Labor group opposes gov’t order for BPO workers to return to office

                                                        

Photo from The Guardian

 

The labor group Partido Manggagawa (PM) supported the call of BPO workers against the government order for all of them to return to their offices by April 1.

 

“Dapat balik trabahong ligtas para sa BPO workers. Mandating the return to office of 1.4 million IT and BPO workers on the sole basis of economic and tax reasons disregards the issue of health and safety of employees. This is a recipe for disaster,” stated Bryan Nadua of PM. Nadua is also a BPO worker.

 

The groups BPO Employees for Leni-Kiko and IT&BPO Professionals for Leni and Kiko started a petition on Change.org opposing the return to officer order by the Fiscal Incentives Review Board (FIRB) of the Department of Finance. The FIRB cited the CREATE Law that provides that BPO as economic zones must “exclusively conducted or operated within the geographical boundaries of the zone or freeport.”

 

In contrast the BPO workers argue that “The occupational safety and health committees, with employee representation, are in the best position to evaluate safety in our workplaces and recommend a safe full RTO or to maintain the present hybrid setup - not a government that ignores real-life conditions.”

 

Nadua emphasized that the Philippines subscribes to the principle of tripartism and social dialogue and yet the return to office order was without the benefit of consultation and discussion with BPO workers.

 

Jodelle Villanueva, a former Customer Service Representative before becoming an HR Manager in a BPO in one of her previous engagements, argued that COVID-19 is very transmissible in the enclosed office setting of BPOs. “Even before the pandemic, if one BPO employee gets a cough or cold, in a day or two, someone else will show similar symptoms due to infection. Headsets too are sometimes shared among employees and are another way by which COVID-19 might be easily transmitted in a 100% fully operational scenario,” Villanueva described.

 

Both Villanueva and Nadua are suggesting that alternatives be considered such as 50 to 75% of BPO workers returning to the office and implementing a compressed work week while maintaining the work for home or anywhere for the rest of the week.

 

PM is calling on Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello to initiate a tripartite social dialogue, that must include representatives of BPO workers, to come up with an acceptable solution to the return to office in BPOs.

March 14, 2022

Bello asked to dialogue with labor groups on urgent demands

 

Photo from Asia Nikkei

The workers group Partido Manggagawa (PM) welcomed the announcement of Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello that labor inspections will resume for the year 2022 after being suspended last December. “Labor inspections are a key mechanism in ensuring compliance with labor standards and enforcement of occupational safety and health protocols, especially during the pandemic since pasaway employers have weaponized covid and abused workers,” stated Rene Magtubo, PM national chair.

 

The group reiterated its call for Secretary Bello to heed the Nagkaisa labor coalition’s request for a dialogue on urgent demands confronting workers such as the no vaccination, no ride and no jab, no job. “A planned dialogue between Department of Labor and Employment officials and Nagkaisa labor coalition leaders has long been delayed. Instead of social dialogue, the government is exercising social distancing with labor groups,” Magtubo asserted.

 

Earlier Secretary Bello apologized for the chaos over the no vaccination, no ride policy to which the PM demanded that the controversial order be withdrawn immediately. “Confusion has arisen over these issues because of lack of social dialogue, among others,” Magtubo averred.

 

PM also welcomed the statements of Senators Kiko Pangilinan and Risa Hontiveros against the no vaccination, no ride policy. Magtubo said that “We call on Senators Kiko and Risa to open an investigation on the no vaccination, no ride, no jab, no job and similar discriminatory policies.”

 

“These policies are patent discrimination against workers and poor. In contrast, rich people—vaccinated or not—are free to move around since they have cars to use. These unfair and biased policies disproportionately impact people in the laylayan,” Magtubo insisted.

 

He stated that the Department of Transportation’s discriminatory ban on unvaccinated individuals taking public transport is a repeat of the railroading of the jeepney phaseout amid the pandemic lockdown in 2020. “The impromptu jeepney phaseout eliminated the livelihood of several hundred thousand jeepney drivers and operators at a time they needed it most,” Magtubo explained. 

January 24, 2022

 

Workers group oppose no vaccination, no ride policy

 

Photo by Grig Montegrande/Inquirer.net

The workers group Partido Manggagawa expressed its opposition to the “no vaccination, no ride” policy on public transport vehicles. “This is patent discrimination on workers and poor who rely on public transport for mobility and commuting to work,” stated Rene Magtubo, chair of the Partido Manggagawa (PM).

 

The ban on unvaccinated individuals using public transport is to be implemented by the Department of Transportation (DoTr) on Monday. “In contrast, rich people—vaccinated or not—are free to move around since they have cars to use. These unfair and biased policies disproportionately impact people in the laylayan,” Magtubo insisted.

