Number of jobless Filipinos increased instead of declined

The militant labor group Partido Manggagawa (PM) clarified that the number of Filipinos without jobs actually rose instead of declined if the latest labor force survey data is examined further.

“If we dig deeper into the jobs numbers, we find that there are more Filipinos without gainful employment in September compared to the previous month in contrast to the declaration of the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA),” asserted Rene Magtubo, PM national chair and Marikina city councilor.

He added that “The officially unemployed in September is only 1.96 million, lower than the 2.03 million unemployed in August. But 572,000 Filipinos—classified as either employed or unemployed in August—left the labor force by September. If we add these to the 1.96 million officially unemployed then we arrive at 2.53 million Filipinos without jobs in September.”

Magtubo stated that there is a very strict definition of who is officially unemployed. “If you worked even for just one hour in the previous week then you are already employed. Conversely, even if you are without a job but are not actively looking for work—including if you have gotten tired and/or believe that there is no work available anyway—then you are categorized as not unemployed but instead are outside of the labor force. Either way, the unemployment rate becomes very low due to this very narrow definition,” he said.

“In truth, so many kababayans are without gainful work. Since the private sector cannot offer these kababayans with gainful employment, the government should step in through a jobs guarantee program. Preferably these alternative jobs should be green, decent and long-term instead of the current TUPAD model of emergency work that is mostly sweeping streets,” Magtubo elaborated.

Platform CEO cannot represent app workers—riders’ group

The riders’ rights group Kapatiran sa Dalawang Gulong (Kagulong) lambasted the claim of Angkas CEO George Royeca that he can represent app riders and informal workers as a partylist nominee. “There is an inherent conflict of interest between employers and their workers. Di na kailangang i-memorize yan. Employers want to maximize profit while workers desire better wages. We see this in the case of platform riders who frequently complain of arbitrary cuts by apps in their income share even as the companies continue raking in profits,” asserted Don Pangan, Kagulong secretary-general.

 

Royeca filed his candidacy as first nominee of the Angkasangga partylist group which professes to be an organization for informal workers. In 2010, the COMELEC disqualified the first two nominees of Angkasangga, a businessman and an ex-mayor, because they are not from any marginalized groups.

 

Pangan added that “Royeca contends that among his advocacies for running as partylist nominee is the formalization of informal workers. He does not have to be a partylist congressman to lead in this advocacy. As Angkas CEO, all he has to do is to transform their app riders from so-called freelancers to regular employees so they can enjoy the protection of labor standards and workers rights. This is the very definition of formalizing the informal sector—having them covered with the benefits of social protection which in our system is tied to the employment relationship.”

 

“We challenge Royeca to put his money where his mouth is. Stop misclassifying Angkas riders as independent contractors. Recognize them as regular workers and extend to them social protection, labor standards and workers’ rights,” Pangan explained.

 

Kagulong also observed that the glitzy and expensive launch of Angkasangga already reveals how the partylist group truly does not represent informal workers who are the most vulnerable section of the working class.

 

Kagulong has been conducting voters’ education among its members and the broader riders’ community. “We call on riders to be critical of the election candidates. Kilatisin ang plataporma, huwag papadala sa porma at pera ang aming panawagan sa mga botante at sa mga kapwa riders,” Pangan ended.

October 9, 2024

Kagulong

P.I. mode of chacha a dangerous national concern – Partido Manggagawa

 

Screengrab of paid TV ad for charter change

“More than wasting government money and buying people’s will, proponents of charter change via the people’s initiative (P.I.) are destroying the essence of direct democracy with the mockery of the P.I. process itself,” stated Partido Manggagawa (PM) in a statement sent to media Wednesday.

 

“We hate to acknowledge the probability that aside from electing officials through fraudulent electoral means, Marcos Jr.'s New Philippines may also get a new Constitution through vote-buying! This is truly a P.I. in commercial terms – a purchased initiative by all indications,” protested the group in reaction to the barrage of information about the well-oiled P.I. campaign orchestrated on the ground in full speed through the LGUs.

 

PM Chair, Renato Magtubo, warned of the dangerous political and social consequences once traditional politicians (trapo) succeeded in raiding the people’s initiative and appropriating that stolen power for selfish political and business end.

 

“If they can easily purchase a new constitution via P.I., then what will prevent them from making another purchase to perpetuate themselves in power,” lamented Magtubo.

 

The labor group called on the people to oppose and stay away from this trapo-led initiative, by demanding government’s decisive actions on the most urgent national concerns expressed by most Filipinos in the latest survey.

 

Published the other day, survey results showed majority of Filipinos were unhappy with the way the Marcos government is addressing the problems of inflation, and nothing indicates charter change to be one of their most urgent national concerns.

