DOLE, PEZA asked to strictly enforce covid protocols with reopening of ecozones

The labor group Partido Manggagawa (PM) called on the Department and Labor and Employment (DOLE) and the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) to strictly enforce covid-19 health and safe protocols for workplaces as tens of thousands of workers are going back to work with the reopening of industrial zones in the Calabarzon.

“We demand balik trabahong ligtas. We know that ecozone workers are eager to go back to work since they have suffered from the no work, no pay policies of employers and the insufficient aid provided by the state. But workers should not be risking their lives just to avert death from hunger,” asserted Rene Magtubo, PM national chair.

He added that “In the new normal, the ecozones are again acting like independent republics with their own laws. The occupational risks for workers will be heightened by the silence of the DOLE-DTI guidelines on enforcement and monitoring of the protocols that it specified. The guidelines have no teeth!”

PM joined the labor coalition Nagkaisa in expressing concern that a second wave of covid infection may occur without mandating companies to institute robust health and safety measures for the workers the moment they leave their homes to report for duty.

Echoing Nagkaisa’s position, Magtubo said that “While the DOLE and the DTI issued joint guidelines on preventing covid-19 infection among the workforce, the guidelines fall short of ensuring a safe environment for workers. It doesn’t even prescribe penalties for any violations.”

“Instead of guidelines, a Department Order should have been issued to compel employers to negotiate with their workers a comprehensive set of protocols to prevent covid and deal with it effectively should it occur,” Magtubo explained.

Nagkaisa identified other major lapses of the joint DTI and DOLE Guidelines as:

> Failure to identify Sars-Cov-2 as an occupational hazard and Covid-19 as an occupational disease.

> No mandatory inspection of companies to ensure their compliance, especially in terms of providing physical distancing.

> No provision for paid 14-day quarantine leaves for workers who may end up being suspected of having Covid-19.

“For the sake of the hundreds of thousands of ecozone workers in the whole Calabarzon region, we ask that the DOLE-DTI Guidelines be revised to make it more effective and with penalties for violations,” Magtubo insisted.

May 16, 2020

Loopholes in DOLE-DTI guidelines will imperil workers

Photo from SCMP

The labor group Partido Manggagawa (PM) stated that loopholes in the DOLE-DTI workplace guidelines on covid will put masses of workers in danger when they return to work. “Weak enforcement instruments and the lack of penal provisions in the guidelines will incentivize non-compliance by employers and thus imperil the health and safety of millions of workers and of the population as a whole,” asserted Rene Magtubo, PM national chair.

He explained that “The government has imposed an iron fist policy on ordinary people violating quarantine rules on the streets but in contrast is using kid gloves on capitalists. This is a stark double standard or social distancing in a bad sense. Compliance with occupational health and safety is an expense for employers and thus a deduction on their profit. Thus penalties on non-compliance will deter employers from their default behavior.”

Last Labor Day, one of the main demands in the online protest was for #BalikTrabahongLigtas. PM also announced its support for the proposed bill by Sen. Risa Hontiveros entitled the Balik Trabahong Ligtas bill which seeks to augment health care coverage for all workers regardless of employment status.

The group insisted that with more than 90% of establishments comprised of MSME’s which even before the covid pandemic are notorious for violating labor standards, strict monitoring and enforcement is needed to ensure occupational safety and public health when millions of workers return to work.

“Employers cannot be relied upon to voluntarily comply with labor and safety standards while the DOLE is sorely lacking in its record of enforcement. We propose that a mechanism be setup comprised of representative of DOLE, DTI, employers and workers to monitor compliance and enforcement, and to propose amendments to the guidelines,” Magtubo elaborated.

Further the group proposed the following changes to the guidelines:

1.      Coverage by Philhealth of the full cost of hospitalization of workers infected with covid.

2.      Provision by employer of wage subsidy for workers who are put on 14-day quarantine.

3.      Payment of hazard pay for workers in workplaces with imminent danger.

4.      Right to refuse by workers if working conditions are unsafe.

5.      Consultation with unions in enterprises that are organized.

3 May 2020

PM to DOLE: Is number of affected workers downplayed to justify big gap in distribution of cash aid?

Is it true that only 3.57 per cent of 28 million workers employed in the formal sector were affected by the lockdown? The labor group Partido Manggawa (PM) cannot believe so.

“The problem can be poor or incomplete reporting or a more scheming form of it – an arbitrary downgrading to justify the huge gap in the distribution of cash aid,” stated PM Chair Renato Magtubo.

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) on Sunday, said that based on reports submitted by its regional offices, there are 1,048,649 workers in the formal sector nationwide who were affected by temporary business closures or flexible work arrangements. Most of the affected workers, it said, came from the manufacturing, hotel, restaurants and tourism, and education sectors.

But according to PM, the number merely represents a small fraction of the wage and salaried workers in the country and therefore can be interpreted as ‘insignificant’ as far as the lockdown impact is concerned.

The group pointed out that as of January this year, 65.2% of employed persons are wage and salary workers. This is equivalent to 28 million workers in the formal sector out of the 42.6 million employed persons throughout the country.

