BAWI labor groups not endorsing candidates Clarification on the issue of endorsement

Clarification on the issue of endorsement
As the expression of unity of the broad labor movement we wish to make clear three points:

First, contrary to news reports that have appeared in print, the Broad Alliance for Wage Increase has not endorsed any candidate for president and vice-president. From the very start we have issued a challenge to the administration and its rivals to respond positively to the demand of the workers for a P65 hike in wages. None have made any categorical commitment of support for the workers struggle for wage recovery and wage increase.

In order to advance the fight for the P65 wage recovery and wage increase, some 500 leaders of BAWI held a rally at Mendiola and we submitted a petition to Malacanang weeks before May 1. We have likewise opened ourselves to discussions with all presidentiables with the aim of seeking broad support for the campaign for wage recovery and wage increase.

Thus representatives of BAWI held a dialogue with the Koalisyon ng Nagkakaisang Pilipino on the eve of May 1. We reiterate that what transpired was a dialogue and no endorsement of the opposition slate was ever solicited nor granted. Members of the media in attendance can testify to this fact as representatives of BAWI explicitly stated this clarification.

Second, even as we agree to the proposal of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in her Labor Day speech that the regional wage boards be abolished, we however feel that such a move is not enough. What is needed is a complete overhaul of the country's labor relations to allow workers to fully enjoy their basic right to organize, to strike, and to collectively bargain not only in the enterprise level but also in the industry, territorial and even national levels. This should be the stepping-stone towards the reorganization of the labor movement along the lines of one industry-one union and the establishment of full-blown industry unions of workers that will bargain with industry associations of capitalists.

Third, without any illusions that the coming elections would ever express the true will of the people and lead to much needed fundamental changes in society, we nonetheless join the clamor for clean and honest elections. In a bloody and fraudulent election, it will always be the people who will be the pawns and the victims. We summon the Filipino working class to exercise labor power by expressing the labor vote in this elections.

The Broad Alliance for Wage Increase or BAWI is composed of six national labor centers and its affiliates, joined by 14 federations and independent national unions. BAWI represents more than half of organized labor in the country.

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

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.

Workers demand GMA and K4 platform for full employment!

Workers from the Alliance of Progressive Labor (APL) trooped to the K4 national campaign headquarters in Makati this morning to press GMA and all the other K4 candidates to bare their platform for full regular employment.

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

"We are aware that GMA is promising a million new jobs a year," Edralin said, "that is simply not enough as there are at least 1.5 million new job seekers every year.” He added that jobs created by GMA during her term are mostly marginal, low paying and temporary. "What we want are decent jobs for everyone. This means regular, productive and remunerable jobs. Not the kind of emergency jobs that GMA is currently promoting in aid of her reelection!" Edralin added.

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 its population grew by 1.7 million every year.

The GMA administration has been in power for three years but has miserably failed in solving unemployment due to its 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 had led to grave job loses to tens of thousands of workers.

Full regular employment for everyone is possible. But it can never be attained unless government shifts away from its flawed neo-liberal policies.

As expected, the group was dismayed with the non-appearance of K4’s national candidates. K4 representatives who met the group could not present a credible employment program.

The absence of full employment in K4's platform is a manifestation of a lack of political will, or of imagination, or both, to address the burgeoning employment crisis! This would only mean that, in the event that she wins the elections, workers can expect nothing but more of the same problems that they are now suffering from.