Members of Partido Manggagawa (PM) partylist and workers from different
labor groups trooped to the Senate this morning for a last-minute appeal for
the passage of the Security of Tenure (SOT) bill.
Rene Magtubo, PM national chair, said that “With the senatorial campaign
starting in a few days, labor will judge who its friends and enemies are by
their action on the SOT bill. We remind the members of the Senate of their
promise to the workers to do their part in the fight to end the injustice of
contractualization by passing the SOT bill. We remind the senators of their
professed commitment to the working class as well as for the general public and
will hold them accountable to their promise to provide the legal framework to
help end the practice of endo.”
He likewise slammed Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello for a deal with
employers that will propagate not eradicate contractualization. “Rather than
ensuring workers become regular, Bello is instead making regular meetings with
the Employers Confederation of the Philippines on their demand that regularization
commence only after three years of employment and that labor inspections be
suspended,” Magtubo declared.
He added that “The struggle for safe, dignified and regular jobs
has and will continue to be waged through the active action and participation
of the workers within and outside the formal halls of power. The SOT bill
currently up for deliberation is the product of a broad and united labor
coalition that has crossed organizational and political lines in the firm
conviction to fight for the right of working people to enjoy dignified and
protected labor.”
“To this end, we call for the passing of the pro-worker SOT bill, one
not watered down by compromises and loopholes that would negate the efforts of
organized labor that has participated in lobbying, dialogue and social action
to get the bill to where it is today. The failure to pass the SOT bill is a
betrayal of the workers that so far have been engaging the legislative branch
of government and has campaigned for the end of endo even before 2016 where it
was first identified as one of the key priorities of the incumbent
administration,” Magtubo elaborated.
He affirmed that “We reiterate that the SOT bill represents the best and
only opportunity to decisively end the practice of endo. Without a strong law
to protect the interests of workers, millions will remain vulnerable to
precarious working conditions and abusive labor practices. The supposed
regularization agreement between DOLE and ECOP does not tackle the root cause
of endo. The complete lack of worker participation notwithstanding, failing to
pass a SOT law means that workers will continue to be susceptible to the scourge
of contractualization. Only a holistic approach that involves legislative
protection to regular and dignified work will guarantee the security of
workers. We thus call for the passage of the SOT law, as it recognizes the
invaluable service of millions of Filipino workers as the backbone of the
economy.”
January 8, 2019
No comments:
Post a Comment