DTI should impose its weight against rising inflation, not on labor

The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) should impose its weight against rising inflation rather than keeping the labor price low under the policy of contractualization. 

The DTI has always been on the side of business, thus, when Secretary Ramon Lopez stated that contractualization “is not unfair to workers” he was essentially parroting the line of the Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP) whose bottom line position on this issue is to keep the price of labor low to remain competitive. For DTI and ECOP, the best way to keep the price tag of labor low is to keep contractualization as the prevailing policy of the Duterte administration. 

The labor movement has repeatedly rejected the “win-win” formula of DTI and the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE). Our bottom line is change: Direct hiring must be the new policy. This is the only way workers can actually enjoy their constitutional right to security of tenure. The DTI and DOLE position is for workers to enjoy security of tenure in their respective manning agencies and not in their principal employers as contained under Department Order 174 of DOLE. This “win-win solution” has led to a farcical situation where majority of the more than 45,000 workers reportedly “regularized” under DO 174 last year now find themselves “regularly employed” by agencies and not by the principal.  The rule should be, as its name denotes, manpower agencies and other service providers should merely be treated as agents of the principals. 

This is the main reason why we have been pushing for an Executive Order to correct this distortion and rectify decades of injustice imposed upon millions of workers. The Labor Secretary, and in this particular case, the President, can prohibit contractualizaton under the Labor Code. 

Section 2 of the labor-proposed EO provides relief for this impasse as it states that: “Contracting or subcontracting when undertaken to circumvent the worker’s rights to security of tenure, self-organization and collective bargaining and peaceful concerted activities pursuant to the 1987 Philippine Constitution is hereby strictly prohibited. Security of tenure refers to the direct hiring relationship between the principal employer and employee.” 

Contractualization under the proposed EO is still recognized. Only that the types of job that can be contracted out be done upon consultation with members of the National Tripartite Industrial Peace Council (NTIPC).  What the DTI wants is to perpetuate the norm of contracting out almost all jobs in the guise of management’s exercise of their prerogative. This regime, for over two decades, led to a dramatic change in employment relations, with “middlemen employers” such as manning agencies and “labor cooperatives” dominating the trade. 

This norm also has dissipated almost all rights guaranteed to workers by the constitution and labor laws, from security of tenure, right to organize, collectively bargain and to strike in accordance with law, and to be represented in the formulation of policies affecting their welfare. 

Again, to DTI: Contractualization is not unfair to workers? It seems like this agency is now headed by a feudal lord. 

Trading workers through manpower agencies who act as middlemen in a trilateral employment relationship is feudalism, which is clearly unjust. For more than two decades, this re-feudalization of labor has become the norm and keeping the policy will perpetuate this abominable condition of poverty and inequality amid economic growth. 

Hence, when we stated that the buck stops now with the President, it is because we believe the impasse can be resolve in favor of justice. It’s either change as promised by the President, or business-as-usual as demanded by ECOP.

NAGKAISA Labor Coalition

02 March 2018

Workers push for anti-endo EO in airport march

Labor groups are pushing for an executive order (EO) to prohibit contractualization and replace the DO 174 of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE). Members of the union Philippine Airlines Employees Association (PALEA) and Partido Manggagawa (PM) marched at the airport today in support of the proposed EO. 

“Filipino workers demand an end to endo as promised by President Rodrigo Duterte. DOLE’s DO 174 falls short of abolishing endo as it merely regulates contractualization, no different from previous orders. Thus the need for an EO that actually prohibits endo,” argued Gerry Rivera, PALEA president and vice-chair of PM.

About a hundred PALEA and PM members marched from the union headquarters at Baclaran to the Philippine Airlines In-Flight Center near the NAIA Terminal 2.

Yesterday different labor groups such as PM, PALEA, the labor coalition Nagkaisa and TUCP-Herrera wing finalized the draft EO and submitted it to the office of DOLE Secretary Silvestre Bello. A counterpart EO on contractualization within public sector was also presented.

