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.”
Showing posts with label labor day. Show all posts
Showing posts with label labor day. Show all posts
May 1, 2003
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 10, 2002
GMA REVEALS CONTEMPT FOR 100 YEARS OF TRADE UNION STRUGGLE
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo is attempting to rewrite 100 years of worker’s struggle by declaring April 29, instead of May 1, as the legal labor holiday.
Coming at a time when May 1, 2002 happens during the centennial celebration of the Philippine trade union movement, this declaration reveals Arroyo’s contempt for everything that the workers have struggled for, even to the extent of giving up their lives, declares the Alliance of Progressive Labor (APL).
The Philippine labor movement is celebrating this year its 100th anniversary since the formal launching of both the country’s first formal labor union and federation in 1902, the Union Impresores y Litografos de Filipinas (UIF) and Union Obrera Democratica (UOD) respectively.
“As if ignoring the said centennial is not enough, the Arroyo administration has still the gall of undermining the historical tradition of celebrating the international Labor Day,” says Daniel Edralin, chairperson of the APL. He added that “this is the height of bourgeoisie arrogance.”
May 1 as Labor Day was made into law in the Philippines in 1913, although this was unofficially celebrated by Filipino trade unionists since 1903 based on an international tradition that began in the 1880s.
The Alliance of Progressive Labor (APL) condemns this decision as patently unacceptable and vows to fully mobilize its entire membership on May 1 not only to celebrate the labor centennial but also to push government to radically depart from its current embrace of privatization, liberalization and the mythical “free trade.”
Coming at a time when May 1, 2002 happens during the centennial celebration of the Philippine trade union movement, this declaration reveals Arroyo’s contempt for everything that the workers have struggled for, even to the extent of giving up their lives, declares the Alliance of Progressive Labor (APL).
The Philippine labor movement is celebrating this year its 100th anniversary since the formal launching of both the country’s first formal labor union and federation in 1902, the Union Impresores y Litografos de Filipinas (UIF) and Union Obrera Democratica (UOD) respectively.
“As if ignoring the said centennial is not enough, the Arroyo administration has still the gall of undermining the historical tradition of celebrating the international Labor Day,” says Daniel Edralin, chairperson of the APL. He added that “this is the height of bourgeoisie arrogance.”
May 1 as Labor Day was made into law in the Philippines in 1913, although this was unofficially celebrated by Filipino trade unionists since 1903 based on an international tradition that began in the 1880s.
The Alliance of Progressive Labor (APL) condemns this decision as patently unacceptable and vows to fully mobilize its entire membership on May 1 not only to celebrate the labor centennial but also to push government to radically depart from its current embrace of privatization, liberalization and the mythical “free trade.”
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