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.
_________________________
Contact Person: Daniel L. Edralin (0919) 5099919
Showing posts with label Labor Rights. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Labor Rights. Show all posts
Apr 23, 2004
Apr 6, 2004
THE WORKERS' PASSION IN ADVANCE FASHION
Hundreds of workers from Advance Fashion Inc., a garments exporting factory located at the Sterling Industrial Park in Meycauayan, Bulacan, trooped to the office of Luen Thai Holding Corp. in Times Plaza, United Nations Ave., Manila and staged a `crucifixion' of the workers to dramatize the illegal lock out perpetrated by the company as part of its union avoidance scheme.
Thereafter, the workers marched to the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) to further dramatize their plight and to press government to protect workers' rights.
Since March 8, 600 workers, mostly women, have been prevented by the security guards of the company from entering its premises. Prior to this, the workers have been complaining about their measly P228 daily wage and the penalty of 15 to 30 days suspension for every worker who fails to meet the high production quotas.
It was in response to this dismal condition that the workers formed a union.
Various forms of management harassment against the workers followed after the union filed last March 2 at the DOLE a petition for certification election or PCE, which should allow them to vote for recognition of the union as the sole and exclusive bargaining agent.
Workers were harassed to withdraw their support for the union drive and a large number of them were arbitrarily suspended. This prompted the union to file a notice of strike on March 5.
However, according to Efren Galas, Advance Fashion union president, the management thwarted the union's impending strike by transferring 10,000 cut goods and some machinery to a factory inside an industrial park in Concepcion town in Tarlac province.
This Concepcion firm, the Golden Dragon Apparel, is allegedly owned by Willie Tan, a Hong Kong-based Filipino-American-Chinese and one of the Advance Fashion owners, who also include a British and three
Filipino businessmen in Tarlac.
The Pinag-isang Tinig at Lakas ng Anakpawis or Piglas, a trade union federation under the Alliance of Progressive Labor (APL), that helped organize the Advance Fashion workers, said that their efforts to form a union is the only reason for the management's lockout.
Danny Edralin, Chairperson of APL for his part said that
the "Lockout meant to dissuade the workers from forming a union and is a clear violation of the workers' right to self-organization and collectively bargain for their demands." As of now, the management is yet to appear in the hearings set by the National Labor Relations Commission.
Advance Fashion is a subsidiary of Philippine Luen Thai Holding Corp., a TNC, and a subcontractor of international brands of clothing like Liz Claiborne, Calvin Klein, Polo, Nautica, Chaps, and Alex Canon.
The workers in Advance Fashion as well as Piglas and APL have vowed to fight these blatant and illegal union-busting actions of management. The group will continue to struggle until the workers would have finally realized its trade union rights.
Thereafter, the workers marched to the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) to further dramatize their plight and to press government to protect workers' rights.
Since March 8, 600 workers, mostly women, have been prevented by the security guards of the company from entering its premises. Prior to this, the workers have been complaining about their measly P228 daily wage and the penalty of 15 to 30 days suspension for every worker who fails to meet the high production quotas.
It was in response to this dismal condition that the workers formed a union.
Various forms of management harassment against the workers followed after the union filed last March 2 at the DOLE a petition for certification election or PCE, which should allow them to vote for recognition of the union as the sole and exclusive bargaining agent.
Workers were harassed to withdraw their support for the union drive and a large number of them were arbitrarily suspended. This prompted the union to file a notice of strike on March 5.
However, according to Efren Galas, Advance Fashion union president, the management thwarted the union's impending strike by transferring 10,000 cut goods and some machinery to a factory inside an industrial park in Concepcion town in Tarlac province.
This Concepcion firm, the Golden Dragon Apparel, is allegedly owned by Willie Tan, a Hong Kong-based Filipino-American-Chinese and one of the Advance Fashion owners, who also include a British and three
Filipino businessmen in Tarlac.
The Pinag-isang Tinig at Lakas ng Anakpawis or Piglas, a trade union federation under the Alliance of Progressive Labor (APL), that helped organize the Advance Fashion workers, said that their efforts to form a union is the only reason for the management's lockout.
Danny Edralin, Chairperson of APL for his part said that
the "Lockout meant to dissuade the workers from forming a union and is a clear violation of the workers' right to self-organization and collectively bargain for their demands." As of now, the management is yet to appear in the hearings set by the National Labor Relations Commission.
Advance Fashion is a subsidiary of Philippine Luen Thai Holding Corp., a TNC, and a subcontractor of international brands of clothing like Liz Claiborne, Calvin Klein, Polo, Nautica, Chaps, and Alex Canon.
The workers in Advance Fashion as well as Piglas and APL have vowed to fight these blatant and illegal union-busting actions of management. The group will continue to struggle until the workers would have finally realized its trade union rights.
Mar 11, 2004
TNC contractor locks out hundreds of women garment workers during Int’l Women’s Day
March 11, 2004
ABOUT 600 workers, mostly women, were locked out without prior notice on March 8 - the International Women's Day - for trying to organize a union in a garments factory in the Philippines that makes products for transnational corporations.
Workers reporting for the 7 a.m. shift were rudely prevented by security guards from entering the premises of Advance Fashion Inc. located at the Sterling Industrial Park in Meycauayan town in Bulacan, a province north of Metro Manila.