 

At the top of Pinoy’s most urgent concern is controlling inflation (72%), increasing the pay of workers (40%), creating more jobs (28%), reducing the poverty of many Filipinos (25%), and fighting graft and corruption (19%).

 

“These results belie what proponents of the people’s initiative would claim as a groundswell of grassroot support for charter change. “Hindi P100 kada pirma kundi mahigit P100 na wage increase at trabaho ang nais ng mga Pilipino,” emphasized Partido Manggagawa (PM) Chair Renato Magtubo.

 

The labor leader, now Marikina City Councilot, pointed out that as Filipinos bid farewell to 2023, they were hopeful for positive changes in 2024 and beyond. He stated, "Nowhere did we hear a clamor for charter change from the grassroots to address the issues highlighted in the survey. What we are certain about is that the initiative is an organized campaign orchestrated from the higher echelons of power." 

PRESS RELEASE

10 January 2024

Survey Results on Most Urgent Concerns Contradict Demand for Cha-cha via P.I. – Partido Manggagawa

People's initiative petition form being circulated in Cebu

Results of Pulse Asia’s December 2023 survey on Filipino’s most urgent national concerns belie what proponents of the people’s initiative would claim as a groundswell of grassroot support for charter change.

 

Published yesterday, survey results showed the majority of Filipinos were unhappy with the way the Marcos government is addressing the problems of inflation, and nothing indicates charter change to be one of their most urgent national concerns.

 

At the top of Filipinos' most urgent concern is controlling inflation (72%), increasing the pay of workers (40%), creating more jobs (28%), reducing the poverty of many Filipinos (25%), and fighting graft and corruption (19%).

 

“Hindi P100 kada pirma kundi mahigit P100 na wage increase at trabaho ang nais ng mga Pilipino,” emphasized Partido Manggagawa (PM) Chair Renato Magtubo.

 

The statement came in reaction to the organized paid signature drive for chacha monitored by its chapters in many areas around the country in recent days.

 

He added Filipinos bid farewell to 2023 hopeful that things would get better by 2024 and beyond.

 

Magtubo pointed out that as Filipinos bid farewell to 2023, they were hopeful for positive changes in 2024 and beyond. He stated, "Nowhere did we hear a clamor for charter change from the grassroots to address the issues highlighted in the survey. What we are certain about is that the initiative is an organized campaign orchestrated from the higher echelons of power."

 

The group insists that sorely lacking are effective government initiatives to combat inflation, provide substantial wage increases for workers, and address chronic unemployment problems.

PRESS RELEASE

09 January 2024

Women Workers United on IWD demands

WAGES, DIGNIFIED WORK, PUBLIC SERVICES, AND FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION: THE DEMANDS OF WOMEN THIS INTERNATIONAL WORKING WOMEN’S DAY

Women Workers United (WWU) marks the 112th year of the International Working Women’s Day, when we reaffirm our fight against poverty, injustice, inequality, and exploitation of women in all forms. WWU is currently composed of six major organizations: Kilusan ng Manggagawang Kababaihan (KMK), Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU), Federation of Free Workers (FFW), Partido Manggagawa (PM), Public Services Labor Independent Confederation (PSLINK), and GABRIELA.

Filipino women find themselves in a time of crisis today. Joblessness is at an all-time high: 7 in 10 Filipinos—mostly women—are being driven into informal, precarious work; inflation is soaring at 9.3%; and violence against women (VAW) has seen a dramatic rise with 1 woman every 20 minutes becoming a victim of rape, physical abuse, lasciviousness, and other forms of VAW. 

Since the ILO High-Level Tripartite Mission (HLTM), in which we participated and submitted a subreport on women workers, we have developed a 15-Point Labor Agenda, within which we have expanded on the plight of women in the world of work.

This International Women’s Day, we reassert our call to (1) protect women workers’ rights to freedom of association and their rights to collective bargaining and negotiation; (2) close the gender wage pay gap and institute a national minimum wage closer to the living wage which is at PHP 1,100; (3) ratify ILO Convention 190; (4) strengthen legal framework and policies to address VAWC; and (5) pass the Magna Carta for Workers in the Informal Economy, among others.

This International Working Women’s Day, we remember the historic role women have played in advancing the people’s vision for a world free from exploitation. Today, we march on and carry the torch of the millions of working women throughout history who overcame society’s impositions on women and asserted their rightful place in the struggle for social justice.