The two EO’s will then be endorsed for signing by President Rodrigo Duterte, as agreed upon in a dialogue between labor groups and the Secretary Bello last Nov. 8. The workers groups are also calling for another dialogue between labor and President Duterte to get the administration’s commitment to the EO prohibiting contractualization.

In the rally today, PALEA also called on President Duterte to ask Lucio Tan and PAL to likewise fulfill their obligation to some 600 retrenched PAL workers who have yet to be reinstated as regular workers according to the terms of a settlement agreement forged in 2013 to resolve the outsourcing dispute. President Duterte is aware of this as it was brought to his attention in a dialogue with labor groups at Malacanang last February 27.

“Four years ago last November 14, 2013, PAL signed a deal to end the contractualization row at the national flag carrier. PALEA complied with the terms of the settlement agreement including the dismantling of the picketline at the In-Flight Center. PAL however has not honored the most important provision of the agreement which is the re-employment of the outsourced workers,” explained Rivera.

The picket also coincides with a “Global Day of Action against Union Repression” that was observed by workers in Australia, Asia and North America. Yesterday, about a hundred export zone workers in Cavite held a rally as part of the global day of action.

Photos of the airport rally can be accessed at:

https://www.facebook.com/partidomanggagawa/posts/10155780455514323

https://www.facebook.com/partidomanggagawa/posts/10155780460814323

PALEA

November 17, 2017

The fight for regular jobs, other rights continues

Today is the first Labor Day celebration under the administration of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte (PRRD).  Indeed, a quick year had passed when, few days before the Labor Day 2016 celebrations, all presidential candidates, including PRRD, swore before the entire nation to liberate the working class from the endemic problems of contractualization and low wages.  

On contractualization, the PRRD vowed to put an end to the despicable practice of agency-hiring.  On wages, he promised the abolition of provincial rate system which for decades, created inequity and wide disparities in wages between regions and provinces of the country.

Workers had long been fighting for ultimate deliverance from precarious working conditions that made them poor and exploited.  Electing a President who pledges to end the problem of contractualization and low wages was therefore a welcome development to many workers. As such, labor organizations under Nagkaisa labor coalition have been very cooperative with the administration in making it sure that the President’s promises are fulfilled.  

We actively participated in all the workshops, meetings, summits, and Congressional hearings organized by the government to make sure that the interest and specific concerns of the working class on the issue of endo and other rights are recognized and properly addressed by official bodies.  We also held countless conferences, consultations and mass actions to demand attention to our grievances.  We did all these because we want all forms of contractualization prohibited both in the private and public sector.  We even actively sought an audience with the President when we felt betrayed by the labor department on the issue of contractualization. 

Now the hard questions: Did workers get what they deserve from this level of engagement with the government?  Did contractualization end upon the issuance of Department Order (D.O.) 174?  Are other labor and human rights more protected now under the new administration? 

We in Nagkaisa had already expressed our rejection of D.O. 174.  Our demand today is for the President to draw up an Executive Order in line with the workers’ demand for total prohibition of agency-hiring and fixed-term employment and also, to certify as an urgent administration measure HB4444 (Mendoza, TUCP-PL) and HB 556 (Bayan Muna, Anakpawis) which seek the same.

Furthermore, the government has to finally resolve the long-running dispute on outsourcing between the Philippine Airlines (PAL) and the PAL Employees Association (PALEA) to prove the government’s decisiveness in addressing labor rights violations in giant and powerful companies.

On the wage issue, the government should now consider granting workers substantial wage hikes in the face of mounting prices of basic commodities.  At the same time, the proposed tripartite commission to review and revise the existing guidelines and rules on wage-setting should be formed immediately. 

Related to the issue of prices is our demand for the government to adopt new policy measures in addressing the high cost of power and the monopolization of the power industry.

