Group calls for repatriation of Filipino crew of covid-infected ship

 

The labor group Partido Manggagawa (PM) called for the evacuation and repatriation of the crew of the Grand Princess ship, which includes 529 Filipinos. US authorities have only allowed passengers to disembark from the ship moored in Oakland, California, after which the Grand Princess will sail away with the 1,100 crew.

“The decision by US authorities to quarantine the crew on the Grand Princess means allowing the ship to be a petri dish and putting at risk the health and life of 1,100 workers. We demand their evacuation and repatriation to the Philippines of the Filipino crew,” stated Rene Magtubo, PM national chair.

He insisted that according to the labor contract with the ship owners, workers have a right to be repatriated and the right to a safe workplace. But these rights are being violated since US authorities are preventing their evacuation from a contaminated ship. PM is thus condemning the discriminatory and racist policy of US authorities. Magtubo added that the group supports a similar demand by the labor unionists in the Bay Area.

“We likewise demand that the Philippine Department of Labor and Employment and the Department of Foreign Affairs to make representation to the US authorities on behalf of the Filipino crew of the Grand Princess,” Magtubo averred.

He explained that “In contrast, both the passengers and crew of the Diamond Princess in Yokohama, Japan were evacuated and then repatriated. Although the three week period that the people in Diamond Princess was allowed to ‘quarantine’ only led to the spread of infection in the close quarters condition of a cruise ship. That mistake must not be repeated by letting the Grand Princess sail to nowhere with 1,100 crew. ”

“The 437 crew and 2 passengers of the Diamond Princess that were repatriated to the Philippines and then subsequently quarantined in a local facility were released last March 11 since they did not show any signs of infection. Another two however were positive for covid and are undergoing further quarantine,” Magtubo said.

The labor group’s call is part of its ongoing campaign for a worker-first policy regarding the employment impact of the covid epidemic. PM earlier demanded that the Labor Department issue an order mandating negotiations between management and workers before any layoffs and flexible work arrangements are implemented. The group is also asking for paid leaves and paid quarantine days.

March 14, 2020

Labor group opposes holiday for Miss U

Photo by  Alecs Ongcal/Rappler

The labor group Partido Manggagawa expressed opposition to the call by a solon that the pageant day for Miss Universe be declared a holiday. The group also welcomed a response by Malacanang that there are no plans to declare January 30 a non-working holiday.

“We hope that President Duterte does not change his mind. A non-working holiday translates to foregone income for millions of wage earners who are paid daily. For workers, an honest day’s work is more productive than watching a grand, commercialized show of women’s bodies,” stated Judy Ann Miranda, PM secretary-general.

The group pointed that there are 12 million wage and salary workers in the private sector as of 2016 and the vast majority of them are paid on a daily basis and will thus suffer lost wages for a non-working holiday.

“Besides daily paid workers, also negatively affected by a non-working holiday are poor Filipinos needing vital social services such as sick mothers and children seeking help in health centers, and unemployed transacting in PESO’s, the NBI etc.,” Miranda elaborated.

She added “Beyond all that, the Miss Universe contest glorifies a version of femininity anchored on physical beauty. A woman is not reducible to her vital statistics.”

“It is easy to understand the excitement of many Filipinos in beauty pageants as an arena to reclaim national pride. But the naked truth is that much of the world, couldn’t care less about Miss U. While there is Miss U mania in the Philippines, millions of women around the globe were marching against the presidential inauguration of Donald Trump,” Miranda averred.

She ended “Trump, by the way, owned the Miss U franchise for several years during which time she called a title holder ‘Miss Piggy’ for putting on weight and ‘Miss Housekeeping’ for being a Latina, exposing the sexism and racism that underpins such beauty pageants,” Miranda averred.

27 January 2017

Solidarity Statement from Partido ng Manggagawa (Labor Party-Philippines) to the Hong Kong Protest Against Racist Demonstration

The Partido ng Manggagawa as the political party of the working class in the Philippines extends its hand of solidarity to the Hong Kong progressive workers and youth protest against the racist demonstration. The progressive workers and youth counter-demonstration communicates a message of unity and solidarity among peoples of different cultures and nationalities while the racist rally of councilor Paul Tse highlights the propaganda of discrimination and hate between locals and foreigners.

The workers in the Philippines support the anti-racist counter-demonstration not simply to assist our fellow Filipinos working in Hong Kong who are vulnerable and victim to discrimination and abuse. We back the counter-demonstration because we believe in working class unity that in a place like Hong Kong necessarily means solidarity among workers of different nationalities.

There are an estimated 150,000 Filipino migrant workers in Hong Kong, most of who are domestic helpers and they comprise a third of such workers in this city. They obviously share the same conditions and interests as other migrant workers such as from Indonesia and Vietnam but also from mainland China, despite the differences in countries of origins, languages and cultures.

Contrary to the lies and propaganda of Paul Tse, migrant workers also share the same concerns and demands as local Hong Kong workers and youth. Because of their common destiny as waged labor, the interests and plight of locals and migrants are bound together. The colors of our skin may be different and we may speak diverse dialects but we are all workers who suffer from the exploitation and oppression of employers.

In fact it is capitalists and their agents like Paul Tse who benefit from splitting the ranks of workers and putting a Chinese wall between local and migrant labor. Only by uniting can workers advance its interests while disunity weakens our cause. Improving the wages and working conditions of migrants will ultimately lead to the betterment of local workers. And vice versa.

As can be seen from the track record of Paul Tse, he is not only a rabid racist but an anti-labor legislator. He was the only one who voted last year against a minimum wage in Hong Kong. Clearly he is not a superman as he advertises himself. But moreover he is not a defender of Hong Kong locals, a majority of whom are workers, as he claims. He is simply a protector of capitalist interests. In pursuit of this agenda, he wants to pit local against migrant workers. In this way, the ranks of the workers will weaken and our demands cannot be advanced by a united labor movement.

The Partido ng Manggagawa calls on our brother and sister migrant workers or OFWs as they called in the Philippines, to join and participate in the anti-racist counter demonstration on August 21.

Workers of the world unite! Manggagawa ng buong mundo, magkaisa!