Group calls for bigger educ, ayuda budget in response to 3M unenrolled students

A youth group today called for massive government intervention in response to the 3 million students who are not enrolled for the school year. The Partido Manggagawa-Kabataan (PM-Kabataan), youth wing of the militant labor group Partido Manggagawa, asked for additional funds for basic education and emergency employment in the proposed 2021 budget.

 

“Three million students are bound to be left behind if the government does not act decisively. Even though education already has the biggest allocation in the proposed 2021 General Appropriations Act, there are still yawning gaps if one looks at the details. Just to cite one example, the allocation for the DepEd computerization program is a mere P9 billion which is just half of the fund for the National Task Force to End Communist Armed Conflict. It is obvious that the biggest threat to social development are 3 million unenrolled students and not 3,000 armed rebels,” observed Jonel Labrador, PM-Kabataan spokesperson.

 

Labrador sourced the figures from the information released by the Department of Budget and Management last August 25 (https://www.dbm.gov.ph/index.php/budget-documents/2021/2021-people-s-budget/2021-budget-at-a-glance-proposed).

 

The group also said that the main reason that students will not be enrolling is that income insecurity accruing from joblessness amidst the pandemic. The latest unemployment figures reveal 4.6 million Filipinos jobless last July.

 

“Government must provide emergency employment to jobless Filipinos even as it must call on employers for a timeout on layoffs. In the Mactan Ecozone for example, companies are shedding jobs left and right with the Sports City group of companies implementing the mother of all layoffs which victimized more than 4,000 workers. But the Labor Department has been curiously silent and inactive on these mass layoffs,” Labrador added.

 

He pointed out that “The tulong panghanapbuhay for displaced and disadvantaged workers is a paltry P9.9 billion. This will hardly make a dent in the dire unemployment and underemployment situation of the country.”

September 13, 2020

 

Bad policies behind rising unemployment -- PM

PRESS RELEASE

11 February 2012

It is not the bad weather but a combination of bad policies that is driving the country’s unemployment rate up, the workers’ group Partido ng Manggagawa (PM) said in a statement, in reaction to Malacanang’s “understandable” description of the latest Social Weather Station (SWS) survey on unemployment.

 

“It is really sad to see the unemployment numbers rising but we are more troubled with the fact that after more than three years in office, the Aquino administration has yet to understand the root cause of this chronic problem.  And it’s not about the weather,” declared PM chair Renato Magtubo.

 

The number of unemployed Filipinos, according to the SWS, swelled to more than 12.1 million in 2013. Malacanang, however, meekly "understood" it as an outcome of Yolanda, the Bohol earthquake and the Zamboanga siege. 

 

The group asserted that while climate change is now becoming the biggest threat especially to most vulnerable countries like the Philippines, bad policies remain the biggest obstacle to the country’s development, more so in the midst of worsening climate crisis. 

 

“Trade liberalization both in industry and agriculture, lack of industrial program, and the privatization-led growth model were to blame in this chronic problem of unemployment in the country,” said Magtubo, adding that since the country implemented those programs in the 80’s, “growth had not only been jobless but highly unequal.”

 

The group pointed out, based on its own review of the country’s development pattern during the past 30 years, it was every clear that growth years never translated into jobs while economic gains benefited only a few families. 

 

“Except for crises years of 1984-85, 1991, 1992 and 1998, the remaining 25 years between 1980 and 2013 were all 'growth years,' the highest rates during the last decade, including the 6.8% in 2012.  But the unemployment rate remained flat,”explained Magtubo.

 

The former partylist representative added that the only period where the unemployment rate in the country fell to single digit was when the government changed employment definitions in 2005, reducing in effect the number of unemployed persons by some 1.4 million. 

 

Magtubo said that unless the Aquino government and the ruling elite change course by reversing those bad policies, they will be punishing not only the present but even the future generation of workers.

 

More than half of the unemployed, both in the SWS and the NSO surveys, are those in age group 18-24.

 

He also warned that the unemployment problem is a “ticking time bomb”, a social problem that is due to explode unless addressed decisively by the present government.

Leyte groups: Engage people in Yolanda rehab

Press Release

January 10, 2014

Informal workers associations in Leyte are asking the government to engage with people’s organizations in the planning and implementation of the Yolanda rehabilitation in the face of allegations of overpriced and substandard bunkhouses.

“Aside from the opinions of experts, the participation of the people themselves is vital in the success of the Yolanda rehab plan. Yolanda survivors should not just be passive recipients of aid but active stakeholders in the reconstruction process. We demand transparency and people’s participation,” asserted Judy Torres, chair of the Tacloban City tricycle federation and coordinator of Partido ng Manggagawa in Region 8.

Last December 30, Torres’ group held a motorcade around Tacloban of a hundred tricycles which were garbed in tarp posters with the message “Make jobs a priority in Yolanda rehab.” The motorcade signalled the launch of the campaign for decent employment, social protection and people’s participation as pillars of Yolanda rehabilitation plan. A representative of the International Labor Organization (ILO) observed and documented the campaign launch.

Torres averred that “People’s organizations can also serve as watchdogs against graft and corruption in the rehab process. Even more than the problem of temporary shelter, the input of the people is crucial in the issue of permanent housing. We insist on in-city relocation and climate-resilient socialized housing program for informal settlers.”

Some of the controversial bunkhouses are being built near Torres’ home and he does not believe they can cost almost a million each. He also attests to the fact that the contractors are not locals and even the laborers came from Mindanao.

He added that “Every cent of the USD 8.17 billion Reconstruction Assistance of Yolanda must be spent to meet the immediate and long-term needs of survivors. We also ask that locals be employed as workers with decent jobs as a guideline.”

The Tacloban tricycle federation together with drivers associations in Hilongos and Baybay, Leyte have issued a manifesto calling for decent employment to be a priority in the rehab plan. The demand echoes an ILO report that stated that more need to be done to provide decent work in the Yolanda affected areas that includes ensuring minimum wages, sound occupational safety, skills development and social protection.

“Decent jobs are a necessity since it is a guarantee to a person’s long-term security and a life of dignity” Torres argued.

PM Legislative Agenda for Labor and the Poor

Congress must make concrete the government’s declaration that democracy should work for all by drafting and legislating a set of pro-labor, pro-poor, pro-women and pro-people reforms.