There are several other labor rights issues that were brought out during the February 27, 2017 dialogue with the President. These include:

§  the immediate ratification of ILO Convention 151 which empowers the public sector workers to organize their own associations and unions; 

§  subjecting the appointment of genuine worker representation in tripartite bodies of government and GOCCs to annual official review; 

§  the deputization of trade unions as Labor Law Compliance Inspectors;

§  prohibiting the collection of recruitment fees to OFWs and a ban on sending domestic workers to the Middle East, until their rights and welfare are assured once they get deployed;

§  the holding of quarterly dialogues with the Labor Sector; 

And lastly, Nagkaisa has already expressed alarm that some members undertaking legitimate trade union work may have been killed or arrested on trumped up charges under the cloak of the drug war.

These agenda remain pending before the Office of the President and other concerned government agencies.  Unfortunately the failure to stamp out the problem of contractualization during the last ten months gave this administration a bad mark.  And unless this failure is rectified by corrective measures and affirmative actions in relation to other labor rights demands, a slide into further isolation from the working class population is a serious problem that will hound this administration in days to come.

Today, thousands of workers, youth and women from our member-organizations will be marching along the streets of Espana and Mendiola in Manila as well as in other major cities of the country like Cebu, Bacolod and Davao. Later today, leaders of Nagkaisa will be meeting with PRRD in Davao City to pursue those concerns and to demand accountability from those entrusted to resolve issues in favor of workers.

We will never back down in pressing for these demands through collective negotiations and mass actions.  We have regular jobs and security of tenure to win. And we have other labor and human rights to reclaim!

1 May 2017

Workers slam PAL labor violations in Ayala rally

Members of labor groups marched in Ayala Ave. today in a preview of the big workers rally for Labor Day and to slam Philippine Airlines (PAL) for labor violations in the agencies it has contracted. Workers from the Philippine Airlines Employees Association (PALEA) and Partido Manggagawa (PM) marched this afternoon from the Makati fire station to the PNB headquarters which also houses PAL offices.

“The inspections conducted by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) with the participation of PALEA members have uncovered breaches of general labor and occupational safety standards. Also exposed by the inspection is the fact that agency workers are doing the work of formerly regular workers. That means PAL is guilty of breaking the law and rules on contractualization,” explained Gerry Rivera, PALEA president and PM vice-chair.

Last week, DOLE announced in a press conference that inspections conducted through the Special Assessment or Visit of Establishments (SAVE) found PAL and telecom company PLDT guilty of violating labor and safety rules, including on subcontracting. DOLE Secretary Silvestre Bello even proclaimed that he will order the regularization of some 10,000 PLDT agency workers as a consequence.

Rivera insisted that “PAL must remediate the transgressions of its controversial outsourcing scheme by reinstating the 600 PALEA members as per the provisions of a settlement agreement and terminate the use of service providers that have displaced the jobs of regular employees.”

“The protest march today at the country’s central business district on the eve of ASEAN is also a condemnation of the anti-labor and pro-business agenda of the meetings. Labor rights are being sacrificed at the altar of trade liberalization through ASEAN and other multilateral institutions like the WTO and APEC,” insisted Rene Magtubo, PM chair.

SAVE inspections conducted by DOLE and PALEA at PAL and PAL Express are still ongoing as only operations in provinvial airports have been assessed and offices in Metro Manila are yet to be visited. Rivera also blasted PAL for sabotaging the inspections by questioning PALEA’s participation and delaying the conduct of SAVE in its Metro Manila operations.

PALEA and PM are participating in the nationwide Labor Day rallies led by the coalition Nagkaisa. On May 1, Nagkaisa members will assemble at Welcome Rotonda at 7:30 am and then march to Mendiola for a program to call for a scrapping of the newly released DO 174, an end to all forms of contractualization and the protection of labor and human rights.

Also PM-Kabataan, the youth wing of PM, is also a holding a mass action at Welcome Rotonda at 4:00 pm on April 30 to highlight the pressing concerns of young workers like unemployment, contractualization and decent wages and benefits.

April 26, 2017

Labor group urges DOLE to prove whether new rules effective for SM group, other giants

Is the new DOLE Order effective or defective in stopping the epidemic of contractualization?  This question was raised by Partido Manggagawa (PM) in a picket-rally held at the Manila branch of SM Monday as Department Order No. 174 is expected to take effect beginning this week.