 

The group is calling on the DoTr and the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to dialogue with labor groups and commuter organization so that concerns of workers and the poor will be heard and heeded. A meeting between the labor coalition Nagkaisa and the DOLE is scheduled this week on workers demands for free testing and other issues related to “balik trabahong ligtas.” The meeting has not yet transpired.

 

Magtubo pointed out that the DoTr policy is tantamount to putting unvaccinated workers on forced leave since they cannot commute to work. It also unfairly puts jeepney drivers and operators responsible for unvaccinated commuters riding the vehicles. “Has the DoTr realized the implications of their no vaxx, no ride policy? If not, it is because they do not seek to dialogue with workers and commuters’ organizations and prefer to unilaterally impose discriminatory policies,” Magtubo insisted.

 

He stated that the DoTr’s discriminatory ban on unvaccinated individuals taking public transport is a repeat of the railroading of the jeepney phaseout amid the pandemic lockdown in 2020. “The impromptu jeepney phaseout eliminated the livelihood of several hundred thousand jeepney drivers and operators at a time they needed it most. Now, it will temporarily make unvaccinated workers jobless since they cannot commute to work,” Magtubo explained.

January 13, 2022

Provide free covid tests for workers—labor group

 

Photo from DTI

With the daily COVID-19 infections at a record high and the active cases topping 100,000, the labor group Partido Manggagawa (PM) renewed the call for free testing of workers who are mandated to work onsite. A dialogue between the labor coalition Nagkaisa and the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) is scheduled this week to discuss workers’ demands. Ahead of the dialogue, PM called on employers and the DOLE to ensure that safety committees are operating in workplaces, health protocols are being followed and occupational safety and health (OSH) standards are being enforced.

 

“A lot of factories and workplaces are operating and numerous workers are reporting onsite under the Alert Level 3 protocol. Thus, the necessity of ensuring workplace safety. Workers should assert that OSH regulations are implemented. Hanapbuhay ito hindi hanap patay,” Rene Magtubo, PM chair explained.

 

He repeated the call of Nagkaisa chair and senatorial candidate Sonny Matula for the government to subsidize the testing of workers who have symptoms or are unvaccinated but reporting for work.

 

“Workers are trapped in a catch-22 situation that is not of their own making. Antigen tests are cheaper than RT-PCR but still too expensive for minimum wage earners who are among the working poor. There are at least a million minimum wage workers in the NCR and half a million in Calabarzon, both areas facing the brunt of the new COVID-19 wave. Once workers are positive from antigen tests, they are immediately barred from working but cannot get sickness benefits from the Employees Compensation Commission (ECC) which only accepts RT-PCR test results. The way out of this trap is for the government to provide free RT-PCR tests for workers,” Magtubo explained.

 

PM and Nagkaisa have been calling for “balik trabahong ligtas” since the lockdowns were relaxed in late 2020 and the economy re-opened. Senator Risa Hontiveros championed this call by filing an eponymous bill that guarantees provision of PPE’s for workers and enforcement of OSH standards. The demand for free testing however has not been heeded as the recent national budget conspicuously does not explicitly provide funds for it. Still the free tests and paid quarantine leaves can be provided as benefits from ECC, Philhealth, the Social Security System as an alternative.

 

Magtubo asked workers to collectively negotiate with employers for the provision of PPE’s, enforcement of OSH rules and the formation of safety committees. “All of these are guaranteed in the OSH Law. Workers just need to claim our rights. Ang karapatan ay ipinaglalaban. Batas ini!,” he added.

January 10, 2022

Group calls for OSH safeguards and free testing of workers

 

In the face of the rapid increase in COVID-19 infections, the labor group Partido Manggagawa (PM) reiterated the call for free testing of workers who are mandated to work onsite. The group also called on employees, employers and the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to ensure that safety committees are operating in workplaces, health protocols are being followed and occupational safety and health (OSH) standards are being enforced.

 

“A lot of factories and workplaces are operating and numerous workers are reporting onsite under the Alert Level 3 protocol. Thus, the necessity of ensuring workplace safety. Workers should assert that OSH regulations are implemented. Hanapbuhay ito hindi hanap patay,” Rene Magtubo, PM chair explained.

 

He repeated the call of Nagkaisa chair and senatorial candidate Sonny Matula for the government to subsidize the testing of workers who have symptoms or are unvaccinated but reporting for work.