Our fight for justice and equality in all forms continues. This International Working Women’s Day, the women workers of the Philippines march on. Women workers rise. Women workers strike. Women workers stand united.#

References:

GABRIELA Vice Chairperson Joms Salvador

Partido Manggagawa Judy Ann Miranda

Federation of Free Workers Women’s Network Vice President Arta Maines

Public Services Labor Independent Confederation (PSLINK) Jillian Roque

Kilusan ng Manggagawang Kababaihan (KMK) Spokesperson Jaq Ruiz

Women Workers United

PRESS STATEMENT

08 March 2023

MEDIA ADVISORY: Women workers protest on IWD

MEDIA ADVISORY

for March 8, 2023

Reference: Trish Muli, 0917 865 8720

INTERNATIONAL WORKING WOMEN'S DAY

Women Workers United

1. Women workers dialogue & protest at DOLE

8:00AM assembly at Round Table, Intramuros

8:40AM March to send-off leaders to DOLE

9:00AM–10:00AM Program outside Round Table

10:00AM - Unveiling of WWU challenge, then March to Liwasang Bonifacio

Several women's groups under Women Workers United (WWU) will meet with DOLE officials to get DOLE's support for the ratification of ILO Convention 190, Women in the World of Work, on International Women Workers' Day (IWWD). The groups will also forward cases of labor rights violations against women workers and reiterate ILO-HLTM's recommendations to the PH government.

During the dialogue, around 200 women workers gathered outside will hold a protest action to highlight their issues and demands. WWU will conclude the program with the reveal of the latest unity among the broadest rank of Filipino women workers—their most urgent challenge to the Marcos government.

2. Filipino Women SALUBONGAN

10:30AM at Liwasang Bonifacio

Filipino women workers led by WWU and all other sectors of women will converge at Liwasang Bonifacio. Women leaders from various sectors will hand out roses to women workers to honor their leading role throughout history in the emancipation of women across the world, while women workers will offer bread to women leaders to symbolize the fruits of their labor that feed the peoples of the world.

3. IWWD Program: Women Workers Unite for Wage Hike, Decent Jobs, Accessible Quality Social Services, and Freedom of Association

10:30AM–12:30PM Program at Liwasang Bonifacio

Thousands of Filipino women from several major women's and sectoral organizations will gather for the IWWD program that will register the united call of women for wage, jobs, services, and rights amid severe economic and political crisis in PH. The program will highlight the severe hits suffered by women and Filipinos due to unabated price hikes, anti-people policies that massacres jobs, and the incessant attacks on rights and freedoms led by no less than the highest officials of the land.

4. Filipino Women take the IWWD protest right at the foot of Malacañang

12:30PM March to Mendiola

12:30PM–1:30PM Program at Mendiola

1:30PM Symbolic presentation of Filipino Women's Message to President Marcos Jr.

Women will march to Mendiola to implore Marcos Jr. to finally respond to the crises hounding Filipinos under his reign. Protesters will issue their condemnation of the government's anti-people and pro-foreign capitalist indulgences while Filipinos drown in massive poverty, mounting debts, and growing fascism and militarism.

---

MEDIA COVERAGE IS REQUESTED.

PHOTO OPPORTUNITIES AND INTERVIEWS WILL BE FACILITATED.#

More Filipinos are back to work but in bad jobs—Partido Manggagawa

 

In reaction to news that unemployment has dipped to just 4.2% in November 2022, Rene Magtubo, chair of the labor group Partido Manggagawa (PM) stated that “Indeed, more Filipinos are back to work but in bad jobs.” Magtubo insisted that “Quality as much as quantity of jobs is a concern using the International Labour Organization’s decent work framework as a lens.”

 

PM referred to the fact that while unemployment decreased from 4.5% in October, underemployment increased to 14.4% in November from 14.2% in October. Also, the average weekly hours worked of an employed person in November 2022 went down to 39.3, from 40.2 in October 2022 and from 39.6 in November 2021.

 

Magtubo explained that “Government is boasting of the return of employment figures to pre-pandemic levels. Unfortunately, there is no comparable data for November 2019. But by October 2022, unemployment was at 4.5%, exactly the same rate as in October 2019 before COVID-19 struck. But while the quantity of jobs may have returned, the quality of jobs worsened.”

 

According to PM, more people were working part-time instead of full-time. Underemployment—or the people wanting more hours of work—jumped from 13.0% in October 2019 or 5.62 million Filipinos to 14.2% in October 2022 or 6.67 million. This translates to more than a million Filipinos working as casual, contractual or informal in 2022 or a rise of 19% compared to pre-pandemic levels of underemployment.

 

“As part-time employees working as casual, contractual or informal, they would be suffering from lower remuneration, not enough benefits, less job security, lack of social security and unsafe working conditions. In other words, these employed but vulnerable workers in the post-pandemic context are still harmed by decent work deficits,” Magtubo expounded.

