Workers group slam billionaire app owner running as partylist nominee

 

The workers group Partido Manggagawa (PM) slammed the owner of the platform app Angkas who is running as the first nominee of the Ang Kasangga partylist. “How can a billionaire like George Royeca represent ordinary app riders? This is another Mikey Arroyo, son of then President Gloria Arroyo, who ran as nominee of a fake security guards partylist group. Royeca is a poster boy for the undermining of the partylist system as a reform measure,” asserted Judy Ann Miranda, PM secretary general.

 

She added that riders have been misclassified as freelancers by platforms and as a result have been denied the protection of labor standards and social security. “Riders have been organizing against abuses by platforms such as arbitrary cuts in pay. How can Royeca speak and fight for riders’ rights and welfare when he owns the app?,” Miranda averred.

 

According to the COMELEC, 73 partylist groups have filed their certificates of nomination and acceptance. But more are expected as 170 partylist groups have been accredited by the COMELEC.

 

“The Constitution provides for the partylist system as a mechanism for representation of marginalized groups such as workers who traditionally have been excluded from Congress as a result of elite domination of politics. Unfortunately, fake partylist groups, like Ang Kasangga of the Angkas CEO, have provided a backdoor for trapos and capitalists to enter the House of Representative. They have squeezed out legitimate partylist organizations truly representing workers and other basic sectors,” Miranda explained.

 

Ang Kasangga first ran in 2010 ostensibly as a partylist of small entrepreneurs but the COMELEC disqualified its first two nominees—a businessman and a former mayor—for not belonging to a marginalized group. In the same election, Mikey Arroyo won as security guards partylist representative.

 

PM was among the second batch of partylist groups which successfully put leaders of marginalized groups into the House of Representatives. Rene Magtubo, a factory worker and union president, sat as PM partylist representative for two terms until 2007.

Miranda called on app riders to reject Ang Kasangga and instead vote for partylist groups which truly represent workers and other underrepresented groups. 

October 7, 2024

Women riders hold unity ride for empowerment and fuel subsidy

 

As part of the buildup for the commemoration of International Women's Day, the riders’ group Kapatiran sa Dalawang Gulong (Kagulong) will hold a unity ride this afternoon from C. P. Garcia in UP Diliman to the People Power Monument. The event will highlight Kagulong's advocacy for women's empowerment and against gender discrimination. Also the group will reiterate its call for fuel subsidies for app riders.

 

“Women riders experience discrimination from police officers in checkpoints as well as from the public and fellow riders. Our ‘Women Can Ride, Women Can Lead’ advocacy aims to combat gender discrimination and promote women’s empowerment,” stated Yang Umali, Kagulong Women’s Collective spokesperson.

 

The group also insisted on its call for immediate release of fuel subsidies for jeepney drivers and app riders. “We are asking the Department of Transportation (DoTr) to meet with riders in order to clarify its plan to distribute fuel subsidies. Riders shoulder the weekly gasoline price increases and thus deserve ayuda,” Umali said.

 

She also added that the group is supporting the call of Vice President Leni Robredo and Senator Francis Pangilinan for the temporary suspension of the excise taxes on oil products to reduce pump prices. The suspension is provided for under the TRAIN law but subject to certain conditions. “We believe that the extreme difficulties brought about by the weekly oil price increases for more than two months already are more than enough as supervening conditions for the suspension of excise taxes. This will benefit jeepney drivers and operators, app riders, farmers and fishers principally and the rest of the people too as oil prices impact the whole economy,” Umali explained.

 

Kagulong is actively supporting the tandem of Vice President Robredo and Senator Pangilinan for their commitment to the riders’ agenda and track record of participatory good governance. “Aangat ang buhay ng riders sa isang gobyernong tapat sa partisipasyon ng nasa laylayan sa pamamahala,” Umali averred.