 

“Workers are trapped in a catch-22 situation that is not of their own making. Antigen tests are cheaper than RT-PCR but still too expensive for minimum wage earners who are among the working poor. There are at least a million minimum wage workers in the NCR and half a million in Calabarzon, both areas facing the brunt of the new COVID-19 wave. Once workers are positive from antigen tests, they are immediately barred from working but cannot get sickness benefits from the Employees Compensation Commission (ECC). The way out of this trap is for the government to provide free RT-PCR tests for workers,” Magtubo explained.

 

PM and Nagkaisa have been calling for “balik trabahong ligtas” since the lockdowns were relaxed in late 2020 and the economy re-opened. Senator Risa Hontiveros championed this call by filing an eponymous bill that guarantees provision of PPE’s for workers and enforcement of OSH standards. The demand for free testing however has not been heeded as the recent national budget conspicuously does not explicitly provide funds for it. Still the free tests and paid quarantine leaves can be provided as benefits from ECC, Philhealth, the Social Security System as an alternative.

 

Magtubo asked workers to collectively negotiate with employers for the provision of PPE’s, enforcement of OSH rules and the formation of safety committees. “All of these are guaranteed in the OSH Law. Workers just need to claim our rights. Ang karapatan ay ipinaglalaban. Batas ini!,” he added. 

January 7, 2022

Service contracting is a great program but the LTFRB bungled it

The labor group Partido Manggagawa (PM) slammed the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) and the Department of Transportation (DoTr) for bungling the service contracting program. “Service contracting is a great idea but the LTFRB and DoTr bungled its implementation. Similar to the Department of Health (DOH), bad governance, if not massive corruption, attended its execution,” stated Rene Magtubo, PM national chair.

 

Yesterday the LTFRB released a statement belying the Commission on Audit report that only 1% of the funds for service contracting was released to beneficiary drivers of public utility vehicles (PUVs). The LTFRB declared that P1.5 billion out of the P5.56 billion service contracting budget under Bayanihan 2 was disbursed.

 

“If that is true then only 25% of service contracting funds reached 50,000 drivers nationwide. There are already 120,000 transport workers in NCR alone, a conservative estimate based on one worker per PUV. The rest of the funds has been returned to the treasury without benefiting hundreds of thousands of needy and hungry transport workers. This is no different from hospital workers who decried the DOH for not granting hazard pay and benefits to deserving health care workers,” Magtubo added.

 

Ross Natividad, president of the Yellow Bus Line Employees Union (YBLEU), called on the LTFRB to shape up and respond to the demands of transport workers. YBL plies the South Cotabato to Davao route Mindanao. “It pains us to hear there are billions in funds that have not reached transport workers who are needy and hungry. YBL drivers, conductors, dispatchers and mechanics are becoming desperate since most of them had no regular income for more than a year already,” Natividad said.

 

He explained that the LTFRB contracted YBL for only two months of “libreng sakay” for APORs and HCWs from May to June 2021. “This was for only 14 buses then 48 buses but YBL has 190 units in total. Thus a majority of YBL workers did not benefit. Still, many of those who were lucky to be onboarded have not received their payouts,” Natividad explained.

 

He demanded that “We call on the LTFRB and DoTr to exercise tripartism and social dialogue so that it hears the concerns of workers. Only drivers were considered beneficiaries while conductors and other bus workers were not. The union had to negotiate with the company so that conductors can also work under service contracting and receive pay.”

 

Magtubo averred that “Service contracting must be rebooted. It should go beyond ayuda and libreng sakay as is being implemented now. Service contracting under the PUV Modernization program is a mechanism to formalize and improve the transport industry so that we have sustainable and livable cities. Through service contracting, government ensures the delivery of safe, comfortable and efficient public transport by engaging jeepney cooperatives and bus companies on long-term contracts and mandating regular employment with social protection for transport workers.” 

August 19, 2021

 

Workers critique Duterte’s last SONA: Recycled anecdotes, absence of strategy

 

From the point of workers who have suffered through the failed covid response and were betrayed by the promise to end endo, there was really no high point to the 3-hour long SONA. There was nothing new he said about the most controversial and pressing issues like the drug war and the West Philippine Sea as he simply recycled his non-sequiturs. And there was deafening silence on a concrete strategy to combat covid and recession.

 

In the midst of a pandemic and a recession, the focus of the SONA should have been laying out an effective plan. These are also what the people are looking for in the SONA as revealed in the recent Pulse Asia survey. The people’s demands for a response on jobs, the economy, inflation, vaccine and even the West Philippine Sea are actually reflected in the labor coalition Nagkaisa’s call for TABAKK or Trabaho, Ayuda, Bakuna, Karapatan and Kasarinlan.