First, reform the wage-fixing mechanism since the yawning disparity between the minimum wage and the cost of living is the clearest expression of a system failure. The national floor wage proposed by the National Wages and Productivity Board (NWPC) should be based on the cost of living of a working class family and indexed to inflation. The industry-based productivity schemes recommended by the NWPC should be drafted through industry-wide bargaining agreements. A National Wage Commission should replace the regional wage boards. The Wage Commission will have the mandate to fix wages based on the single criterion of cost of living instead of the present contradictory 10-point formula. The Wage Commission should equalize the floor wage to the level of the cost of living by a host of mechanisms among which are direct wage increases, tax exemptions, price discounts and social security subsidies for workers.

Second, establish a rudimentary unemployment insurance scheme for newly retrenched workers. The government must subsidize all workers who will be retrenched because of the global crisis. The Social Security System (SSS), Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) and the Overseas Workers Welfare Authority (OWWA) must use its funds to subsidize private sector workers, government employees and overseas contract workers respectively until they can find work up to a maximum of six months.

Third, improve the present public employment program. It is imperative to give jobs to the millions who are unemployed or underemployed. The emergency employment program must be reformed. Patronage politics must be exorcised from it by putting the employment program under the co-ownership if not control of people’s organizations. Minimum labor standards must be guaranteed instead of the present setup where the ‘kamineros,’ ‘oysters’ even nurses are hired on a contractual basis for below minimum wages. No matter that it is a dirty job as long as it is decent work. The public employment program should not be limited to street cleaning and whitewashing walls but must include restoring the environment and building housing for the poor aside from the usual public works projects. Given the sorry state of the environment and the backlog in public housing, just these two sectors are significant enough to provide millions of jobs for a start.

Fourth, extend health insurance thru PhilHealth to displaced workers, either domestic or abroad, for at least six months or until they can find a new job. This need is validated by research on displaced workers that show a substantial number fall victim to serious illnesses given that the stress of joblessness aggravate their health condition. The state must shoulder the expense of extending their PhilHealth coverage after their retrenchment.

Fifth, declare a three-year moratorium on demolitions and evictions, and a condonation of penalties and interests on low-cost and socialized homeowners. Violent demolitions should stop. The moratorium is not meant to block the implementation of government projects and private development. A moratorium on demolitions will however ensure that honest-to-goodness negotiations proceed based on the provision of decent relocation agreed upon by the affected communities. Social progress should be founded upon social justice.

Sixth, promote job security and regulate contractualization schemes by drafting a law that will put a cap on the number of contractual workers compared to the regular employees in an establishment. Contractual workers should not go beyond 20% of work force of an enterprise.

Seventh, enact the reproductive health bill that will guarantee the provision of public health services to women workers and poor.

And lastly, ratify the freedom of information act in the interest of accountability and transparency in government.

Presidentiables asked for jobs policy as unemployment to rise with new graduates

Press Release
March 23, 2010

The labor party-list Partido ng Manggagawa (PM) challenged the presidentiables to reveal their jobs policy as unemployment is expected to rise by April with the influx of new graduates to the labor force.

“We ask the presidentiables to present a jobs policy that will address the grave problem of unemployment in general and youth joblessness in particular Of the estimated half a million graduates this March, more than 90,000 will not be able to find work despite investing four or five years and a fortune in a college education,” declared Renato Magtubo, PM chairperson.

Magtubo issued his challenge during the PM national congress that is being held at the Oblates Missionary Center in Quezon City. The two-day congress ends today with the election of five nominees from among 120 delegates from different chapters nationwide.

Magtubo based his assertion on the National Statistics Office’s (NSO) April 2005 unemployment data of 18.5% for graduates. “Despite possessing a shiny new college diploma, graduates are only marginally better off than undergraduates whose unemployment rate is 21%,” he added.

To generate decent jobs, PM is advocating a short-term program of massive public employment program and a long-term reorientation of economic and trade policy away from liberalization. “The present emergency employment program must be made more widespread to employ millions but should also be reformed. People’s organizations not local politicians must administer the public employment program so that it will not be used for patronage and it must promote decent work instead of worsening contractualization. But a strategic jobs policy demands the political will to reverse liberalization, deregulation and privatization, and to uphold domestic industry and agriculture,” Magtubo explained.

Magtubo furthered that “The graduates of 2010 are only 12% of the 100 school age kids approximately 14 years ago who have survived the education system. Of these 12 out of 100, seven will take a licensure exam but only three will pass. Of the three, only one will find profession that fits his or her education. The rest will find work that has nothing to do with their college course.”

Labor party-list warns joblessness awaits graduates

Press Release
March 17, 2010

The labor party-list Partido ng Manggagawa (PM) warned that joblessness awaits the new graduates who will be entering the labor force come April. “Of the estimated half a million graduates this March, more than 90,000 will not be able to find work despite investing four or five years and a fortune in a college education. We challenge the presidentiables to present a jobs policy that will address the grave problem of unemployment in general and youth joblessness in particular,” stated Renato Magtubo, PM chairperson.

Magtubo’s figures are a projection of the National Statistics Office’s (NSO) April 2005 unemployment data of 18.5% for graduates. “Despite possessing a shiny new college diploma, graduates are only marginally better off than undergraduates whose unemployment rate is 21%,” he added.

PM meanwhile criticized the latest NSO employment figures for “propagating myths instead of truths.” Magtubo argued that “Unemployment has been kept magically low by removing from the labor force those who have already been discouraged from looking for work and even those who keep on looking for work but have not found any for more than six months. Starting in 2005, by a mere redefinition of terms, one million Filipinos have been taken off from the unemployment rolls and the government can claim that unemployment has come down from the historical average of 10% to the current 7%.”

PM is advocating a short-term program of massive public employment program and a long-term reorientation of economic and trade policy away from liberalization to generate decent jobs. “The present emergency employment program must be made more widespread to employ millions but should also be reformed. People’s organizations not local politicians must administer the public employment program so that it will not be used for patronage and it must promote decent work instead of worsening contractualization. But a strategic jobs policy demands the political will to reverse liberalization, deregulation and privatization, and to uphold domestic industry and agriculture,” Magtubo said.

Magtubo furthered that “The graduates of 2010 are only 12% of the 100 school age kids approximately 14 years ago who have survived the education system. Of these 12 out of 100, seven will take a licensure exam but only three will pass. Of the three, only one will find profession that fits his or her education. The rest will find work that has nothing to do with their college course.”