Advance Fashion is a subsidiary of Philippine Luen Thai Holding Corp., a TNC, and a subcontractor of international brands of clothing like Liz Claiborne, Calvin Klein, Polo, Nautica, Chaps, and Alex Canon.
This company has been imposing high production quotas for each worker who only receives a measly P228 or about US$4 daily wage. Those who fail to meet the quota are suspended for 15-30 days.
Although there is an incentive scheme, it is practically useless as the production requirement is constantly kept at a very high level, the union said.
The Pinag-isang Tinig at Lakas ng Anakpawis or Piglas, a trade union federation that helped organize the Advance Fashion workers, said that their efforts to form a union is the only reason for the management's lockout. (The federation's name is roughly translated as Unified Voice and Strength of the Working Class, and its acronym is a Filipino word for "struggle.")
Various forms of management harassment against the workers followed after the filing last March 2 of a petition for certification election or PCE, which would allow them to vote for the formal establishment of a union.
The company has intensified its moves to stop the growing support for the union when the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) agreed to hold the first PCE hearing on March 18.
Workers were ordered to withdraw their support for the union drive and a large number of them were arbitrarily suspended. This prompted the union to file a notice of strike on March 5, Piglas reported.
Apparently to thwart the union clamor and the impending strike, management has reportedly transferred 10,000 cut goods and some machinery to a factory inside the Reproductive Center, an industrial park in Concepcion town in Tarlac province.
This Concepcion firm, the Golden Dragon Apparel, is allegedly owned by Willie Tan, a Hong Kong-based Filipino-American-Chinese and one of the Advance Fashion owners, who also include a British and three Filipino businessmen in Tarlac.
Piglas is an affiliate of the Alliance of Progressive Labor (APL), a Philippine labor center of formal and informal workers, and the International Textile, Garment and Leather Workers' Federation (ITGLWF).
The workers in Advance Fashion as well as Piglas and APL have vowed to fight these blatant and illegal union-busting actions of management. To make it more effective, they are also asking for support from the global labor and social movements to pressure the company and its TNC business partners to respect the labor and trade union rights of the Advance Fashion workers.
ABOUT 600 workers, mostly women, were locked out without prior notice on March 8 - the International Women's Day - for trying to organize a union in a garments factory in the Philippines that makes products for transnational corporations.
Workers reporting for the 7 a.m. shift were rudely prevented by security guards from entering the premises of Advance Fashion Inc. located at the Sterling Industrial Park in Meycauayan town in Bulacan, a province north of Metro Manila.
Advance Fashion is a subsidiary of Philippine Luen Thai Holding Corp., a TNC, and a subcontractor of international brands of clothing like Liz Claiborne, Calvin Klein, Polo, Nautica, Chaps, and Alex Canon.
This company has been imposing high production quotas for each worker who only receives a measly P228 or about US$4 daily wage. Those who fail to meet the quota are suspended for 15-30 days.
Although there is an incentive scheme, it is practically useless as the production requirement is constantly kept at a very high level, the union said.
The Pinag-isang Tinig at Lakas ng Anakpawis or Piglas, a trade union federation that helped organize the Advance Fashion workers, said that their efforts to form a union is the only reason for the management's lockout. (The federation's name is roughly translated as Unified Voice and Strength of the Working Class, and its acronym is a Filipino word for "struggle.")
Various forms of management harassment against the workers followed after the filing last March 2 of a petition for certification election or PCE, which would allow them to vote for the formal establishment of a union.
The company has intensified its moves to stop the growing support for the union when the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) agreed to hold the first PCE hearing on March 18.
Workers were ordered to withdraw their support for the union drive and a large number of them were arbitrarily suspended. This prompted the union to file a notice of strike on March 5, Piglas reported.
Apparently to thwart the union clamor and the impending strike, management has reportedly transferred 10,000 cut goods and some machinery to a factory inside the Reproductive Center, an industrial park in Concepcion town in Tarlac province.
This Concepcion firm, the Golden Dragon Apparel, is allegedly owned by Willie Tan, a Hong Kong-based Filipino-American-Chinese and one of the Advance Fashion owners, who also include a British and three Filipino businessmen in Tarlac.
Piglas is an affiliate of the Alliance of Progressive Labor (APL), a Philippine labor center of formal and informal workers, and the International Textile, Garment and Leather Workers' Federation (ITGLWF).
The workers in Advance Fashion as well as Piglas and APL have vowed to fight these blatant and illegal union-busting actions of management. To make it more effective, they are also asking for support from the global labor and social movements to pressure the company and its TNC business partners to respect the labor and trade union rights of the Advance Fashion workers.
Nov 30, 2003
GETTING BACK AT THE SYSTEM ADVANCING THE STRUGGLE OF THE WORKING CLASS
In no other moment in our contemporary history has the struggle of Andres Bonifacio resonated so glaringly. The tyranny of local elites and foreign powers that Bonifacio fought against more than a hundred years ago has proven its resilience and remains to be the same oppression that burdens and confronts our nation. The country’s working class is facing its worst moment with the onslaught of a predatory globalization that spreads and deepens inequality and alienation. The national elites are fighting each other for power, not solely for survival, but to amass more wealth by colluding with transnational corporations against national interests.