 

Duterte said that he really had no plans given the threat of the Delta variant except to impose another severe lockdown. In other words, Duterte will just be repeating the mistakes of the past year but coming from an even worse situation that last year. Walang pag-asa at inspirasyong makakatas sa huling SONA.

 

The alibi and excuses for the drug war was the lowest point of the SONA. Duterte spent so much time spinning his worn-out tales and anecdotes about drugs as an existential problem. As usual the numbers he mentioned about the drug war like 50,000 arrests per day and billions of drugs interdicted are fairy tales that are not backed up by evidence.

 

Nothing will happen in the last year of Duterte given the absence of a plan on recovering from the pandemic and the recession. In fact, in the next few months, the winds of the coming presidential elections will be blowing hard and Duterte the politician will surely be concerned about his fate after 2022—as he has admitted, he is apprehensive about being made accountable for the crimes during his regime.

July 26, 2021

PM holds “SOtaposNA” actions to highlight plight of workers at local level

 

Localized online and offline protest activities were conducted Saturday afternoon by chapters of Partido Manggagawa (PM) in different parts of the country, two days before President Duterte delivers his last State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Monday.

Areas that held local online protest activities include Metro Manila, Cavite, Rizal, Bulacan, Bacolod, Cebu, Davao, and Tagum City.

According to Judy Miranda, PM Secretary-General, this is to highlight the plight of workers and poor communities who suffered the most under Duterte’s deficient and repressive style of governance.

“Ang ating mga komunidad ay hindi gaanong napapansin sa bangayan ng pulitika sa itaas, samantalang sila ang tunay na nakakaranas ng kahirapan at saksi sa nagaganap na karahasan at patayan sa buong bansa. Nasa komunidad ang totoong SONA,” declared Miranda.

One of the issues to highlight is the unresolved killings of PM organizers. Dennis Sequena, PM leader in Cavite, was shot dead by unknown assailants in June 2019 while giving a lecture on basic trade unionism among ecozone workers. PM organizer Orlando Abangan was killed in Talisay City, Cebu in September 2016, at the height of Duterte’s drug war. It is also in Cebu where a peaceful and legitimate protest of retrenched MEPZ workers was met by arrests and detention as in the case of the arrest of “Cebu 5” on November 30 last year.  

Other unresolved killings of PM organizers were that of Victoriano Embang (2012) and Rolando Pango (2014) in the island of Negros. These killings, the group said, though they happened during the past administration, remains an agenda of justice that the present administration has the duty to resolve.

Miranda said, “unresolved and unrelenting spate of killings and intensifying trade union repression is a marked failure of the Duterte administration, notwithstanding his epic fail on the issue of endo or contractualization, wage hike, and its poor pandemic response.”

On SONA day, PM members with their “ENDO30” props will be joining the “Despedida” rally led by the Movement against the Anti-Terrorism Act (MATA) at the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) grounds.

PM will also be part of the Nagkaisa Labor Coalition Women’s Committee morning contingent who will submit their findings and recommendations to the CHR on the impact of COVID-19 protocols on human rights and labor rights.

24 July 2021

Reinstate fired Foodpanda riders--rights group

 

The motorcycle riders’ rights group Kapatiran ng Dalawang Gulong (Kagulong) called for the reinstatement of 43 riders based in Davao City who were suspended for 10 years by food delivery company Foodpanda. The app suspended about a hundred “accounts” attached to the riders for planning a protest concerning the diminution in their income per delivery. Some riders were later reinstated after they allegedly provided information about the scheduled protest.

 

Don Pangan, Kagulong secretary-general, said that “We are one with the members of Davao United Delivery Riders Association Inc. whose members are Foodpanda riders from Davao City in their struggle for just pay and against the suspension of 43 riders for 10 years because they are exercising their right to express their grievances.”

 

The group also welcomed the move by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to call Foodpanda and the 43 riders to a dialogue to thresh out the issue. “We are also calling on the DOLE to deliver its commitment to convene the Technical Working Group represented by rider’s groups, trade unions, worker’s organizations and concerned government agencies to start the research and investigation that would lead to creating policy standards to protect the gig workers,” Pangan insisted.

 

Food panda riders turned offline for two days and staged a 500-strong unity ride last July 16 to protest the app’s wage policy because they noticed they had been earning less lately from each delivery.

 

Grievances and protests by food delivery riders are increasing amidst their high profile as frontliners and essential workers amidst the pandemic. Last November 18, 2020 Kagulong led some 700 Foodpanda riders in Metro Manila in a protest motorcade that ended in the DOLE main office in Intramuros. The riders aired their grievances about reduced pay, imposed penalties and the lack of transparency in their working conditions.