PM is calling on the youth and the graduates to be critical and vote for candidates who have a concrete program to address unemployment. The party-list group is campaigning on a platform of “Apat na Dapat,” which means regular jobs, decent wages, affordable housing and universal healthcare coverage.

Women workers warn GMA vs. veto of additional stimulus budget

Press Release
March 6, 2009

Women leaders of the labor group Partido ng Manggagawa cautioned the government against vetoing the P50 billion fund added by Congress from the budget allocated for debt servicing. They warned of protests if the veto pushes through. Yesterday the group led women workers in a picket at the Labor Department to push for subsidy and jobs.

“It is truly ironic if Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo during women’s month vetoes the supplemental budget for social services and education programs that will benefit women. We want the Marcos-era automatic debt appropriations law repealed for depriving women of social services,” argued Judy Ann Miranda, secretary-general of Partido ng Manggagawa (PM).

Miranda furthered that “A P50 billion cut in debt servicing to fund social programs is already too little in fact. But it is better than nothing. And it is better than the P330 billion government stimulus plan which does not involve any new money and is merely a repackaging of the old budget. Yet GMA threatens to bring it back to zero.”

Budget Secretary Rolando Andaya had announced yesterday that the President might veto the provision appropriating P50 billion for the congressional aid package. Last year, the President restored interest payments for questionable loans such as the medical waste incinerators bought from an Austrian firm after Philippine environmental laws had rendered the equipment illegal.

“If indeed GMA vetoes the additional stimulus fund then she would consistent in her anti-poor, pro-banker stand. And she would be deserving of the condemnation of working women,” Miranda added.

PM is campaigning for a bailout package for working women since they are bearing the brunt of the impact of the layoffs and other flexibility schemes by employers. The group is calling for unemployment subsidy for workers, tax refund for all wage earners, PhilHealth coverage for displaced workers, a reformed public employment program, and moratorium on demolitions and evictions.

It is also calling for the reversal of the policies of liberalization, deregulation and privatization which the group blames for the high prices of goods and the deterioration of public services. PM is further demanding the reallocation of the entire P700 billion debt servicing budget to fund a vastly expanded social program.

Women workers renew demand for bailout package

Press Release
March 2, 2009

With the advent of women’s month, women workers are renewing the call for a bailout package for workers and the poor. “In times of crisis, the usual coping mechanisms of the workers and the poor would be the safety net of family relations. This traditional safety net unduly relies on the unpaid work of women family members. Thus the double burden of women workers will be heavier as the crisis deepens,” argued Judy Ann Miranda, secretary-general of the Partido ng Manggagawa (PM).

She added that “The grave impact of the crisis on women in general and women workers in particular is the urgent theme of women’s month for this year. The government must provide the safety net of social protection so that workers and the poor do not rely exclusively on the coping mechanism of family relations and women are not weighed down by the heavier double burden. In this double burden, women are exploited as cheap labor in the factories and then utilized as unpaid workers in the home.”

PM is campaigning for a 5-point bailout package for workers and the poor that consist of (1) subsidy for displaced workers from the SSS, GSIS and OWWA; (2) tax refund for wage earners; (2) expansion and reform of the public employment program; (3) extension of health care coverage for displaced workers; and (5) moratorium on demolitions and evictions.

Many of the tens of thousands that have fallen victim to permanent layoffs, work rotations and other flexibility schemes are women workers. In the two industries that have been greatly affected by the global crisis—electronics and garments—women workers are the overwhelming majority.

The country’s top two exports are electronics and, apparel and clothing accessories accounting for $2.6 billion and $181 million in revenues as of the September 2008 data of the National Statistics Office. About 18% of exports are sent to the US and then 14% to Japan, both of which are in recession.

Paranaque residents march to City Hall to demand in-city relocation

Press Release
February 19, 2009
Alyansa ng Mamamayan ng Paranaque

Around 1,000 Paranaque residents marched this afternoon from SM Bicutan to the City Hall in time for a City Council meeting to demand in-city relocation for communities that were victims of demolitions or are under threat of one. They held placards calling for “Katiyakan sa Paninirahan, Kasiguruhan sa Kabuhayan!”

“We appeal to the Paranaque City Council to heed the cry of their constituents. We demand in-city relocation because our jobs will be displaced if we are forced to move to the provinces. This is not the time for the government to destroy the homes and livelihood of the poor with tens of thousands being laid off and prices of basic goods escalating,” argued Romy Cabugnason of the Alyansa ng Mamamayan ng Paranaque (AMP).

Leaders of AMP addressed the City Council regarding their demand. They also sought an ordinance affirming the expropriation of a disputed lot in Brgy. Merville. Urban poor residents who had occupied the lot were being harassed by the barangay captain who had blocked entry points to the disputed area.

Members of Partido ng Manggagawa (PM) in Paranaque also supported the mobilization. PM is spearheading a campaign for a moratorium on demolitions and evictions.

“We ask the government to issue a moratorium on demolitions and evictions together with a condonation of penalties and interests on low-cost and socialized housing loans. The least that the state could do during a crisis is to refrain from destroying the houses and livelihood of the poor. The only exception to the ban on demolitions is when relocation is negotiated with and agreed upon by the affected communities,” stated Renato Magtubo, PM chairperson.

Last Monday, some 300 Bacoor residents held a picket and dialogue at their City Hall to demand relocation and assistance. A week before, last February 10 another 300 relocatees from Sapang Palay, San Jose del Monte, Bulacan held a protest at the main office of the National Housing Authority to demand condonation of interests and penalties. Next week hundreds of Cavite residents who are affected by the R-1 road extension project in Bacoor and Kawit are mobilizing for a dialogue with the provincial government.

On February 24 and 25, a two-day Lakbayan will be launched by workers and the poor to call for a 5-point bailout package. The bailout of workers and poor calls for a subsidy for displaced workers; tax refund for wage earners; expansion and reform of the state employment program; extension of Philhealth coverage to the recently laid off; and a moratorium on demolitions and evictions.

Laid off regular workers face tough times in years ahead, study says

PRES RELEASE
15 February 2009

Workers who lose regular jobs in the current crisis are in for tough times—with or without a recovery in the job market. Displaced workers face low re-employment rates and significant wage losses in the short and medium term as they compete with younger workers over mostly non-regular work, contractual, casual and piece-rate jobs.