The bankruptcy of this system shall manifest itself again in the forthcoming presidential elections. We shall once again rage and bear witness to the worst symptoms of elite patronage politics. Popularity will supersede political platforms. Deceit will supplant standards of good governance. Narrow elite factional interests will shroud national survival and the working people’s welfare.
The current crop of presidentiables represents the stark absence of options among the existing elite leaders. No national leader has so far dared to submit a social blueprint that emphasizes the national interest and directly confronts the desperation of the poor, the hopelessness of the youth, the cynicism of the middle class, and the insensitivity and voraciousness of our elites.
Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, for instance, dismissed the demands for her platform of governance by claiming that her track record already speaks for her plans. On the opposite camp, Fernando Poe Jr., whose announcement of his presidential candidacy was met both with scorn and accolades, banks on his “bida”and “masa” image and relegated his platform to his questionable economic and political advisers. We urge the public to take extreme caution and discernment in looking at the intentions of both candidates, since both FPJ and GMA represent the interest of elites that are vying for political power without any vision of national rejuvenation or any strategy of political regeneration.
The main issue in the forthcoming elections is no longer confined within GMA’s elitist agenda or FPJ’s lack of experience in governance and virtual simulation of a screen hero. The issue is already the troubling contradictions in the Philippine political system. It is a system that limits the choice of the masses between sections of the elite. It is a system that appears to be democratic, but in fact deepens the marginalization of the majority of Filipinos.
We shall also continue the struggle for deeper and meaningful changes in our political system that shall ensure the interest of the workers and the marginalized Filipinos. The bankruptcy of our political system necessitates the continuing struggle for a truly equal and representative structure of governance and the birth of new leaders from the ranks of the oppressed, and we affirm our fight for that goal. We also affirm our commitment to carve out spaces of democracy and equality at the local level to contest elite politics even at the lowest rung of our politics.
We can never forget and leave behind the nationalist and proletarian spirit that Andres Bonifacio imbibed on us. He, too, blended the toilers’ cause with that of the national interest. The elite’s factional manuevers abruptly impeded his dream.
Let us not fall prey to another national tragedy this time around.
May 1, 2003
Labor Group Leads Protest on 100th Year of Trade Unionism
1 May 2003
Even as President Gloria Arroyo leaves the declaration of labor holiday to employers, the Alliance of Progressive Labor (APL) poured in tens of thousands in the streets of Metro Manila, Cebu, Davao and Cagayan de Oro today, May 1.Echoing the cries of their forerunner, the Union Obrero Democratica (UOD), the APL bannered the theme of this year's celebration "Isandaang Taon ng Tagumpay at Pakikibaka: Wala Pa ring Soberenya, Sistema pa rin ang Problema."
Josua Mata, secretary-general of APL, underscored the problem of US occupation, especially of Mindanao. "After asserting its superpower status in the Middle East by invading Iraq, now the US is set to keep the Asian peoples reminded of its dominance, by bringing in troops to the Philippines via the Balikatan 03-1. Of course, our own President Arroyo is shameless in inviting the US to our shores in exchange for the dollars that would never come," said Mata.
"The US poses itself as the angel of death in allegedly fighting global terrorism, by prescribing laws in countries like the Philippines similar to the US Patriot Act, but that would in fact kill organized labor," decried Congressman Mario Aguja of the Akbayan Political Party. "The anti-terrorism bills should instead be the ones killed in the legislature," he stressed.
Such "mass killing of human rights and organized labor" is dramatized in a mass die-in by some 10,000 participants to the rally, which started at Welcome Rotonda. Various groups such as AMEND, Amnesty International, CATW, Bisig, Pandayan, Padayon, and Kaalagad, took part in the die-in. "We are lying down in the searing grounds leading to Malacanang, to protest the blatant disregard by this government of the fundamental rights of workers. DTI Secretary Mar Roxas even had to consider the proposal of the Filipino Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industries (FCCCI) and the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industries, for a ten-year moratorium on labor strikes and extension of the contractual period to two years,” according to Mata.
The multi-sectoral Task Force May 1 also criticized the "no permit, no rally" policy for May 1, saying that "this government has been consistent in trampling upon fundamental rights to organize and assemble, more especially since Bush, through its messenger Powell, invited us to be part of its unilateral campaign against terrorism." Further, "The labor leaders Ka Isabelo de los Reyes and Ka Andres Bonifacio might turn in their graves as their very ideal of freedom -- or Kalayaan -- is being disparaged by this government."
Task Force May 1 co-convenor Jessica Soto of Amnesty International stated that,“our freedom and our rights are under attack.” Referring to the Anti-Terrorism Bill, Soto said, “these ‘terror bills’ undermine the Filipino peoples' legitimate struggle for reform and social equity.”
Even as President Gloria Arroyo leaves the declaration of labor holiday to employers, the Alliance of Progressive Labor (APL) poured in tens of thousands in the streets of Metro Manila, Cebu, Davao and Cagayan de Oro today, May 1.Echoing the cries of their forerunner, the Union Obrero Democratica (UOD), the APL bannered the theme of this year's celebration "Isandaang Taon ng Tagumpay at Pakikibaka: Wala Pa ring Soberenya, Sistema pa rin ang Problema."