It can be recalled that the SM group, through its investor relations chief, Cora Guidote, did not seem to worry about the new rules saying it has no impact to the group. “Nothing has changed as far as SM is concerned. No impact to the group,” said Guidote in recent media interview.

PM is one of the labor groups under the Nagkaisa coalition which rejected D.O. 174 when it was issued on March 16, 2017 as it allows agency hiring to continue despite opposition from the labor movement and the pledge made by the President.

“SM Manila is just a stone's throw away from DOLE so its officials, therefore, need not go far other places to prove the usefulness of D.O 174.  The regularization of SM’s entire workforce is a big thing to watch in our continuing fight against contractualization,” said PM Secretary General, Judy Ann Miranda.

Labor groups were making the SM group and other giant companies like PAL the showcase in its continuing campaign against contractualization.  According to estimates, the SM group has at least 90,000 workforce nationwide and it is public knowledge that much of those working in malls as sales ladies, cahiers and dicers work as contractuals. As of late it has only regularized some 4,000 according to DOLE.

According to Miranda, Secretary Bello in countless interviews had always referred to sales ladies as workers who perform ‘necessary and desirable’ jobs that are not allowed to be contracted under the rules. But SM justifies its big number of contractuals as seasonal workers which is allowed under the Labor Code.

Agency hires abound in the service sector but this practice is more pronounced in big companies like malls, hotels and restaurants rather than in small scale enterprises.  About 30% of total workforce in establishments with 20 workers and above is considered ‘non-regular’, according to the latest survey conducted by the Philippine Statistics Authority.  An independent study by Center for Women’s Resources (CWR) showed 80-85% of workers in 11 branches of SM in NCR are contractuals. 

“SM should not be allowed to continue hiding their contractual workers under the wrap of different seasons. That is fraudulent. And if D.O. 174 becomes benign to SM, PAL and other giant companies, then the new policy will be a complete failure,” concluded Miranda.

PM also points to export zones as notorious hubs of contractualization where DOLE has been a failure for decades.

April 3, 2017

Contractualization will proliferate under new DOLE order--PM

The militant labor group Partido Manggagawa (PM) asserted that contractualization is allowed and will continue to proliferate under the new Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) order named DO 174 issued yesterday.

“News that DO 174 prohibits contractualization is fake! What prohibition? What total ban? DO 174 merely reiterates the bans already provided for in the old DO 18-A. Everything old is presented as new again,” declared Wilson Fortaleza, PM spokesperson.

Members of PM, the union PALEA and other groups under the coalition Nagkaisa held a rally yesterday at the DOLE while the DO 174 was being announced by DOLE Secretary Silvestre Bello. More protests are planned nationwide as a result of labor’s rejection of DO 174. Today in Cebu City, workers are holding a mass action to coincide with a House Labor Committee hearing.

Fortaleza explained that “Bello is acting like Pontius Pilate by passing the ball to Congress on prohibiting all forms of contractualization. The Labor Secretary is vested by Article 106 of the Labor Code with the power to prohibit or restrict labor contracting. Why does he not want exercise this authority to prohibit? Given the irreconcilable positions between employers and workers, why does he side with the capitalists?”

“We want Bello to go. Bello’s order contradicts the President’s directive during the labor dialogue to end contractualization and agency hiring,” Fortaleza said. Labor leaders had a dialogue with President Rodrigo Duterte last February 27 at Malacanang and the latter acceded to the demand to prohibit all forms of contractualization.

“DO 18-A was issued in late 2011 in the wake of PALEA’s resistance to the contractualization scheme at Philippine Airlines. Since D0 18-A merely regulated not prohibited contractualization, the problem of endo has gone from bad to worse over the past five years. With DO 18-A rehashed as DO 174, contractualization will only get worst in the years to come,” Fortaleza extrapolated.

He insisted that “Under DO 174, replacement of regular workers with contractual workers will continue. Agency rather direct hiring will be the norm. Manpower agencies will remain as middleman between principal employers and workers. As lifetime agency employees, the best workers can hope for is a minimum wage while principal employers reap the fruits of labor productivity."

March 17, 2017