

“Workers and the poor informal workers and their families affinity to salty food is bound by their inadequate income and lack of alternatives in the market. They cannot afford to buy healthier food choices and food ingredients with their measly income level,” Seno said.

The country’s minimum wage ranges from the highest at P537 a day and the lowest at P280 a day.

“With these paltry current minimum wage rates amid the rising cost of living, the working poor have no other choice but to buy food with what affords their small income even if it is high with sodium content,” Seno said.

Aside from developing alternatives and raising wages, government must regulate private manufacturing firms to reformulate the standard sodium contents of food, food ingredients and snacks.

Government should also pick up the slack in its responsibility to conduct massive education and information dissemination informing its citizens about other better alternatives and healthier food and ingredients options. - Vito Barcelo

FDA urged: Test Johnson’s baby powder for asbestos

Business World photo

ORGANIZED labor has expressed alarm over reports that the United States Food and Drug Administration (US-FDA) found cancer-causing chrysotile asbestos fibers in one batch of a baby powder that is widely popular among consumers in the Philippines.

Workers group Associated Labor Unions-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (ALU-
TUCP) said on Friday the report should also be investigated by the Philippines’ FDA, considering the popularity of the Johnson and Johnson (J&J) baby powder among Filipino consumers.

On October 18, the US-FDA disclosed it found the presence of asbestos in one batch of the product and advised consumers to stop using J&J baby powder Lot # 22318RB.
The findings prompted J&J to voluntarily recall 33,000 bottles.

“We are calling upon the FDA authority to proactively take steps to mitigate the undue anxiety felt by consumers caused by this serious discovery of asbestos contamination in a baby product commonly used by so many Filipinos across our growing population. We are urging them to conduct product evaluation test to assure the quality and safety of the product… to the health of consumers,” said Gerard Seno, national executive vice president of ALU-TUCP.

“The FDA must guarantee to all of us the safety, purity and efficacy of this product in order to protect the health and welfare of the general public. It is better for FDA to err on the side of caution than to realize too late that many people’s health and safety have already been compromised simply because they didn’t check the product,” he added. - By William Depasupil, TMT

2-year probationary period to force Filipinos to work abroad

TUCP president Raymond Mendoza said the proposed measure, if approved, will also “expand the gap between the rich and the poor and strengthen the short-term labor slavery practice in the country.” File

MANILA, Philippines — The proposed two-year probationary period for newly hired employees has “wide-ranging implications,” including forcing Filipinos to seek employment abroad, the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) warned yesterday.

TUCP president Raymond Mendoza said the proposed measure, if approved, will also “expand the gap between the rich and the poor and strengthen the short-term labor slavery practice in the country.”

Mendoza noted that House Bill 4802 authored by Probinsiyano party-list Rep. Jose Singson Jr. “is very dangerous and highly disadvantageous to workers because of its deleterious effect on working people and their families once it is enforced.”

“We are at a time when we are struggling to close the gap between the rich and the poor by eliminating this short-term endo (end-of-contract) and to minimize all forms of contractualization employment scheme in the country and ensure a just and fair economic share for workers in a growing economy,” he added.

Mendoza also said the bill would “practically empower abusive employment and business practice with a larger latitude and longer contractualization short-term work scheme.”

Under HB 4802, the extension of the probationary period is being proposed to be prolonged from the current six months to two years.

Singson claimed that six months are not enough for employers to determine if a worker deserves to be regularized.

During this period, probationary workers do not enjoy security and other benefits afforded to regular workers, like vacation and sick leave, separation pay, 13th month pay, Christmas bonus, allowances and paternity and maternity leave.

“Extending the probationary employment period to two years is a race to the bottom scheme because it will improve the currently widely practiced endo labor slavery system and will make contractualized work permanent in the country,” Mendoza said.

Under the current working conditions in the country, some 6,000 to 7,000 Filipinos are leaving every day to work abroad, according to the trade union leader.

He added that if the bill becomes law, the number of Filipinos working abroad will increase, thus resulting in “greater brain drain” and more children suffering from having a parent or both parents away.

‘Mindless, heartless’

Meanwhile, Sen. Leila de Lima described as “mindless and heartless” Singson’s bill which, she said, is definitely not a solution to Filipino workers’ woes.

De Lima said the proposed measure would only prolong the difficulty of the already difficult life of an ordinary working Filipino.

“The proposal for a two-year probationary period for workers is not a solution at all to the long-time woes of Filipino workers. It will even prolong the agony of the workers. It is a fog in which to hide the real issue,” she said.

The senator added this ominous fog of a proposal will not only enshroud the actual issue – the abusive “endo” practice – but will also “expose our workers to labor malpractice. – Sheila Crisostomo (The Philippine Star) With Cecille Suerte Felipe