The dismal prospects faced by workers displaced by the global recession that has already claimed tens of thousands of local jobs can be gleaned from a study of displaced workers done in 2008 by the Angelo King Institute of the De La Salle University.

The study, authored by Clarence Pascual, an economist, was presented yesterday at a forum held at the Bantayog ng mga Bayani in Quezon City. The forum was organized by the Partido ng Manggagawa as part of its 8th founding anniversary celebration.

The study surveyed some 150 production workers of a local garments company that closed shop in November 2003. It looked into the employment experience and current labor force status of displaced workers five years after layoff. Extensive interviews with displaced workers from four other companies were also conducted to gather qualitative data and insights on life after layoff.

While the study was done in relation to the impact of globalization on workers welfare, the findings are relevant to the current situation.

According to the case study, the likelihood of displaced workers finding any kind of wage employment is dismally low while the chances of landing a regular full-time employment similar to what they have lost is nil to zero.

“Less than a third (32 %) of the workers found a wage job at anytime in the next five years after layoff. When the survey was taken in mid-2008, a mere 16% of the displaced workers were holding on to a wage job. Five years after losing their jobs, over 60% of the workers were still unemployed or have exited from the labor force,” explained Pascual.

Pascual added that an overwhelming majority of those who found a new wage job after displacement took up temporary, non-regular jobs that paid lower wages. Non-regular jobs were also marked by unemployment spells in between contracts or jobs. The unemployment and earnings losses suffered by displaced workers did not improve over time.

The study also finds that job loss can have dire consequences on the worker’s health and well-being as well as that of the worker’s family. Being laid off from work raises the risk of the worker’s family falling into poverty. The loss of a major source of income for the family is compounded by equally serious problems.

Displaced workers are also vulnerable to illnesses of varying seriousness, from frequent headaches to hypertension or strokes (cerebro vascular accident). In more than a few cases, these illnesses lead to workers’ death. With the loss of work-related health insurance, laid off workers cannot afford the high cost of drugs and health care. Loss of health insurance can also impact on young children.

Interviews with displaced workers reveal that a consequence of job loss than can have long term repercussions on the worker’s family is the risk of children taken out of school. Surprisingly, production workers despite minimum level wages were able to send children to college, relying on loans from employers, friends and informal lenders. Their regular job was their biggest asset, a gold-standard collateral in the eyes of creditors. The loss of a regular job means loss of access to credit, which could mean children dropping out of school or the inability to meet costly contingencies.

The study finds low re-employment rates and significant earnings losses and which persists over the medium-term as a significant cost of job loss. It traces these to the surrounding economic conditions, namely, the decline of the garments industry, high youth unemployment, and the proliferation of temporary and contractual employment. To improve re-employment possibilities, it calls for a strategic focus on generating adequate productive employment, including public employment programs.

While there were more self-employed workers than wage workers among the displaced workers in the survey, self-employment was more often than not considered as employment of last resort by the workers. Self-employment is marked by low and irregular earnings and lack of long-term sustainability. Moreover, the study covered the period 2004-2008, a period of respectable economic growth. Promoting self-employment and micro entrepreneurship in the context of a growing economy may have some merit, but not during a slow down or recession.

To avoid the more drastic consequences of job loss, the study recommends expansion of new and existing social protection schemes to cover workers laid off in the current crisis. This may include, according to the author, free extension of PhilHealth membership for displaced for a period of five (5) years after layoff.

The government may also consider giving out scholarships or education loans for displaced workers with children in tertiary level. Yet another option is automatic inclusion in the government’s conditional cast transfer program for displaced workers with children in primary and secondary levels. The government and the Social Security System may also need to explore some form of income support for workers laid off by the global crisis.

In the same forum, the Partido ng Manggagawa presented its campaign for a bailout package for workers and the poor which consist of (1) direct subsidy for displaced workers from the SSS, GSIS and OWWA; (2) Tax refund for workers; (2) Reforms on public employment program; (3) Extension of health coverage for displaced workers, and (5) Moratorium on demolitions and evictions.

Cebu workers end strike, declare victory in struggle

Press Release
February 17, 2009

The workers of a furniture factory in Mandaue who were the first to launch a strike against layoffs since the onset of the present crisis announced in a press conference today that they are lifting their picket lines after the successful conclusion of protracted negotiations yesterday. The workers of Giardini del Sole went on strike last February 3 and paralyzed operations of the firm for two days which forced the management to return to negotiating table. The first two days of the strike was filled with tension as management alleged that striking workers were preventing the free ingress and egress of other employees, and even defying the Mandaue mayor who interceded in behalf of management.

“If we had not launched a strike that paralyzed the company, then we would have been without jobs and would have been lucky to receive a separation pay after six months. But because we fought for our rights, we got from management and the government a ‘bailout package’ that is more than what they were initially willing to give,” explained Primitivo Ginoo, Jr., president of the Nagkahiusang Puwersa nga Mamumuo sa Giardini (NPMG), the union at the Giardini del Sole.

In negotiations that ended yesterday, management and government offered the following forms of assistance to the workers:
1. Immediate payment of separation pay of 13 days per year of service
2. P5,000 assistance previously released by management will not be charged to the separation pay
3. Refund by management to workers of unremitted SSS payments since July 2008 and other similar benefits
4. Grant of P360,000 in employment assistance from the city government of Mandaue to workers who are residents of the town
5. Capitalization for a worker-owned and managed furniture-making cooperative from the Department of Labor

“In times of crisis, the workers will have to fight for every centavo that they deserve in wages, benefits and assistance. Workers should learn the lessons of our struggle. We will be treated like disposable rags and worn out machines by capitalists bent on passing the burden of the crisis on workers. Instead of meekly receiving what little they offer us, workers should fight with their heads up high for jobs and rights,” argued Eulito Fin Jr., vice president of NPMG.

Renato Magtubo, chairsperson of Partido ng Manggagawa (PM), stated that the Giardini workers struggle can serve as a model of the “pro-labor bailout scheme” that the group is pushing for. “The Giardini model of militant struggle and workers assistance can be replicated wherever workers are victims of retrenchment and rotations,” he insisted.

PM is campaigning for a 5-point bailout package for workers and the poor that consist of (1) subsidy for displaced workers from the SSS, GSIS and OWWA; (2) tax refund for wage earners; (2) expansion and reform of the public employment program; (3) extension of health care coverage for displaced workers; and (5) moratorium on demolitions and evictions.