 

Pangan averred that “What happened with our brothers and sisters in Davao City clearly manifested the need to probe the employment status of gig workers to ensure just pay, benefits and job security,” Pangan insisted.

 

In a global study (http://library.fes.de/pdf-files/iez/16880.pdf), labor researchers found out that food delivery riders launched the greatest number of protests among app or platform workers. The most prominent grievance concerned pay although employment status also figured as a secondary issue. In Asian countries such as Indonesia and India, gig workers have formed associations or unions. Similar organizing and struggles by food delivery riders in Europe, Australia and Latin America was also revealed in the study. 

Kapatiran ng Dalawang Gulong (Kagulong)

July 20, 2021

 

Partido Manggagawa condemns arrest of 20 Labor Day rallyists in Cebu

The militant Partido Manggagawa (PM) condemned the arrest of 20 rallyists who assembled at the Plaza Independencia in Cebu City this morning. Police arrested 8 miners from Carmen Copper in Toledo and 12 fishers from Talisay City on alleged violation of quarantine protocols. “The government is using covid-19 as an alibi to suppress the right to peaceful assembly of workers who are airing their demands on Labor Day,” asserted Dennis Derige, spokesperson for PM-Cebu.

 

A third group of rallyists who were workers in the Mactan Economic Zone and other factories together with student supporters were finally able to hold a short program at Plaza Independencia. All three groups, who are affiliates of PM and Sentro ng mga Nagkakaisa at Progresibong Manggagawa (SENTRO), were supposed to commemorate Labor Day by marching around Cebu City. The arrests effectively scuttled the Labor Day plans of workers in Cebu City.

 

“Today’s arrests reveals the impunity of police against workers who are suffering under the economic crisis that has been spawned by the failed covid response of the Duterte administration. Similarly, the commemoration of Bonifacio Day was marred by the arrest of five union organizers who led a workers protests against mass layoffs in the Mactan ecozone. Covid is being weaponized against workers who are fighting for their rights and welfare,” stated Derige.

 

The workers in Cebu and in other major cities nationwide were to commemorate Labor Day with the theme “Tabakk ng Manggagawa Laban sa Palpak.” “Tabakk stands for Trabaho, Ayuda, Bakuna, Karapatan at Kasarinlan which are the key demands of workers in response to the economic crisis and the covid pandemic,” explained Rene Magtubo, PM national chair.

 

He added that “However, workers are also raising the political call ‘Palpak, Palitan.’ This means we are calling on the people to replace the inutile and authoritarian government with a new one which will respect political rights and respond to workers’ demand for social and economic reform.”

 

In Metro Manila, PM, SENTRO and other groups in the Nagkaisa labor coalition held a motorcade from the ABS-CBN headquarters to the People Power Monument to Mendiola and finally at Liwasang Bonifacio.

 

As of the time of writing, the release of the 20 rallyists in Cebu have been put on hold by the police despite the payment of fines for each of the workers arrested.

 

Photos can be accessed at https://www.facebook.com/partidomanggagawa/posts/10159032773159323

 

May 1, 2021

Belittling new surge in COVID-19 is perpetuating ‘kapalpakan’ – labor group

President Duterte’s downplaying of the impact of the new surge in COVID-19 cases is unsettling rather than reassuring, the labor group Partido Manggagawa (PM) said in a statement Tuesday, as the rise in new cases of infection is happening in the face of vaccine shortage and persistent unemployment.

“Kung ang kalapit nating bansa ay nakaalpas na sa pandemya matapos ang isang taon, tapos tayo ay tumataas pa ang kaso, meron tayong problema: MALAKI, hindi maliit,” declared PM Chair Renato Magtubo on his social media post.

Magtubo, who is also a City Councilor of Marikina, said this is no time for leaders to understate a lingering problem especially if this leadership is facing a backlash over its mishandling of the crisis over the last twelve months.

The President’s statement came after the #DutertePalpak hashtag trended online on Monday, coinciding with the anniversary of the declaration of hard lockdown in the National Capital Region (NCR).

It can also be recalled that when the World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 as a global pandemic, Duterte even poked fun at the virus, saying it will die a natural death even without a vaccine.  He also introduced using gasoline for sanitizing facemasks.

“Mahirap nang bolahing muli ang mamamayan ngayon, lalo na ang milyong manggagawa na matapos ma-lockdown at mawalan ng trabaho noong nakaraang taon ay naka-lockout pa rin ngayon at nagtitiis sa gutom,” said Magtubo.

According to PM, aside from the 4.5 million jobless workers in 2020, many remain on a ’floating status’ after losing their jobs last year. And because they are out of work yet not being terminated, their status remains ‘employed but not at work’. The group said employers resort to floating their workers indefinitely to avoid paying them separation benefits.