Josua Mata, secretary-general of APL, underscored the problem of US occupation, especially of Mindanao. "After asserting its superpower status in the Middle East by invading Iraq, now the US is set to keep the Asian peoples reminded of its dominance, by bringing in troops to the Philippines via the Balikatan 03-1. Of course, our own President Arroyo is shameless in inviting the US to our shores in exchange for the dollars that would never come," said Mata.
"The US poses itself as the angel of death in allegedly fighting global terrorism, by prescribing laws in countries like the Philippines similar to the US Patriot Act, but that would in fact kill organized labor," decried Congressman Mario Aguja of the Akbayan Political Party. "The anti-terrorism bills should instead be the ones killed in the legislature," he stressed.
Such "mass killing of human rights and organized labor" is dramatized in a mass die-in by some 10,000 participants to the rally, which started at Welcome Rotonda. Various groups such as AMEND, Amnesty International, CATW, Bisig, Pandayan, Padayon, and Kaalagad, took part in the die-in. "We are lying down in the searing grounds leading to Malacanang, to protest the blatant disregard by this government of the fundamental rights of workers. DTI Secretary Mar Roxas even had to consider the proposal of the Filipino Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industries (FCCCI) and the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industries, for a ten-year moratorium on labor strikes and extension of the contractual period to two years,” according to Mata.
The multi-sectoral Task Force May 1 also criticized the "no permit, no rally" policy for May 1, saying that "this government has been consistent in trampling upon fundamental rights to organize and assemble, more especially since Bush, through its messenger Powell, invited us to be part of its unilateral campaign against terrorism." Further, "The labor leaders Ka Isabelo de los Reyes and Ka Andres Bonifacio might turn in their graves as their very ideal of freedom -- or Kalayaan -- is being disparaged by this government."
Task Force May 1 co-convenor Jessica Soto of Amnesty International stated that,“our freedom and our rights are under attack.” Referring to the Anti-Terrorism Bill, Soto said, “these ‘terror bills’ undermine the Filipino peoples' legitimate struggle for reform and social equity.”
Wala pa ring Soberenya Sistema pa rin and problema *
Tens of thousands of workers belonging to the Alliance of Progressive Labor (APL) together with the broad alliance called Task Force May 1 marched in the streets of Manila, Cebu, Cagayan de Oro, and Davao to commemorate the centennial anniversary of Labor Day in the Philippines.
A hundred years ago, the Union Obrera Democratico de Filipinas (UODF) spearheaded the rally of hundreds of thousands of men and women workers, peasants, fisher folks, and other toiling Filipinos in front of Malacañang, to insist, among others, trade union rights, just wages, eight hours work per day, the recognition of May 1 as the International Labor Day and the country’s freedom from US colonial rule.
“After a hundred years, we are still confronted by wholesale attacks on workers’ and trade union rights as the country’s sovereignty is still being undermined,” Daniel l. Edralin, APL Chairperson said.
APL workers held a mass die-in in Mendiola to dramatize the impact of all policies that undermine workers’ rights and the country’s sovereignty. The war in Mindanao; the country’s continuing commitment to the free trade policies of the WTO; the government’s irresponsible support for US military aggression; the 10-year strike moratorium proposed by certain sections of the employers; and the “Terror Bills” now pending in Congress are but some of major issues raised by the workers.
During the program in Mendiola, the workers also vowed to fight the “new labor code” which considers workers’ rights – the right to organize, collective bargain and to strike – as “market rigidities” that must be eliminated.
“We will continue to press government to reorient its policies away from its discredited economic agenda that caused massive loss of jobs, plummeting real wages and skyrocketing water and power rates,” Josua Mata, APL Secretary General, said.
The APL, together with Task Force May 1, will hold a series of mass actions in Congress and Malacañang to realize its demands.
A hundred years ago, the Union Obrera Democratico de Filipinas (UODF) spearheaded the rally of hundreds of thousands of men and women workers, peasants, fisher folks, and other toiling Filipinos in front of Malacañang, to insist, among others, trade union rights, just wages, eight hours work per day, the recognition of May 1 as the International Labor Day and the country’s freedom from US colonial rule.
“After a hundred years, we are still confronted by wholesale attacks on workers’ and trade union rights as the country’s sovereignty is still being undermined,” Daniel l. Edralin, APL Chairperson said.
APL workers held a mass die-in in Mendiola to dramatize the impact of all policies that undermine workers’ rights and the country’s sovereignty. The war in Mindanao; the country’s continuing commitment to the free trade policies of the WTO; the government’s irresponsible support for US military aggression; the 10-year strike moratorium proposed by certain sections of the employers; and the “Terror Bills” now pending in Congress are but some of major issues raised by the workers.
During the program in Mendiola, the workers also vowed to fight the “new labor code” which considers workers’ rights – the right to organize, collective bargain and to strike – as “market rigidities” that must be eliminated.
“We will continue to press government to reorient its policies away from its discredited economic agenda that caused massive loss of jobs, plummeting real wages and skyrocketing water and power rates,” Josua Mata, APL Secretary General, said.
The APL, together with Task Force May 1, will hold a series of mass actions in Congress and Malacañang to realize its demands.