The labor dispute at Giardini del Sole started last January 5 when more than 300 Giardini workers held an impromptu protest at the factory gates upon learning that only 100 employees were allowed to work after returning from the holiday break. ###

GMA’s employment program promotes cheap contractual labor

Press Statement
February 10, 2009
Renato Magtubo
Chairperson

What could have been a good start to alleviate mass layoffs instead became a bad precedent when the government’s employment program promoted the exploitation of cheap contractual labor.

Truly it is imperative to give jobs to the thousands who will be laid off and the millions who were unemployed even before the crisis struck. Since the private sector apparently is not interested in hiring them, then it is the responsibility of the government to establish an employment program.

The government is however joining hands with the capitalists to exploit the economic crisis to institutionalize cheap labor and contractual work, and thereby tear to shreds the already tattered protection for workers.

The NARS program illustrates this clearly. An P8,000 monthly salary for nurses mean paying professionals a minimum wage, if not less. And giving deploying them for two six-month tours of duty instead of a straight one year contract is a deliberate maneuver to avoid making them regular employees. The government is now no different from Henry Sy of SM, or even worse since it is promoting contractualization among professionals.

There are few details on the so-called green collar jobs but we have no doubt that they will any different from the “kamineros” and “oysters” that are hired on a contractual basis for below minimum wages. White collar and green collar labor will now be at par with the worse pay given to blue collar workers. Government is fomenting a race to the bottom in wages and working conditions amidst the crisis instead of raising the bar for labor standards and workers rights.

Militant workers demand a radical reform of the government’s employment program. Minimum labor standards at the very least must be guaranteed. No matter that it is a dirty job as long as it is decent work.

Funneling billions of taxpayers’ money into big-ticket projects and mass employment programs opens the floodgates for plunder and patronage. As a check and balance, the employment program must be placed under the co-ownership if not control of people’s organizations.

Of course GMA will counter that they are no funds to pay higher wages and benefits to untrained nurses and tree planters. But there are hundreds of billions automatically appropriated for debt payment (interest alone is equivalent to 30% of the national appropriations and together with the principal amounts to 70%) which can instead be better used it to finance a reformed employment program. Not paying the banks for the debt, legitimate or otherwise, that we ostensibly owe them is a light punishment for the high crimes of sparking the global crisis.

Another electronics company cuts 400 workforce, layoffs stir protest in Cavite and Cebu EPZAs

PRESS RELEASE
30 January 2009

Another electronics company is cutting its workforce beginning today as the wave of layoffs due to the raging global economic crisis continue to hit the country’s export and local industry.

The Cavite chapter of the partylist group, Partido ng Manggagawa (PM), identified the electronics company as Dyna Image, a subcontractor producing Samsung camera parts. The firm is located at the Cavite Economic Zone in Rosario. The firm employs more than a thousand workers.

Early last week, Intel shut down its factory in Cavite displacing some 1,800 workers. Another giant, Panasonic, announced this week that it is shutting down its Philippine plant. Several other electronics companies in Laguna have either shut down or have slowed down their operations.

Consequently, the wave of layoffs has stirred the EPZA workers in Cavite and Cebu into action in the struggle to defend their jobs and livelihood. In solidarity with the displaced workers, the Rosario Workers Association (RWA), the United Cavite Workers Alliance (UCWA) and the Partido ng Manggagawa-Cavite staged a picket-protest action at the Gate 1 of the Cavite Economic Zone opposing layoffs and calling for the bailout of workers affected by this crisis.

Workers led by PM in Cebu held a similar protest action against the Lami Food Corporation—a factory processing meat products for the local Visayas and Mindanao market—which recently implemented a work rotation scheme while workers in a furniture firm at the Mactan Export Processing Zone (MEPZ) are already gearing for a strike early next week.

Last day at work

According to Dennis Sequeña, PM spokesperson in Cavite, his group learned of the planned layoff when five workers of Dyna Image told him of a rumor that a batch of workers in their company are going to be terminated and that today will be their last day in work. To verify the news, Sequeña and the five workers went to the Philippine Export Zone Authority (PEZA) office in Rosario. There they were informed by Mr. Allan Datahan of PEZA’s Industrial Relations Unit that the firm has already submitted a list of 400 workers that are due to be terminated beginning today and that the five are included in the list. Datahan also told them that there will be another wave of retrenchments next month.

PM decried the firm’s apparent lack of concern for its workers by not even informing its workforce of its planned retrenchments. Dyna Image workers even told PM that they are willing to come to terms with the management on work schedule or other setup just to preserve jobs and as long as it is acceptable to both parties and in accordance with existing standards.

As of this moment, however, workers do not even know what separation package Dyna Image plans to offer its remaining and retrenched workers. The department of labor on the other hand is hounded by a perception that it is doing a lackluster job in protecting workers rights and welfare in the export processing zones.

“Firms can always use the global crisis as convenient excuse to arbitrarily retrench workers. But we have labor standards to observe, job-reliant lives to save. In periods of crises, workers deserve a more humane treatment from their employers and unreserved protection from the state,” said Sequeña.

Sequeña attributed this arbitrariness on the part of EPZA firms to dump their workers, just how easy they throw their garbage out, on government’s long held policy of relaxing labor standards in these areas and making EPZAs union and strike-free.

“In EPZAs companies are accorded wide incentives such as tax holidays and lower power cost. But its workers are denied even the most basic of their rights. This is the reason why capitalists in these industrial enclaves consider themselves as untouchable investors who can decide on everything, including on the life and future of their workers,” explained Sequeña.

No to wage cut

Meanwhile Partido ng Manggagawa chair, Renato Magtubo, rejected the employers call for a wage cut to avoid layoffs. The call was made at the eve of the scheduled tripartite meeting today between the government, employers, and employees to address the crisis.

“Wage and job are not divisible parts of a worker’s life. That tradeoff is a bane to workers and serves no good to the ailing economy,” said Magtubo, stressing that on the contrary, his party’s proposal for a ‘stimulus package’ “is one that protects and creates jobs and one that puts money on workers’ hands.”

Magtubo said the labor party demands a kind of stimulus package such as a public employment program that creates millions of jobs; unemployment assistance from the SSS, GSIS, and OWWA that would directly benefit the displaced workers; and a tax refund for all workers.