Magtubo said the re-imposition of curfew, or worse, a new hard lockdown would discourage more workers to find new jobs or for businesses to resume full operations.

“So, hindi ito maliit na problema, Mr. President. Ang totoong nakita kasi ng manggagawa sa nakalipas na taon ay ang maliit ninyong solusyon,” concluded Magtubo.

PM, together with Nagkaisa labor coalition, have been pushing for balik-trabahong ligtas and the rollout of income and employment guarantees to address unemployment problems and enhance the capacity of the state on health and climate response.

16 March 2021

Hit hardest by the pandemic, women workers call for 'ayuda', jobs, and protection of labor rights

Mass layoff and income losses continue to mount despite the easing of restrictions and the initial rollout of vaccination. Needless to say, the combination of health, economic, and education crises one year under the pandemic is hitting women the hardest when they assumed added burdens as confirmed in several studies.

It is for this reason that members of the Nagkaisa labor coalition were demanding another round of ‘ayuda’ or income support, public employment program, and the protection of labor rights as the group kicks off with its celebration of the women’s month with a rally Thursday at the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).

“Isang taon na ang pandemya pero two months lang ang ayuda sa manggagawa. At dahil walang dagdag na ayuda at bagong trabaho, parami pa ng parami ang nagugutom at ang ekonomiya ay hindi rin makabangon. Sa gitna ng kapabayaang ito ng gubyerno ay ang walang kaparis na sakripisyo ng kababaihan bilang breadwinner, caregiver, nanay, at titser,” said Judy Miranda, head of the coalition’s women’s committee and also the secretary general of Partido Manggagawa (PM).

Joining the DOLE action, Miranda said, were women workers who lost their jobs from the continuing company retrenchments, and those who have pending cases before the labor department over illegal dismissals, union-busting, unpaid wages, 13th month, and separation pay, among others.

A scheduled dialogue with the DOLE right after the rally may give workers from the export zones in Cavite, Laguna, Cebu, as well as the teaching and non-teaching personnel in private universities, a chance to seek immediate resolution of their cases and concerns pending before the department which they accuse of imposing social-distancing with the workers.

And as tensions rise between workers and employers due to this lingering crisis, workplace and domestic violence become common, further victimizing women in varying degrees, thus, the workers’ demand for the immediate ratification of ILO’s Convention 190.

“At a time when misogyny is now being normalized in various ways, ILO Convention 190 is precisely what we need today,” said Nice Coronacion, Deputy Secretary General of the Sentro ng Nagkakaisa at Progresibong Manggagawa (Sentro). Women workers were also demanding full protection of their rights as more employers resorted to imposing austerity and anti-union schemes, including union-busting.

"Using the pandemic as an excuse, Provision Gloves Apparel closed its factory in Batangas, only to find out that their main factory remains in operation, under a different name. Management is busting our union and avoiding collective bargaining. This should stop," said Jessica Guerrero, PGA Union-FFW president said.

For her part, Annie Geron, President of the Public Services Labor Independent Confederation (PSLINK), argued that quality public service requires a healthy and well-protected workforce both in the frontlines and administrative functions.

“Quality evades public service when bosses at the top are also the ones who deny their workers’ the right to form unions and bargain for better working conditions,” said Geron, referring to how senior government officials suppress unionization efforts of their rank-and-file members.

NAGKAISA  Labor Coalition-Women’s Committee

4 March 2021

MEPZ strike averted, workers to file case instead

 

A strike at the Mactan Economic Zone has been averted after several weeks of mediation led by Lapu-Lapu City Mayor Ahong Chan. Though the strike notice has been withdrawn, 76 workers of the garment factory First Glory Philippines will pursue their demands by filing a case for illegal dismissal and union busting. Last December, the First Glory labor union filed a notice of strike and later members voted yes to going on strike.

 

“The union is now preparing to file a case at the National Labor Relations Commission and with the assistance of Partido Manggagawa (PM), we are confident of winning our complaint for illegal dismissal and union busting,” explained Cristito Pangan, president of the First Glory labor union.

 

The labor dispute at First Glory started with the firing last November 27 of 300 workers, including the union president and other union officers. At the time of the mass layoff, the union had a pending petition for certification election. A rally of terminated First Glory workers last November 30 was broken up by police and led to the arrest of five labor organizers. The so-called MEPZ 5 were later released as their cases for “disobedience to person in authority” were dismissed.

 

“Aside from filing a case, the union is also preparing for the certification election scheduled on February 15. The union has been key in fighting for the jobs of the 76 workers who refused to accept the retrenchment. The victory of the union in the election will also be important in improving the wages and working conditions of the remaining 700 workers of First Glory,” Pangan insisted.