“One million is just 3.57% of the 28 million wage workers. That means more than 90% of our workers in the formal sector are not yet affected by the one month lockdown,” said Magtubo.

To be not affected, workers are either working continuously, at home but receiving wages from their employers, or in quarantine but with guaranteed income.

“Obviously that is not what we’re seeing at the ground level as most of our workers, except state employees and those in few large corporations who are still under payroll, are employed in unprotected and less monitored micro enterprises,” said Magtubo.

The labor leader said he can only suspect that numbers are being downplayed here to justify a small number of target beneficiaries to be covered by its cash aid program.

DOLE is rolling out a P5,000 cash assistance to affected workers in the formal sector under its Covid-19 Adjustment Measures Program (CAMP). The same amount goes for the informal sector under its temporary cash-for-work program called Tulong Pangkabuhayan sa Ating Displaced/Underprivileged Workers (TUPAD).

Partido Manggagawa, together with labor umbrella Nagkaisa!, is pushing for #AyudangSapatParaSaLahat demand. It also calls for the extension of government subsidies beyond the lockdown period as well as a more humanitarian rather than militaristic approach in managing the Covid-19 pandemic.

13 April 2020

May pondo para sa ayudang sapat para sa lahat, Mr. President – labor group

There is money that can accommodate ‘Ayudang Sapat Para Sa Lahat’, the labor group Partido Manggagawa (PM) insists in reaction to President Rodrigo Duterte’s public address Monday night. 

“Hindi ko alam kung saan ako kukuha ng pera. Hindi ko alam kung ano ang ipagbili na kung may magbibili,” Duterte told the nation in a televised address. 

But for Partido Manggagawa, the image of being penniless, if that is what the President would like to impress upon our people, should not be taken lightly as it can be used to justify delays and inequity in dispensing cash aid, or even bankruptcy during this period of emergency. 

”Siya (Duterte) nga ang nagsabi noong una na may pera tayo. Siya ang pumirma para maging batas ang P4.1 trilyon 2020 budget. At siya rin ang humingi ng emergency power sa Kongreso para sa magalaw ang badyet na ito.  Ibig sabihin, hindi kawalan ng pondo kundi tama at mabilis na paggamit nito ang usapin ngayon,” stated PM Chair Renato Magtubo. 

The group maintained that the 2020 budget can even accommodate a more universal rather than targeted system of dispensing cash aid as the allotted P200B for social amelioration cards (SAC) is but a little fraction (4.87%) of the P4.1 trillion budget. 

“Kung maitatama lamang ang paggamit sa 2020 budget ay kayang punuan maging ang ekstensyon ng subsidy lagpas sa panahon ng lockdown para naman sa recovery ng mga tao at ng buong ekonomiya,” said Magtubo. 

The group argued further that except for automatic items in the budget that cannot be realigned such as personal services, retirement benefits, internal allotment for LGUs and other essential projects, the bigger part of the budget should be re-worked or overhauled in favor of Covid-19 healing and recovery programs. 

“BBB projects and those funded by pork barrels are better discontinued and shifted toward the most pressing needs at this point in time and beyond, while debt servicing can take a back seat until the country and whole world recover,” said Magtubo. 

Partido Manggagawa is with Nagkaisa! labor coalition in pressing for the universalization of dispensing social subsidy. The coalition has earlier called for P10,000 quarantine subsidy.

07 April 2020

Thousands of workers without aid from employers, gov’t

Thousands of workers still have not received assistance from either their employers, the government or both according to labor group Partido Manggagawa (PM).

“The no work, no pay policy is a recipe for hunger. We call on employers to grant quarantine subsidy to their workers and for the government to mandate companies to provide such assistance,” argued Rene Magtubo, PM national chair. PM and other group are calling for P10,000 quarantine subsidy for formal workers affected by the covid pandemic.

Based in the groups monitoring of several factories in the ecozones of Cavite, majority have received not a single centavo of support since firms shuttered. A few received some assistance from their employers. However, all of the workers surveyed have not received the P5,000 CAMP subsidy from the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE). The Cavite Economic Zone (CEZ) 1 and 1 in Rosario, Tanza and General Trias Cavite shutdown on the night of March 19.

“The Mactan Economic Zone (MEZ) in Lapu-Lapu shutdown last Sunday, throwing out of work some 100,000 workers which will add to the conservative figure of 500,000 DOLE Sec. Bello reported as affected by covid lockdown. Unfortunately, except for one electronics company in MEZ, we know that foreign locators let go of workers without substantial assistance,” Magtubo explained.

According to PM, a giant garments company in MEZ that supplies to global brands is refusing to grant quarantine subsidy to some 17,000 employees and instead only gave a token 5 kilos of rice with some canned goods. A large car parts supplier in Cavite employing some 9,000 workers gave pro-rated 13^th month pay to their workers. Both these companies in Mactan and Cavite applied for the CAMP from DOLE assistance but workers have not received the P5,000 subsidy.