“This is contrary to the investment plan being considered by the government to pour billions of workers’ pension funds to infrastructure and other business ventures which could end up as just another Juan Luna portrait scam or a bungled investment in Lehman Brothers,” concluded Magtubo.

Group criticizes DOLE assistance program as inadequate, supports debt cut to fund bailout package

Press Release
January 26, 2009

The Partido ng Manggagawa (PM) criticized the displaced workers assistance program of DOLE called Workers’ Income Augmentation Program (WINAP) as inadequate. The group called instead for an expeditious program that combines a subsidy with retraining.

“There must be one-stop shops and substantial subsidies for laid off workers similar to that given to pioneer investors. It takes three months for a union or group applying for assistance under WINAP until the proposal is approved. And then it takes some more time until the funds are released. While for individuals filing for WINAP, the P5,000 assistance is too small and is consumed in just a month’s time for the family’ basic necessities,” explained Renato Magtubo, PM chairperson.

The group also appealed to Congress to override the veto announced by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on the debt cut by the bicameral conference committee. “Not paying the banks for the debt, legitimate or otherwise, that we ostensibly owe them is a light punishment for the high crime of sparking this global crisis. The government must realign the budget that is automatically appropriated for debt payment—interest alone is equivalent to 30% of the national appropriations and together with the principal amounts to 70%—and instead use it to finance the bailout and stimulus package for the workers and the poor,” argued Magtubo.

Magtubo also urged government and employers to heed the demand for a bailout and stimulus package for workers as the specter of labor unrest looms over the massive job losses. “In Cebu, the labor dispute at the Giardini furniture factory may erupt into a strike in a few days. Tomorrow a Lakbayan will be launched by displaced workers from Mandaue City that will end in a protest at the DOLE Region VII office at Cebu City. These mass actions are an expression of workers discontent at retrenchments and rotation,” asserted Magtubo.

The group spelled out in details its proposed bailout scheme. First, government must subsidize all workers who will be retrenched because of the ongoing crisis. The Social Security System (SSS), Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) and the Overseas Workers Welfare Authority (OWWA) must use its funds to subsidize private sector workers, government employees and overseas contract workers respectively until they can find work up to a maximum of six months. The subsidy can be set at a certain percentage of their former pay and complements the retraining program for displaced workers akin to the Danish model.

Second, the stimulus package can take the form of a tax refund for all workers equivalent to two months of their salary. This effectively means giving workers a 14th and 15th month wage. The last thing that industries need is to be squeezed by the tightening of commercial credit on the one hand and on the other by a contraction in consumer spending.

And third, it is imperative to give jobs to the millions who were unemployed even before the crisis struck. “In form, this program can be similar to the present ‘Patrabaho ni Gloria.’ Although of course the name must be changed to ‘Patrabaho ng Gobyerno’ right away. But more than this cosmetic change, the state employment program must be radically reformed. The patronage system must be exorcised from it by putting the employment program under the co-ownership if not control of people’s organizations. Also minimum labor standards at the very least must be guaranteed instead of the present setup where the ‘kamineros’ and ‘oysters’ are hired on a contractual basis for below minimum wages. No matter that it is a dirty job as long as it is decent work,” Magtubo explained.

He added “The public employment program should not be limited to street cleaning and whitewashing walls but must include restoring the environment and building housing for the poor aside from the usual public works projects. Given the sorry state of the environment and the backlog in public housing, just these two sectors are significant enough to provide millions of jobs for a start.”

Government, employers urged to heed demand for workers bailout

Press Release
January 25, 2009

The Partido ng Manggagawa (PM) urged government and employers to heed the demand for a bailout and stimulus package for workers as the specter of labor unrest looms over the massive job losses. The group also criticized the present assistance program of DOLE called Workers’ Income Augmentation Program (WINAP) as inadequate.

“It takes three months for a union or group applying for assistance under WINAP until the proposal is approved. And then it takes some more time until the funds are released. While for individuals filing for WINAP, the P5,000 assistance is too small and is consumed in just a month’s time for the family’ basic necessities,” explained Renato Magtubo, PM chairperson.

The group spelled out in details its proposed bailout scheme. First, government must subsidize all workers who will be retrenched because of the ongoing crisis. The Social Security System (SSS), Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) and the Overseas Workers Welfare Authority (OWWA) must use its funds to subsidize private sector workers, government employees and overseas contract workers respectively until they can find work up to a maximum of six months. The subsidy can be set at a certain percentage of their former pay and complements the retraining program for displaced workers akin to the Danish model.

Second, the stimulus package can take the form of a tax refund for all workers equivalent to two months of their salary. This effectively means giving workers a 14th and 15th month wage. The last thing that industries need is to be squeezed by the tightening of commercial credit on the one hand and on the other by a contraction in consumer spending.

And third, it is imperative to give jobs to the millions who were unemployed even before the crisis struck. “In form, this program can be similar to the present ‘Patrabaho ni Gloria.’ Although of course the name must be changed to ‘Patrabaho ng Gobyerno’ right away. But more than this cosmetic change, the state employment program must be radically reformed. The patronage system must be exorcised from it by putting the employment program under the co-ownership if not control of people’s organizations. Also minimum labor standards at the very least must be guaranteed instead of the present setup where the ‘kamineros’ and ‘oysters’ are hired on a contractual basis for below minimum wages. No matter that it is a dirty job as long as it is decent work,” Magtubo explained.

He added “The public employment program should not be limited to street cleaning and whitewashing walls but must include restoring the environment and building housing for the poor aside from the usual public works projects. Given the sorry state of the environment and the backlog in public housing, just these two sectors are significant enough to provide millions of jobs for a start.”

“As to the billion peso question, where will the government get the money to spend on this bailout and stimulus package for the workers and the poor, the state must realign the budget that is automatically appropriated for debt payment—interest alone is equivalent to 30% of the national appropriations and together with the principal amounts to 70%—and instead use it to finance this vastly expanded social program. Not paying the banks for the debt, legitimate or otherwise, that we ostensibly owe them is a light punishment for the high crimes that they have done,” argued Magtubo.

Militants call for tripartite conference to design “road map to recovery”

Press Release
January 24, 2009

The militant Partido ng Manggagawa (PM) called for the convening of a tripartite conference between government, capital and labor on the impact of the economic crisis on the country. “The express aim of such a tripartite meeting would be to design a road map for economic recovery. Labor will push for a bailout package for workers as the cornerstone of a recovery plan,” stated Renato Magtubo, chairperson of PM.