Apr 29, 2003
TASK FORCE MAY 1 Manifesto
A hundred years ago on the first of May, 100,000 men and women laborers, peasants and fisherfolks marched to Malacañang. Led by the Union Obrera Democratico de Filipinas, this significant event led to the appropriation of May 1 for thecommemoration and celebration of the struggle of the working class. In that historic march, they were articulating the aspiration of the masses for freedom. Freedom, as envisioned by the men and women who took part in the movement, was inspired by Andres Bonifacio’s articulation of this aspiration. Freedom was conceived in two realms—freedom from the clutches of colonial rule, and freedom of the masses from the clutches of economic strife and poverty brought about by the concentration of wealth in the coffers of the ruling class. The movement was founded on the vision of the working class for freedom and the recognition of their civil and political rights.
A hundred years later, as we march to Malacañang, our demands remain the same - freedom and the recognition of our rights. The labor movement claims victory in the assertion and institutionalization of minimum labor standards and civil liberties. However, a number of conditions that emasculate the rights and welfare of the working class still prevail. But more importantly, the victories that we have conscientiously struggled for are now being diluted and, worse, undermined by the posturing of the state and the economic elite. It is not an exaggeration to say that our freedom and rights are now being threatened.
Basic rights that guarantee our civil and political liberties are now being laid as sacrificial offerings at the altar of pseudo-economic development. The Filipino-Chinese Chamber of Commerce is proposing a ten-year moratorium on labor strikes. To seduce the state, they promised to generate three million jobs in the next three years. This in effect reflects the seemingly unchanging and condescending attitude of the economic elite towards the working class that resulted in a century of constant struggle. Their proposal will erode and nullify the victory of the labor movement for the right of workers to organize and assemble. If the state gives in, it will usher in a decade of oppression and exploitation of the working class. This is most ironic because it is incumbent upon the state to safeguard and guarantee the rights and welfare of the majority, and incidentally the most vulnerable sector of society that we are a part of.
The state in its actions contradicts its propaganda of concern for the working class. The GMA administration’s unconditional support for the US war on Iraq is now being hailed as an employment-generating undertaking for Filipinos. The government has appealed to the US to employ Filipino workers in the reconstruction of the devastated country. Instead of creating opportunities for employment, it is exposing Filipino workers to greater possibility of racism—a perennial problem among our OFW’s—and harassment from camps that see the Philippines as a minor accomplice in the destruction of Iraq. Also because of this, the Arroyo government is condoning the inequality between Filipino workers and their Western counterparts. For sure, the Americans and the British will receive greater compensation than the Filipinos who are expected to receive meager wages in Iraq. But these problems are also being experienced by OFWs around the globe. The state, therefore, must be able to guarantee protection for our OFWs where ever they are.
GMA administration's invitation to the US troops to enter Sulu and Cotabato via Balikatan 03-1, instead of fostering an atmosphere of economic growth that is a prerequisite in the generation of employment opportunities, will lead to further conflict in the region and will victimize more innocent women and children. This will aggravate the already appalling economic situation in Mindanao, undermining years of women’s work to rehabilitate and heal the trauma of the Bangsa Moro people. With the invitation of GMA to the US in exchange of dollars and a possible presidential sponsorship, the country is regressing in the area of national independence and self-governance—betraying the revolution of the masses more than a hundred years ago.
Its economic policy of compliance to the WTO, WB and ADB leaves the working class neck-deep in poverty. Its obsession with liberalization has taken its toll on our daily lives. Due to the impact of the AoA, vegetable farmers and their families in Benguet and in other parts of the country are now dying of hunger because they cannot compete in a market flooded with imported agricultural products. Our already meager earnings are being expended for the high cost of public utilities. This is coupled with the lack of social services that we now need to purchase from private providers. The exorbitant cost of food, electricity, water, fuel and social services leaves us very vulnerable. This is made worse by job insecurity and non-valuing of work in homes. Thus, more are exploited in the informal sector, especially the women and even the children.
And now, with the onslaught of the “Terror Bills” the civil and political rights not only of the working class and the masses but the society in general, are being undermined by the state. Liberties that we have won through our collective struggle are being subjected to the whims of the manic state. Our legitimate struggle for social reform and equity could be under-cut by this bill which the state shamelessly rams through the legislature.
In the past century, the struggle of the working class has been an unwavering one. A hundred years ago, the battle cry was freedom. A hundred years later, freedom is still the clamor of the men and women laborers, peasants, fisherfolk, the urban poor, gays and lesbians and OFWs. So many administrations have come and gone, and yet, the working class remains marginalized. Our rights and welfare are at a constant threat by a system that perpetuates inequality among classes. Constantly, our hard-earned victories are being undermined.
In the light of the systemic problems and conditions plaguing the working class, WE, in the Task Force May 1 shall continue to defend and advance our rights and our freedom. As we commemorate a century of May 1 demonstrations, WE demand the following:
Fisherfolk: Enact a law for the delineation of municipal waters for the welfare of small fisherfolk (DAO 17)! Protect small fisherfolks from the excesses of local and foreign commercial fishers!
Gays and Lesbians: End discrimination against gays and lesbians in the workplace! Pass the Anti-Discrimination Bill!
Human Rights Groups: Respect the dignity and rights of every Filipi
Laborers: Provide solid guarantee for workers’ and trade union rights! Reject the ten-year moratorium on labor strikes!
OFWs: Stop the deregulation of the overseas labor industry! Reassert government’s primordial role in the protection and promotion of the rights and welfare of OFWs and their families!
Peasants: Guarantee security of land ownership, safe and sufficient supply of food and security of income and protection from both foreign and local capitalist control over the agricultural sector!