 

The union is arguing that there the mass layoff is illegal as its main customer, the US brand J.Crew, has already exited from bankruptcy in September. “The labor dispute at First Glory is symptomatic of the epidemic of labor rights violations during the time of covid. Employers are weaponizing the covid-19 crisis to bust unions and violate labor standards,” Pangan declared.

 

The firings at First Glory comes on the heels of mass layoffs at other garment firms in the Mactan ecozone. Earlier the Sports City group of companies retrenched 4,000 workers, Yuenthai fired 200 workers, FCO International laid off 100 workers and Kor Landa dismissed 67 workers including the union officers. The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) has announced that half of the 428,071 workers reported as laid off last year were fired in the last quarter of 2020. Meanwhile the DOLE has put in abeyance four petitions for certification elections at three Sports City factories due to an appeal by management. PM has slammed this as an existing rule prohibits delays in elections due to management appeals.

February 1, 2021

Labor group: Umento from employers, ayuda from gov’t needed due to price hikes, job losses

 

The labor goup Partido Manggagawa (PM) is calling for wage hikes from employers and a new round of cash assistance from the government in response to the spikes in prices of food prices and job losses. Today, the Department of Labor and Employment reported that half of reported layoffs last year occurred in the last quarter of 2020.

 

“The working poor and unemployed Filipinos need immediate relief through a combo—umento mula sa kapitalista at ayuda mula sa gobyerno,” declared Rene Magtubo, PM national chair and a Marikina city councilor.

 

PM is calling for a P100 across-the-board wage hike for workers to recover the lost purchasing power since the nominal wage of P537 in Metro Manila has already been eroded to P434 in real wage terms according to the National Wages and Productivity Commission. Together with this, the group is asking that families of the unemployed and informal workers should be given a cash assistance of P10,000 a month.

 

Expenses for food comprise 50% of the budget of poor Filipinos thus the price hikes have a grave impact on nutrition, hunger and well-being. Before the pandemic, PM’s own cost of living survey already reached P1,300 a day, more than double the P537 minimum wage in Metro Manila. Thus PM advocated then an “Apat na Dapat” set of measures to address the gap in wages and cost of living: wage hikes, social security subsidies, tax exemptions and price discounts. It is also challenging Congress to drop the charter change bid and instead discuss the legislation of a minimum wage hike.

 

Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority showed that prices of meat and vegetables have risen by 50% to 275% this month compared to January of 2020, before the lockdown due to the covid pandemic were imposed. “Poor Filipinos are reeling from the double whammy of job losses and price increases. No wonder the number of Filipino families going hungry ballooned to 7.6 million according to the September 2020 Social Weather Station survey. This is almost double the 4.2 million hungry families in May which was at the height of the lockdown. This is due to the combo of forced leaves, mass layoffs and price hikes. Thus cash must be put in the pockets of the working poor, the jobless and the hungry,” Magtubo explained.

 

“This combo measure is similar to the stimulus program of newly-elected US President Joe Biden who has announced a $15 per hour minimum wage together with $2,000 in checks for taxpayers. The Philippines should act in just as boldly since we have been ravaged as much as the US by failed policies to contain the pandemic,” Magtubo insisted.

 

He added that “According to the prestigious medical journal Lancet, the Philippines falls in the bottom third of countries in terms of managing the pandemic. Also the International Monetary Fund predicts that the Philippines will suffer the worst economic decline in the next five years due to the severe lockdown implemented. Thus the time to act is now!"

January 22, 2021

Workers slam suspension of union elections at biggest Mactan Ecozone firm

 

The labor group Partido Manggagawa slammed the suspension of the proceedings for certification election at three Sports City factories at the Mactan Economic Zone (MEZ). The Sports City group of companies employs some 14,000 workers and is the biggest employer at the MEZ.

 

“Sports City is using legal maneuvers to subvert the workers’ exercise of freedom of association and yesterday it succeeded in delaying the holding of an election at three of its factories on the basis of an appeal to the office of the Labor Secretary. We call on the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to implement the law and the rules which absolutely guarantee the holding of a certification election despite an appeal by the employer,” stated Dennis Derige, PM-Cebu spokesperson.

 

In a pre-election conference yesterday, the DOLE officer handling the petitions for certification election announced that the proceedings are held in abeyance pending the appeal to the Office of the Labor Secretary. Petitions for certification election by rank-and-file unions in Metrowear, Globalwear and Mactan Apparel, and a supervisory union in Globalwear were earlier granted and objections by management dismissed.