He further explained “The bailout and stimulus package must aim to put money in the hands of the workers and the poor as a part of a set of solutions to counter-act the economic downturn. The consumers, the overwhelming majority of whom are the workers and the poor, should be able to continue buying their necessities and thereby keep the wheels of production rolling. Industry will collapse if it is squeezed by a tightening of commercial credit on the one hand and on the other by a contraction in consumer spending.”

PM also called for a reform of the DOLE’s retraining program. “We agree with the opinion of Prof. Rene Ofreneo that previous retraining programs have failed since displaced workers are distracted by concern over their families’ daily survival to concentrate on learning new skills for their future work. We have to adopt the Danish model, the most successful such program in the world, in which workers receive an unemployment subsidy while undergoing retraining. The P9.7 billion in pork barrel inserted by solons in the 2009 national budget, if it were instead allocated for workers assistance, would have been enough to fund the subsidy to complement retraining,” argued Magtubo.

The bailout package for workers being pushed by the PM includes a subsidy for displaced workers, tax refund for workers as an economic stimulus, and a reformed and expanded state employment program for the millions of unemployed Filipinos. “Workers are the last to benefit during an economic boom and will not agree to be sacrificed first amidst a global crisis. No retreat on labor standards, no surrender on workers rights,” Magtubo declared as labor’s bottomline position in a tripartite conference.

“The bailout and stimulus package in the Philippines must be different from that implemented in the US by Bush which was a rescue of the high rollers in Wall Street who engineered the crisis in the first place. It thereby rewarded the criminals and punished the innocent. The lessons from the present crisis are clear—expand the real economy and downsize the casino economy. Moreover it is time to put the Philippine economy on a rehabilitation program to cut its decades-long addiction on export orientation and overseas employment. The strategic solution to the crisis is to strengthen the domestic economy by promoting local industrialization and agricultural modernization anchored on agrarian reform,” Magtubo expounded.

Laguna electronics firms shed thousands of jobs as workers push for subsidy to complement retraining

Press Release
January 23, 2009

A group in Calabarzon revealed that three electronics firms in Laguna have shed thousands of jobs since last year through outright retrenchment and forced leave. The Samahan ng Mamamayan sa Calabarzon (SMC) said that Integrated Microelectronics, Inc. (IMI), Laguna Electronics, Inc. (LEI) and Amkor Tehnology Philippines have in total reduced its workers by more than five thousand workers. “Labor Sec. Roque’s statement that 5,000 workers lost jobs in Laguna is an underestimation,” asserted Ramil Cangayao, chairperson of SMC.

In the midst of reports of massive layoffs, the Partido ng Manggagawa (PM) pushed for a subsidy for retrenched workers as it argued that retraining is not enough. “DOLE’s retraining programs have been failures in the past. And the reason is that workers are too distressed by concern over their families’ daily survival to concentrate on learning new skills for their future work. We have to study the most successful such program in the world—the Danish model in which workers receive an unemployment subsidy while undergoing retraining,” explained Renato Magtubo, chairperson of PM.

Cangayao stated that some 3,000 workers of IMI remain jobless today after being sent on an early vacation last December. The early holiday break was supposedly due to low volume of work resulting from the global crisis. The workers were asked to return to the factory last January 6 but instead of going back to their work, they went sent back on an extended vacation since the forced leave would continue.

They were also informed that if orders do not pick up by January 19 then workers will be permanently terminated. At the end of this month, the thousands of workers would know who will be terminated and who will remain on leave based on their performance evaluation. “Yet workers are complaining of discrimination since there are cases of employees with above average ratings who remain on leave while others with below average performance who were allowed to return to work last January 6,” Cangayao disclosed.

Before the onset of the crisis, IMI had 14,000 workers in two plants in Laguna Technopark and LIIP. Among its products are optical disk drives, liquid crystal displays for cellular phones and printed circuit boards (PCB’s) that are primarily exported to the US.

In the case of LEI, workers were retrenched last November. Before the crisis, LEI had around 2,000 workers but it had been reduced to just 1,000. There were previously 1,000 regular workers, now it is down to 500. Also the working week has been shortened from six to just five days. “Yet it is a contradiction that while it reduces its workforce, LEI outsources work on its PCB’s to IMI,” insisted Cangayao.

Meanwhile Amkor announced to its workers that 25% of its workforce will be laid off this January in addition to the 700 workers who were offered voluntary resignation last year and the thousands of contractuals from three agencies who were earlier terminated. Before the recent layoffs, Amkor had 10,000 workers in its two plants in Laguna Technopark and another two plants in Muntinlupa that produce various electronic items like PCB’s for iPods, pacemakers and missiles.

Magtubo reiterated the call for a bailout package for workers that include a subsidy for displaced workers, tax refund for workers as an economic stimulus, and a reformed and expanded state employment program for the millions of unemployed Filipinos. “If the P9.7 billion in pork barrel inserted by solons in the 2009 national budget were instead allocated for workers assistance that would be enough to fund the subsidy to complement retraining,” Magtubo reasoned.

Cebu workers call for jobs summit, push for bailout for labor

Press Statement
January 22, 2009

In reaction to the statement by the Cebu Furniture Industries Foundation Inc. (CFIF) on massive job losses, the Partido ng Manggagawa (PM) called for a tripartite summit in Cebu to resolve the employment crisis. “In the jobs summit, labor will push for a bailout package for workers. The workers are not responsible for this global crisis and thus they should be made to bear the burden of the economic slowdown,” said PM-Cebu spokesperson Dennis Derige.

Meanwhile the labor dispute at the Giardini del Sole, one of the biggest furniture exporting firms in the country, escalated today with the union’s definitive filing of a notice of strike this morning at the NCMB Region VII office. The union will then hold a strike vote tomorrow in compliance with the 24 hour period required by law.

The workers of Giardini del Sole are questioning the timing of the CFIF declaration. Primitivo Ginoo, Jr. president of the Nagkahiusang Puwersa nga Mamumuo sa Giardini (NPMG) averred that “The furniture industry was curiously silent about the hemorrhage of jobs when we got into a debate with the Labor Department about the number of retrenched and rotated workers a few weeks ago. But now that we are on the threshold of a strike because of management’s intransigence in implementing the agreement to rotate work among as many workers as possible, they come to the rescue of Giardini’s owner by intimidating and threatening workers with the specter of massive joblessness.”