Magtubo averred that “Foreign investors should shoulder temporary losses due to the covid pandemic. Employers have benefited from recent economic growth without sharing the bounty with their workers. This was revealed in a Department of Finance study showing labor productivity grew by at least 50 percent, yet real wages were stagnant from 2001 to 2016. Moreover, foreign investors in the ecozones enjoyed tax breaks and other privileges for years. Now that there is a crisis, employers are morally obliged not to pass on the burden to their hapless workers.”

He added that “A survey of five factories in the Cavite ecozone revealed that all did not grant any assistance to their workers and also none have received any support from the DOLE. Four of these are garments factories while the last is a metal firm. In total, the five factories employs at least 2,000 workers. Eleven days into the lockdown, they all face increasing difficulties due to the lack of support.”

Magtubo insisted that “We also know of three companies, two in Silang, Cavite and one in Dasmarinas, which applied for the DOLE CAMP but again none of the workers have received the P5,000 assistance. The Dasmarinas firm and one of the Silang companies did not grant any support to their workers while the last one gave seven days paid quarantine.”

March 30, 2020

P10k quarantine pay asked as ecozone, businesses close in Cebu

Photo by SunStar

The labor group Partido Manggagawa (PM) called on employers to grant paid quarantine of P10,000 per month to workers to be affected by the impending closure of businesses in the province and city of Cebu, and the Mactan ecozone in Lapu-Lapu. “Local employers and foreign investors should shoulder temporary losses due to the covid pandemic,” asserted Dennis Derige, PM-Cebu spokesperson.

The province of Cebu is imposing a lockdown starting tomorrow while Cebu City is doing so on Saturday and Lapu-Lapu on Sunday. The shutdown of the Mactan Economic Zone (MEZ) alone will lead to the loss of jobs of some 100,000 workers.

“There are already a number of locators in MEZ that are closing ahead of Sunday and all are throwing workers out of work without paid quarantine except for Fairchild Semiconductor (Philippines) Inc. which gave wages for the next 20 days that employees will be out of work. Even a giant garments company that supplies to global brands is refusing to give quarantine subsidy to some 17,000 employees and instead is applying for the DOLE assistance for formal workers. This is a giant company that can very well afford to bear losses by granting quarantine subsidy.” Derige explained.

He added that “Employers, including tourism businesses, have benefited from recent economic growth without sharing the bounty with their workers. This was revealed in a Department of Finance study showing labor productivity grew by at least 50 percent, yet real wages were stagnant from 2001 to 2016. Moreover, foreign investors in the ecozones enjoyed tax breaks and other privileges for years. Now that there is a crisis, employers are morally obliged not to pass on the burden to their hapless workers.”

Derige insisted that “We cannot accept that workers are the last to benefit from economic progress but the first to sacrifice in time of crisis.”

The group is proposing the following mitigation measures to lessen the impact of covid on workers and the people:

1.      Living pension for senior citizens since the elderly are more prone to infection;

2.      Shift build-build-build budget to health in order to build more hospitals, provide testing and treatment facilities, hire more health workers;

3.      Health tax on the wealthy—as part of CITIRA—to fund universal health care.

March 26, 2020

Both business and govt must act to avert a social crisis—labor group

Photo by Patrick Adalin

The labor group Partido Manggagawa asserted that both business and government must act to avert the covid pandemic turning into a social crisis. This was the group’s reaction to the call by 32 business organizations for deficit spending by government for assistance to workers and the poor.

“Employers must bear temporary losses by paying wages to their workers during the lockdown. Businesses should go into deficit spending just like what they demand of government,” stated Rene Magtubo.

To illustate, he added that “We know of a parts supplier to car companies abroad that stopped operating this week without granting quarantine subsidy to more than 8,000 workforce and instead is applying for the P5,000 DOLE assistance to formal workers. This is a giant company that can very well afford to bear losses by paying wages during the lockdown.”

“Big businesses that employ more than 200 workers should be mandated to grant quarantine subsidy to its workers. These large establishments employ more than a third of all formal workers.”

According to PM, even micro, small and medium enterprises can shoulder temporary losses by paying quarantine subsidy to their workers. A microenterprise with 5 workers and P1.5 million in capitalization—the median numbers for the category—will incur P50,000 in quarantine subdidy for one month which translates to losses since there is no revenue. This P50,000 temporary loss is still just 3.3% of its total capitalization and should not lead to bankruptcy. These microenterprises number 850,000 and employ almost a third of all formal workers.

Magtubo explained that “For a median small enterprise with P7.5 million in capitalization and employing 50 workers, shouldering the quarantine subsidy of P10,000 in one month translates to a loss of 6.7% of their capital, which is still manageable.”

“But, assuming for the sake of argument that the SMSE sector is precisely what the government should assist, then the P5,000 DOLE assistance is wanting and must be raised to P10,000. This is what should be funded from the P280 billion in stimulus that business is proposing,” Magtubo insisted.

He furthered that “However this imply that large enterprises must take the cudgels for their own workers. But at present they are not doing that. So they must be compelled by a government order mandating that big firms pay quarantine subsidy to their workers. Employers have benefited from more than a decade of economic growth without sharing the bounty with their workers whose real wages have stagnated. Now that there is a crisis, employers are morally obliged not to pass on the burden to their hapless workers.”

March 21, 2020