Public Sector: Stop the massive re-organization of workers in the public sector, junk the “Omnibus Rules on the Prohibition of Concerted Mass Actions!”
Urban Poor: Stop demolitions! Provide humane housing conditions for the urban poor!
Women: Protect workers in the informal sector! Hold the US and GMA accountable for the impacts of war in Mindanao!
TASK FORCE MAY 1
l AI-Pilipinas l AKBAY MARALITA l AKBAYAN l ALYANSA l AMEND l APL l BALIKATAN l BISIG l CARET l CATW l Center for Migrant Advocacy-Phil. l Confederation of Independent Unions in the Public Sector l CPE l IPD l IPG l LAGABLAB l LARIDE l MAKALAYA l MASP l NTU l NUBC l NUWHRAIN l PADAYON l PAKISAMA l PANDAYAN l PARRDS l PEACE l KASAPI Congress-Jeddah Saudi Arabia l KSK l SARILAYA l SCAP l TESEF l TFP l UNORKA
A hundred years later, as we march to Malacañang, our demands remain the same - freedom and the recognition of our rights. The labor movement claims victory in the assertion and institutionalization of minimum labor standards and civil liberties. However, a number of conditions that emasculate the rights and welfare of the working class still prevail. But more importantly, the victories that we have conscientiously struggled for are now being diluted and, worse, undermined by the posturing of the state and the economic elite. It is not an exaggeration to say that our freedom and rights are now being threatened.
Basic rights that guarantee our civil and political liberties are now being laid as sacrificial offerings at the altar of pseudo-economic development. The Filipino-Chinese Chamber of Commerce is proposing a ten-year moratorium on labor strikes. To seduce the state, they promised to generate three million jobs in the next three years. This in effect reflects the seemingly unchanging and condescending attitude of the economic elite towards the working class that resulted in a century of constant struggle. Their proposal will erode and nullify the victory of the labor movement for the right of workers to organize and assemble. If the state gives in, it will usher in a decade of oppression and exploitation of the working class. This is most ironic because it is incumbent upon the state to safeguard and guarantee the rights and welfare of the majority, and incidentally the most vulnerable sector of society that we are a part of.
The state in its actions contradicts its propaganda of concern for the working class. The GMA administration’s unconditional support for the US war on Iraq is now being hailed as an employment-generating undertaking for Filipinos. The government has appealed to the US to employ Filipino workers in the reconstruction of the devastated country. Instead of creating opportunities for employment, it is exposing Filipino workers to greater possibility of racism—a perennial problem among our OFW’s—and harassment from camps that see the Philippines as a minor accomplice in the destruction of Iraq. Also because of this, the Arroyo government is condoning the inequality between Filipino workers and their Western counterparts. For sure, the Americans and the British will receive greater compensation than the Filipinos who are expected to receive meager wages in Iraq. But these problems are also being experienced by OFWs around the globe. The state, therefore, must be able to guarantee protection for our OFWs where ever they are.
GMA administration's invitation to the US troops to enter Sulu and Cotabato via Balikatan 03-1, instead of fostering an atmosphere of economic growth that is a prerequisite in the generation of employment opportunities, will lead to further conflict in the region and will victimize more innocent women and children. This will aggravate the already appalling economic situation in Mindanao, undermining years of women’s work to rehabilitate and heal the trauma of the Bangsa Moro people. With the invitation of GMA to the US in exchange of dollars and a possible presidential sponsorship, the country is regressing in the area of national independence and self-governance—betraying the revolution of the masses more than a hundred years ago.
Its economic policy of compliance to the WTO, WB and ADB leaves the working class neck-deep in poverty. Its obsession with liberalization has taken its toll on our daily lives. Due to the impact of the AoA, vegetable farmers and their families in Benguet and in other parts of the country are now dying of hunger because they cannot compete in a market flooded with imported agricultural products. Our already meager earnings are being expended for the high cost of public utilities. This is coupled with the lack of social services that we now need to purchase from private providers. The exorbitant cost of food, electricity, water, fuel and social services leaves us very vulnerable. This is made worse by job insecurity and non-valuing of work in homes. Thus, more are exploited in the informal sector, especially the women and even the children.
And now, with the onslaught of the “Terror Bills” the civil and political rights not only of the working class and the masses but the society in general, are being undermined by the state. Liberties that we have won through our collective struggle are being subjected to the whims of the manic state. Our legitimate struggle for social reform and equity could be under-cut by this bill which the state shamelessly rams through the legislature.
In the past century, the struggle of the working class has been an unwavering one. A hundred years ago, the battle cry was freedom. A hundred years later, freedom is still the clamor of the men and women laborers, peasants, fisherfolk, the urban poor, gays and lesbians and OFWs. So many administrations have come and gone, and yet, the working class remains marginalized. Our rights and welfare are at a constant threat by a system that perpetuates inequality among classes. Constantly, our hard-earned victories are being undermined.
In the light of the systemic problems and conditions plaguing the working class, WE, in the Task Force May 1 shall continue to defend and advance our rights and our freedom. As we commemorate a century of May 1 demonstrations, WE demand the following:
Fisherfolk: Enact a law for the delineation of municipal waters for the welfare of small fisherfolk (DAO 17)! Protect small fisherfolks from the excesses of local and foreign commercial fishers!