 

Derige added that “The certification election at Sports City is a test case for the respect for freedom of association in the ecozones. In MEZ not a single union exists with a collective bargaining agreement due to the pernicious union busting efforts of capitalists. This has led to wage stagnation for workers despite decades of economic growth and productivity rise.”

 

Aside from the four petitions in Sports City, another petition for certification election is pending at First Glory Philippines. All the unions formed at Sports City and First Glory are affiliated to PIGLAS-SENTRO. A labor dispute has erupted at First Glory after the mass layoff of 300 workers, including all of the union officers, last November 27. Last December 22, members of the First Glory labor union voted overwhelmingly to go on strike.

 

“First Glory management has taken a hardline position in all mediation meetings despite being unable to substantiate its claim of losses. We demand that First Glory reinstate all 300 workers that were retrenched as this was done in bad faith and for the purpose of busting the newly-formed union,” declared Cristito Pangan, president of First Glory labor union.

 

The latest mediation hearing yesterday, attended by no less than Lapu Lapu City Mayor Junard Chan, on the First Glory dispute again ended without any agreement. Workers in the Mactan Ecozone have been hit by a series of job losses: Sports City retrenched 4,000 workers, Yuenthai fired 2000 workers, FCO International laid off 100 workers and Kor Landa dismissed 67 workers including union officers.

 

PM however believes that “The mass layoffs and labor disputes at First Glory, Sports City and Arcya Glass in Calamba, Laguna are all symptomatic of the epidemic of labor rights violations during the time of covid. Employers are exploiting the covid-19 crisis to bust unions and shift to contract work.”

January 5, 2021

Labor Yearender: Workers are in the frontlines of a fight against the pandemic of rights violations

 

Without a doubt, covid-19 has gravely affected everyone, rich and poor, employer and worker. Still, workers and the poor are the ones who have been disproportionately impacted. The double-digit economic recessions in the second and third quarters of this year has been felt as grinding poverty and daily hunger by 7 million Filipino families as revealed in the SWS survey in September.

 

The Philippine economy is in worse shape compared to its neighbors is due to the harsh and long lockdown. It is the authoritarian response of the Duterte administration that is to blame for the economic recession and the adverse effect on the working class. The administration was late in forming a response and once it did, it treated the pandemic—similar to how it treated the drug addiction—as a peace and order concern instead of a public health matter. The severe lockdown shuttered the economy, and left workers and the poor without jobs and livelihood for months on end. The aid provided by the government reached only 3 million households out of 16 million Filipinos who were temporarily jobless during the lockdown. Today 4.5 million are unemployed and 2.2 million more are out of work but are not officially jobless only because they stopped looking for employment.

 

To make matters worse, employers used the pandemic as an opportunity to deny workers their benefits and their rights. Workers were put on floating status for more than the six months allowed by law. Establishments reopened but replaced regular workers with new hires on endo status. Some employers shutdown their firms without paying workers separation and other benefits. Capitalist Grinches are exploiting the pandemic to bust unions as shown by the experience of the Arcya Glass Employees Union in Laguna and the First Glory labor union in the Mactan ecozone.

 

While the pandemic of rights violations spread, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) exercised social distancing from workers. The DOLE released a series of orders and advisories that denigrated labor standards and rights. Labor Advisory 17 allowed employers to cut wages and benefits as long as workers will agree. But workers were left with no choice but to bite the bullet of wage cuts as the DOLE suspended the filing of complaints under DO 213. Labor groups called on the DOLE to dialogue but were repeatedly denied. Meanwhile the government banned protests and arrested those who tried using the pandemic as an alibi. In one incident, the picketline of Sejung Apparel  workers in the First Cavite Industrial Estate was dispersed by police and guards in the middle of Black Friday night for allegedly violating quarantine rules. With workers strikes and street protests effectively banned, Congress railroaded the Anti-Terror Law.

                                    

But workers are fighting back and are in the frontlines of the struggle to reclaim their rights. The Arcya Glass workers spent their holidays in the picketlines to protest the continued operation of the factory despite allegedly being permanently closed. The First Glory labor union has voted to go on strike to demand the reinstatement of 300 fired workers. Labor groups in the Philippines together with international union federations have formed the Caucus of Global Unions Pilipinas to call for the repeal of the Anti-Terror Law on pain of the country losing its trade privileges with Europe. Workers in four big factories in the Mactan ecozone have organized into unions as a result of recent grievances over lack of aid during the pandemic and long-running issues over wages and benefits. Certifications elections are due to be held next year in the four firms. We predict that 2021 will see a resurgence of workers’ actions to defend democratic freedoms and labor rights.

December 29, 2020