Workers dared FPJ and KNP to prove that “masa ang bida,” demand platform for full employment

Workers from the Alliance of Progressive Labor (APL) trooped to the Koalisyon ng Nagkakaisang Pilipino (KNP) national campaign headquarters in EDSA, San Juan , this morning to press FPJ and all the other KNP candidates to bare their platform for full regular employment.

APL has been calling on all presidential candidates to disclose their programs on how to ensure full regular employment for all workers. "Up to now, all we hear are the same old promises to generate jobs. But what kind of jobs, and how do they intend to generate these jobs? These are the questions that need to be answered by all presidential candidates," Daniel L. Edralin, APL chairperson said.

"FPJ would want to envision himself as the champion of the people. But can he truly deliver?” Edralin said. “He has been promising ‘quality jobs.’ That’s a good sound byte but what does it mean? More importantly, how many and how does he intend to generate these quality jobs?" Edralin added.

APL reiterated that what they want are decent jobs for everyone. To do so government has to generate at least 2 million "decent jobs" every year. But decent jobs mean regular, productive and remunerable jobs where full trade union rights are guaranteed and not the kind of emergency jobs that GMA is currently promoting in aid of her reelection.

At the start of the year APL raised the issue of worsening job crisis as unemployment rate continued to increase from 11.2 percent in 2002 to 11.4 percent in 2003 despite the fact that the economy grew by 5 percent last year. According to government statistics, there are now close to 4 million jobless Filipinos. Another 5.5 million workers are underemployed, that is, employed but wanting more hours of work. And still, another 3 million people of working age have no jobs as their population grew by 1.7 million every year.

"Unresolved unemployment is due to continued adherence to an economic model based on liberalization, deregulation and privatization. Unrestricted importation without a strong economic infrastructure has not only prevented job growth but has led to grave job losses to tens of thousands of workers," Josua Mata, APL secretary general said.

"Full regular employment for everyone is possible. But it can never be attained unless government shifts away from its flawed neo-liberal policies that the ruling elites currently favor. The question is, does FPJ have enough political will to go against the interests of capitalists and their lackeys?" Mata added.

As expected, the group was dismayed with the non-appearance of KNP’s national candidates. KNP representatives who met the group could not present a credible employment program.

The absence of full employment in KNP's platform is a manifestation of a lack of concrete alternatives, or of imagination, or both, to address the burgeoning employment crisis," Mata said. He added that this would only mean that in the event FPJ wins workers can expect nothing but more of the same problems that they are suffering now.

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Contact Person: Daniel L. Edralin (0919) 5099919