 

She added that while it welcomes the DoTr announcement that people engaged in full-time ride-hailing and delivery services are entitled to the fuel subsidy, there is no transparency in the plan. “In the first place, the DoTr does not know if the registered motorcycle owner is using his or her vehicle for platform work. Not even the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) is aware of this due to the informal nature of the freelancer or independent contractor relationship. Only the apps know who their riders are. A social dialogue should involve all stakeholders so riders would have voice and participation,” Umali concluded.

 

The group declared that if riders were treated as employees not freelancers then ayuda provision would be much easier, similar to how workers were granted ayuda under CAMP or SBWS. The employment status of riders has been the subject of controversy, even sparking protests amidst the pandemic and prompting the DOLE to issue an “advisory” on the issue. 

March 6, 2022

Kapatiran sa Dalawang Gulong (Kagulong)

Riders group asks DOLE to formulate rules protecting the rights of gig workers

The riders’ group Kapatiran sa Dalawang Gulong (Kagulong) on Friday asked the Department of Labor and employment to start formulating, in consultation with riders/drivers, labor groups and other stakeholders, rules on digital based labor platform to protect the rights of gig workers and promote their better working conditions.

The call was made in view of the latest report (World Employment Outlook) published by the International Labor Organization (ILO) which placed the Philippines second to India in terms of volume of outsourced jobs performed by workers in digital labor platforms in developing countries.

Said outsourced jobs come mostly from Australia, Canada, Germany, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States.

“Our group is very much mindful of this development since many of our members are into this work or have been engaged with many of these digital platform jobs. Thus, we are aware of their stories, income opportunities, as well as the hazards of being self-employed and freelancers in the company-controlled platform,” said Kagulong in a statement sent to the media.

The ILO noted that app-based or online jobs could have increased during the pandemic when people seek available employment online. But having this kind of job, said the ILO exposes workers to substandard working conditions, such as having irregular work and income.

“Half of online platform workers earn less than US$2 per hour. In addition, some platforms have significant gender pay gaps,” ILO said, adding gig workers also suffer from lack of access to social protection, freedom of association and collective bargaining rights, as well as long and unpredictable working hours.

The ILO attributed these problems to the terms and service agreement of online job platforms, which it noted is “blurring the previously clear distinction between employees and the self-employed.”

Kagulong completely agrees with the ILO findings, saying that in one food delivery company, bookings, and dispatches are completely controlled forcing riders under time pressure to face road hazards. There is also a case now where an LGU requires self-employed drivers to apply for business permits before they can be allowed to hit the road and use the platform.

“There are mounting issues that need to be addressed in this rapidly growing industry and it is very disappointing to see workers in modern digital platforms perform jobs under substandard if not inhumane conditions,” lamented Kagulong.

The group said it is the duty of the government, specifically DOLE, to protect workers in this sector by coming up with rules defined through negotiations between labor and employers in contrast to the app-based rules imposed arbitrarily by industry owners.

Riders of Food Panda has brought their issues before the DOLE in November last year, but the management reportedly refuses to attend a scheduled conference.

Earlier this week Kagulong greeted with enthusiasm the British Supreme Court’s decision declaring Uber drivers as workers. The landmark decision has finally settled a legal battle between the giant ride hailing up and two of its workers who brought the issue before the court in 2016 on whether they should be treated as workers of the company or as self-employed.

According to a BBC news, the British Supreme Court considered several elements in its judgement:
1. Uber set the fare which meant that they dictated how much drivers could earn
2. Uber set the contract terms and drivers had no say in them
3. Request for rides is constrained by Uber who can penalise drivers if they reject too many rides
4. Uber monitors a driver's service through the star rating and has the capacity to terminate the relationship if after repeated warnings this does not improve

As an organized rights-based riding community, Kagulong has been receiving complaints from fellow riders working in different companies. Common among these complaints, similar to what the Court has resolved, is their imposed status as “independent contractors,” and the way hailing app exercises control over the performance of their jobs.

Kagulong called on riders/drivers from different companies to welcome this decision and organize themselves into a union or workers’ association to be able to defend their rights and secure better working conditions in the gig economy

Kagulong

26 February 2021