 

PM pointed out that a reflection of this phenomenon is the plight of delivery riders. “No doubt, there were more of them as essential workers during the pandemic. But an upsurge of protests among delivery riders express the decent work deficits of Filipinos working as independent contractors rather than as full-time regular employees. Almost all of these protests originated from grievances over steep declines in incomes as apps arbitrarily cut their ‘commissions’ while the cost of fuel rose continuously,” Magtubo argued. He pointed to the protest last week of Shopee riders and to last year’s mass actions of Grab riders in General Santos, Cebu and Pampanga, together with Grab cyclists in Metro Manila. Iloilo Grab riders also formed a union last November 2022. 

January 7, 2023

Partido Manggagawa

Labor yearender: Incomes and jobs crisis pummeled workers in 2022

 

Despite the economy sustaining its recovery from the recession induced by the pandemic, workers nonetheless faced a worsening incomes and jobs crisis in 2022. Thus, while small businesses were slowly recuperating, formal and informal workers continued bleeding from wage and income erosion, job losses, and a fall in employment quality.

 

Inflation ratcheted up for the whole year, from 3.0% in January 2022 to 8.0% in November. No doubt prices rose even more in December. By October 2022, the 7.7% inflation had cut P76 off the P570 minimum wage of workers in Metro Manila since the latest wage order was implemented on June 4, 2022. This meant that the P33 minimum wage increase in June had effectively been eradicated by year’s end and further that workers were owed more. Inflation was even worse outside Metro Manila. This led to the clamor from the labor movement by the last quarter of 2022 for a new salary hike.

 

Partido ng Manggagawa called for a P100 nationwide across-the-board legislated increase while the labor group Kapatiran ng mga Unyon at Samahang Manggagawa filed a petition for a P100 minimum wage hike in the NCR wage hike early this month. The Employers Confederation of the Philippines opposed a wage hike using the disingenuous argument that MSMEs cannot afford it. Despite runaway inflation, the government played deaf to the demand and stuck to the myth that there was no supervening condition that existed to warrant a new round of wage hikes.

 

The government trumpeted the return of employment figures to pre-pandemic levels. By October 2022, unemployment was at 4.5%, exactly the same rate as in October 2019 before COVID-19 struck. But while the quantity of jobs may have returned, the quality of jobs worsened. More people were working part-time instead of full-time. Underemployment—or the people wanting more hours of work—jumped from 13.0% in October 2019 or 5.62 million Filipinos to 14.2% in October 2022 or 6.67 million. This translates to more than a million Filipinos working as casual, contractual or informal in 2022 or a rise of 19% compared to pre-pandemic levels of underemployment.

 

As part-time employees working as casual, contractual or informal, they would be suffering from lower remuneration, not enough benefits, less job security, lack of social security and unsafe working conditions. In other words, these employed but vulnerable workers in the post-pandemic context are still harmed by decent work deficits. More Filipinos are back to work but in bad jobs.

 

A reflection of this phenomenon is revealed in the plight of delivery riders. No doubt, there were more of them as essential workers during the pandemic. But an upsurge of protests among delivery riders express the decent work deficits of Filipinos working as independent contractors rather than as full-time regular employees. Almost all of these protests originated from grievances over steep declines in incomes as app arbitrarily cut their “commissions” while the cost of fuel rose continuously. This contradiction exposes the risks of app-based work where part of the business costs has been passed on to so-called freelancers while platforms continue to exercise control over their work. This year, Grab riders in General Santos, Cebu and Pampanga, together with Grab cyclists in Metro Manila, all held mass actions to highlight their demands. In a pioneering initiative, the Iloilo Grab Riders Union was formed in November, which will test the employee-employment relationship between workers and the apps.

 

While the unemployment may have been to normal—which is not saying much—the hemorrhage of jobs continues. In September 2022, some 4,000 workers across the five factories of the Sports City group of companies in the Mactan Economic Zone were laid off, arguably the biggest mass termination this year. That the mother of all layoffs at Sports City was not a one-time, big-time event was confirmed by the industry association CONWEP which stated in October 2022 that up to 4% of the 270,000 apparel workers have been laid off this year.

 

Workers in export zones such as garment and electronics are especially at risk due to global supply chain disruptions. With the threat of a government dipping its fingers on their pension funds and prospects of a global recession ever higher, Filipino workers should brace for bad rather than good tidings next year.