Gays and Lesbians: End discrimination against gays and lesbians in the workplace! Pass the Anti-Discrimination Bill!
Human Rights Groups: Respect the dignity and rights of every Filipi
Laborers: Provide solid guarantee for workers’ and trade union rights! Reject the ten-year moratorium on labor strikes!
OFWs: Stop the deregulation of the overseas labor industry! Reassert government’s primordial role in the protection and promotion of the rights and welfare of OFWs and their families!
Peasants: Guarantee security of land ownership, safe and sufficient supply of food and security of income and protection from both foreign and local capitalist control over the agricultural sector!
Public Sector: Stop the massive re-organization of workers in the public sector, junk the “Omnibus Rules on the Prohibition of Concerted Mass Actions!”
Urban Poor: Stop demolitions! Provide humane housing conditions for the urban poor!
Women: Protect workers in the informal sector! Hold the US and GMA accountable for the impacts of war in Mindanao!
TASK FORCE MAY 1
l AI-Pilipinas l AKBAY MARALITA l AKBAYAN l ALYANSA l AMEND l APL l BALIKATAN l BISIG l CARET l CATW l Center for Migrant Advocacy-Phil. l Confederation of Independent Unions in the Public Sector l CPE l IPD l IPG l LAGABLAB l LARIDE l MAKALAYA l MASP l NTU l NUBC l NUWHRAIN l PADAYON l PAKISAMA l PANDAYAN l PARRDS l PEACE l KASAPI Congress-Jeddah Saudi Arabia l KSK l SARILAYA l SCAP l TESEF l TFP l UNORKA
Apr 26, 2003
Strike Ban Not the Solution to Unemployment
Last Monday (April 21), the Federation of Filipino Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Inc. (FFCCCI) called for a strike moratorium saying a no-strike environment would result in a favorable business environment in the country. It wouldencourage businesses to invest in new ventures or expand, and therefore create more jobs. A few days later, this proposal was subsequently supported by the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI).
FFCCCI president Robin Sy said FFCCCI members had promised to generate 3 million jobs in the manufacturing and services sector in the next two years if government would ban strikes for at least 10 years. FFCCCI also proposed stretching contractual work from 6 months to 2 years and hiring workers at an apprentice rate (which is below the minimum wage).
While we are aware that this proposal will not fly – the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) had stated that it is unsound and constitutes a violation of the constitution – we are infuriated that the business sector represented by Mr. Sy thinks that labor unions are causing unemployment. We are also insulted that Mr. Sy proposed a strike ban at a time when the Philippine labor movement is about to celebrate the centennial anniversary of Labor Day celebration in the country. On May 1, it will be 100 years since Filipino workers marched from Tondo to Malacañang under Union Obrera Democratica de Filipinas to press for workers’ rights.
The workers’ right to strike is not the cause of unemployment in the country. It is a fact that strike incidence have declined in the past 10 years while unemployment has been rising.
The real problem is not labor unrest. The real problem is that the economic reforms implemented by government in order to create an outward-looking, market-oriented economic setting have failed to deliver.
When liberalization went into high gear in 1991, work opportunities have not increased significantly. Even when the economic growth rate breached the 5% mark in 1994 to 1995, there was still no significant increase in job opportunities. Last year, the country’s economy posted a respectable growth (GDP grew by 4.6% and the GNP by 5.2%) but unemployment rose to 10.2% Mr. Sy and his associates should instead ask the government: Where are the gains form neoliberal reforms? Why is the country experiencing jobless growth?
Mr. Sy and his associates should not use labor activism as scapegoat for the negative impacts of trade and financial liberalization. The worsening peace and order situation in the country, poor infrastructure and corruption are some of the urgent issues they should be concerned about.
Mr. Sy and his organization has no basis to say that they can create 3 million jobs in the next two years under a no-strike environment. It sounded like the promises made by President Macapagal-Arroyo year ago when, as a senator, she was selling the benefits of joining GATT-WTO. And we all know what happened to her promises. Nothing!
And what kind of jobs are they promising? Contractual labor stretched to two years with workers being paid below minimum wage! In other words, they no longer want to exploit workers for three to six months, as many employers currently do. This time they want to do so for two years.
Year Strikes Unemployment Rates (%)
1992 136 8.6
1993 122 8.9
1994 93 8.4
1995 94 7.4
1996 89 7.4
1997 93 7.9
1998 92 9.6
1999 58 9.4
2000 60 10.1
2001 43 9.8
2002 31 10.2
Sources: DOLE and NSO
see also:
http://www.apl.org.ph/ps/20030422replytosy.htm
http://www.inq7.net/opi/2003/apr/24/text/letter_1-1-p.htm
FFCCCI president Robin Sy said FFCCCI members had promised to generate 3 million jobs in the manufacturing and services sector in the next two years if government would ban strikes for at least 10 years. FFCCCI also proposed stretching contractual work from 6 months to 2 years and hiring workers at an apprentice rate (which is below the minimum wage).
While we are aware that this proposal will not fly – the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) had stated that it is unsound and constitutes a violation of the constitution – we are infuriated that the business sector represented by Mr. Sy thinks that labor unions are causing unemployment. We are also insulted that Mr. Sy proposed a strike ban at a time when the Philippine labor movement is about to celebrate the centennial anniversary of Labor Day celebration in the country. On May 1, it will be 100 years since Filipino workers marched from Tondo to Malacañang under Union Obrera Democratica de Filipinas to press for workers’ rights.