“We might believe in the good intentions of the CFIF if they censure Mr. Bosch since he did not follow their group’s proposal for owners to communicate with their workers about the real state of the company. Mr. Bosch surprised Giardini’s workers with a temporary shutdown last January 5 without due notice and then he is engaging in delaying tactics during meetings of the joint evaluation team for job rotation,” asserted Eulito Fin, Jr., vice president of NPMG.

The protest at the factory gates of Giardini del Sole continues as talks have broken down over management’s refusal to implement the work rotation scheme agreed upon two weeks ago at the NCMB. “The looming strike at Giardini is the herald of the labor unrest that will ensue from the loss of jobs and pay by workers. Government must heed the call for a bailout and stimulus for workers not capitalists,” insisted Derige.

The bailout package for workers being pushed by the PM includes a subsidy for displaced workers, tax refund for workers as an economic stimulus, and a reformed and expanded state employment program for the millions of unemployed Filipinos. “No retreat on labor standards, no surrender on workers rights,” declared Ginoo in reference to a possible call by management and government during a jobs summit for workers to sacrifice in the midst of the crisis.

Furniture workers renew protest amidst Sinulog festival

Press Release
January 15, 2009

Complaining of employer bad faith and delaying tactics in implementing the agreed work rotation scheme, workers of the Giardini del Sole, one of the country’s biggest furniture exporting companies, revived their protest today amidst the Sinulog festivities. The worker’s representative to the joint evaluation team walked out of the meeting yesterday after management did not even recommend a single name of an employee it is accepting for job rotation thus precipitating today’s renewed action at the factory gates.

“We ask the understanding of our fellow Cebuanos for we were forced by circumstances to hold our protests during Sinulog. But workers cannot be festive when we are jobless and our families are hungry,” appealed Primitivo Ginoo, Jr., president of the Nagkahiusang Puwersa nga Mamumuo sa Giardini.

About a hundred Giardini workers picketed the factory gates starting at 8 a.m. today as the union formally filed for a notice of strike. By lunch break, scores of workers from nearby establishments like Prince Warehouse, Cosonsa, Presidents Marine and displaced workers of Neostone joined them in solidarity. From 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., more workers from Keppel Shipyard, General Milling and Lami Foods arrived to support the mass action.

“Today’s protest is just a new beginning of the fight. Tomorrow, there will be a bigger rally. And the struggle will escalate next week until management delivers is part of the agreement,” explained Eulito Fin, Jr., vice president of Giardini union. The protesters want management to comply with the agreement to rotate work among as many workers as possible. Yesterday was the joint evaluation team’s second meeting and while some 60 workers continue production, none of the other 250 Giardini workers has been allowed to work despite last week’s agreement on job rotation.

Greg Janginon, chairperson of Partido ng Manggagawa-Cebu and president of the Prince Warehouse union, stated that “The fight of the Giardini workers is the fight of all Cebuano workers. Their struggle highlights the imperative of a bailout package for workers affected by the global crisis. Government, both national and local, must be proactive in assisting the thousands who have been displaced due to the crisis.”

“Government must reopen the factories that have shutdown in the past months and years, and keep those presently affected from closing shop. The state must confiscate the factories if necessary, infuse capital into production and assist workers in marketing. Or else it faces the prospects of deepening unrest as unemployment swells,” argued Desiderio Lastimoso, president of the Workers Organization of Lami Foods.

The bailout package for workers being pushed by the Partido ng Manggagawa includes a subsidy for displaced workers, tax refund for workers as an economic stimulus, and a reformed and expanded state employment program for the millions of unemployed Filipinos.

Cebu workers to push for “return to work” in preventive mediation today

Press Release
January 6, 2009

In the preventive mediation called today by National Conciliation and Mediation Board (NCMB) officials, union leaders of Giardini del Sole, Inc., one of the biggest furniture manufacturing and exporting companies in the country, will demand that all workers be allowed to return to work.

“If the negotiations fail then we will push through with filing a notice of strike on the basis of union busting,” declared Eulito Fin Jr., vice president of Nagkahiusang Puwersa nga Mamumuo sa Giardini (NPMG) and a member of the Partido ng Manggagawa (PM) in Mandaue City. Unions in Mandaue, Lapu-Lapu and Cebu are already preparing for sympathy actions to the Giardini workers.

Yesterday more than 300 Giardini workers held an impromptu protest at the factory gates upon learning that only 50 of the workmates were allowed to work. In the afternoon, they marched to the NCMB office with the intention of filing a notice of strike. The workers are alleging that despite management’s filing of an application with the Department of Labor and Employment, the so-called temporary shutdown was illegal since they did not receive any notice to the effect.

“Workers will only agree to a temporary shutdown after the lapse of the required 30 days notice and upon opening of the company books to prove its claim of losses or lack of demand. And while temporarily shutdown, management must provide a subsidy with counterpart assistance from the local government and national agencies so that workers will not die of hunger,” explained Fin. The union will demand P5,000 and a sack of rice per month or a total of P300,000-P400,000 for the maximum 6 months duration of a temporary shutdown. “That is drop in the bucket compared to the tons of company profit in the last 22 years. We also insist that management remit in full our SSS payments so we can take out loans and claim benefits,” said Fin.

Renato Magtubo, national chairperson of PM, stated that “The Giardini case illustrates the urgency of a bailout scheme for workers affected by the crisis. The SSS, GSIS and the OWWA must use its funds to subsidize private sector workers, government employees and overseas contract workers respectively until they can find work up to a maximum of six months.”

He added that “The emergency work program of the government must be radically reformed. The patronage system must be exorcised from it by putting the employment program under the co-ownership if not control of people’s organizations. Also minimum labor standards at the very least must be guaranteed instead of the present setup where the ‘kamineros’ and ‘oysters’ are hired on a contractual basis for below minimum wages. The scope of the work program must not be limited to those who will be laid off due to the global crisis since it is imperative to give jobs to the four million who were unemployed even before the crisis struck.”

The Giardini workers however still suspect that the management is merely using the global crisis as an alibi to bust the newly established union. Last November the management dismissed the union president and treasurer and suspended active union members. ###