The workers’ right to strike is not the cause of unemployment in the country. It is a fact that strike incidence have declined in the past 10 years while unemployment has been rising.
The real problem is not labor unrest. The real problem is that the economic reforms implemented by government in order to create an outward-looking, market-oriented economic setting have failed to deliver.
When liberalization went into high gear in 1991, work opportunities have not increased significantly. Even when the economic growth rate breached the 5% mark in 1994 to 1995, there was still no significant increase in job opportunities. Last year, the country’s economy posted a respectable growth (GDP grew by 4.6% and the GNP by 5.2%) but unemployment rose to 10.2% Mr. Sy and his associates should instead ask the government: Where are the gains form neoliberal reforms? Why is the country experiencing jobless growth?
Mr. Sy and his associates should not use labor activism as scapegoat for the negative impacts of trade and financial liberalization. The worsening peace and order situation in the country, poor infrastructure and corruption are some of the urgent issues they should be concerned about.
Mr. Sy and his organization has no basis to say that they can create 3 million jobs in the next two years under a no-strike environment. It sounded like the promises made by President Macapagal-Arroyo year ago when, as a senator, she was selling the benefits of joining GATT-WTO. And we all know what happened to her promises. Nothing!
And what kind of jobs are they promising? Contractual labor stretched to two years with workers being paid below minimum wage! In other words, they no longer want to exploit workers for three to six months, as many employers currently do. This time they want to do so for two years.
Year Strikes Unemployment Rates (%)
1992 136 8.6
1993 122 8.9
1994 93 8.4
1995 94 7.4
1996 89 7.4
1997 93 7.9
1998 92 9.6
1999 58 9.4
2000 60 10.1
2001 43 9.8
2002 31 10.2
Sources: DOLE and NSO
see also:
http://www.apl.org.ph/ps/20030422replytosy.htm
http://www.inq7.net/opi/2003/apr/24/text/letter_1-1-p.htm
Apr 22, 2003
"No to Terrorism! No to the Terror Bill!"
At the onset, let us be very clear about one thing, we are against terrorism! But it is also for this reason that we are opposed to the "Terror Bills" now pending in Congress.
Under a climate of fear and with the absence of a healthy public debate on the matter, Congress is rushing the so-called Anti-Terrorism Bill which, despite President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's claim, would not solve the problem of terrorism but would only undermine the working people's basic inalienable rights: union rights; and the right to dissent, the ability to disagree, to question our country's leaders and to criticize their actions.
In both versions of the bill (in the Senate and the House of Representatives), the definition of how terrorism is committed is too broad for comfort (Section 3 in both versions). If passed into law, the "Terror Bill" can be abused by government to stifle legitimate dissent akin to what we have seen during the Martial Law years.
But more importantly, government has yet to convince the public of the need for an Anti-Terrorism law, especially when there are already existing laws that penalizes almost all, if not all, overt acts of terrorism. Surely it is not the lack of laws that explains government's failure to crush criminal elements whose status was elevated by the United States as terrorist groups!
Thus the real intent of the bill is suspicious, to say the least. Is it really being designed to fight terrorism or to stifle, even criminalize, legitimate dissent? Perhaps it is not a coincidence that some of those pushing for this bill are those who were part of the Marcos dictatorship.
But if the Congress really wants to fight terrorism, then we are challenging Congress to focus its attention on addressing its root causes: the deplorable poverty and social injustice in the country; and President GMA's war in Mindanao and her irresponsible support for US military aggression which surely breeds terrorism!
No to Terrorism!
No to the Terror Bill!
Uphold Trade Union Rights!
Defend and Advance Civil and Political Rights!
Under a climate of fear and with the absence of a healthy public debate on the matter, Congress is rushing the so-called Anti-Terrorism Bill which, despite President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's claim, would not solve the problem of terrorism but would only undermine the working people's basic inalienable rights: union rights; and the right to dissent, the ability to disagree, to question our country's leaders and to criticize their actions.
In both versions of the bill (in the Senate and the House of Representatives), the definition of how terrorism is committed is too broad for comfort (Section 3 in both versions). If passed into law, the "Terror Bill" can be abused by government to stifle legitimate dissent akin to what we have seen during the Martial Law years.
But more importantly, government has yet to convince the public of the need for an Anti-Terrorism law, especially when there are already existing laws that penalizes almost all, if not all, overt acts of terrorism. Surely it is not the lack of laws that explains government's failure to crush criminal elements whose status was elevated by the United States as terrorist groups!
Thus the real intent of the bill is suspicious, to say the least. Is it really being designed to fight terrorism or to stifle, even criminalize, legitimate dissent? Perhaps it is not a coincidence that some of those pushing for this bill are those who were part of the Marcos dictatorship.
But if the Congress really wants to fight terrorism, then we are challenging Congress to focus its attention on addressing its root causes: the deplorable poverty and social injustice in the country; and President GMA's war in Mindanao and her irresponsible support for US military aggression which surely breeds terrorism!
No to Terrorism!
No to the Terror Bill!
Uphold Trade Union Rights!
Defend and Advance Civil and Political Rights!
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