Partido Manggagawa

December 27, 2022

DOLE asked to issue order on riders’ employment status

The motorcycle riders’ rights group Kapatiran sa Dalawang Gulong (Kagulong) called on the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to issue an order on the employment status of app-based riders in the light of the recent decision by a National Labor Relation Commission (NLRC) arbiter. The arbiter ruled that seven Foodpanda riders based in Davao were regular employees of the app and found the company guilty of illegal dismissal. The labor case stemmed from the suspension by the app for 10 years of 43 Foodpanda riders who planned in July 2021 a “log-off” protest over low pay.

 

“This is a landmark decision in clarifying the employee-employer relationship of app riders. We urge the DOLE to settle the issue by issuing an order based on this decision. It is long overdue,” insisted Don Pangan, Kagulong secretary general.

 

He added that “We are also calling on the DOLE to deliver its commitment to convene the Technical Working Group involving rider’s groups, trade unions, worker’s organizations and concerned government agencies as agreed upon the tripartite consultations convened in the build up to Labor Day 2021.”

 

Kagulong had long advocated for recognizing app riders as employees so they can enjoy the protection of labor standards and rights, including social protection and job security. The group earlier criticized the Labor Advisory 14-21 issued by the DOLE in July 2021 that did not resolve the dispute. The Labor Advisory was issued in the wake of the Davao Foodpanda labor row and other disputes involving app riders.

 

In November 2020, Kagulong led some 700 Foodpanda riders in a protest action at the DOLE national office to seek resolution of their grievances over reduced pay and unsafe conditions DOLE officials who met leaders of Kagulong and the Metro Manila Foodpanda riders promised to act on the complaint.

 

The Foodpanda protests in Davao and Manila correlate with a global study (http://library.fes.de/pdf-files/iez/16880.pdf), which found out that food delivery riders launched the greatest number of protests among app or platform workers. The most prominent grievance concerned pay although employment status also figured as a secondary issue. In Asian countries such as Indonesia and India, gig workers have formed associations or unions. Similar organizing and struggles by food delivery riders in Europe, Australia and Latin America was also revealed in the study. 

Kagulong

August 2, 2022

Golden age is full employment with living wage, safe workplaces, and healthy environment

 

The labor group Partido Manggagawa, on SONA (State of the Nation Address) day, advised their fellow workers not to pin their hopes with the hype of a ‘golden era’ being promoted by the administration of Ferdinand Marcos Jr., saying the value of this campaign narrative, the same as wages, has already been eroded by hard realities.

 

Because the truth is, argued PM Chair Renato Magtubo, “Never has there been a golden age for workers under any administration and neither will it be realized under BBM, or until full employment, living wage, safe workplaces, and healthy environment are achieved.”

 

Magtubo explained that over the last few decades, the army of unemployed and underemployed dominate the labor force, with the real value of wages failing to catch up with even half of the living wage.

 

In the face of soaring inflation, the real value of the P570 minimum wage in the National Capital Region (NCR) today stood only at P508.02, according to the National Wages and Productivity Commission (NWPC). On the other hand, the living wage requirement for a family of five has already reached P1,300/day based on PM’s earlier estimates.

 

Thus, together with the Nagkaisa labor coalition, PM is advocating not only for an outright wage increase but also for a change in wage fixing mechanism and, in addition, a package of universal social protection programs that aims to lower households’ daily cost of living.

 

The country’s workplaces, added Magtubo, remain unsafe as far as workers’ freedom of association is concerned as the anti-union policies of the capitalists do not only enjoy maximum tolerance but are, in so many ways, aided by the state itself such as contractualization (endo), red-tagging and worst, extrajudicial killings.

 

The Philippines remains in the list of 10 countries where trade union work is most dangerous, according to the latest report by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC).

 

The group pointed out also that despite the unemployment rate tilting back to the pre-pandemic levels, most of the jobs that were either recovered or created remain irregular, self-employment, and low-paid.  Thus, the call of PM and Nagkaisa for employment guarantee and support to key sectors of the economy like the health sector, MSMEs, agriculture, and the environment.

 

Likewise, echoing the claim of climate activists that there’s hardly any jobs to talk about under a burning planet, PM is asking the government that fighting the climate crisis and creating climate jobs be made one of the major priorities of this new administration.

 

“Otherwise, if Marcos Jr. simply goes on as business-as-usual during his first SONA, the rest of his six years will be the same over and over again, or even worse,” concluded Magtubo.

25 July 2022

Labor standards violations at garment export firm

FCO is a garments manufacturer in the Cebu Economic Zone that supplies to brands Victoria's Secret, Champion and Black/Pink. The company retrenched more than a hundred workers last September without paying separation benefits due them according to law. Aside from this, FCO also did not grant holiday pay to its workers. The firm likewise hires workers on short-term contracts then rehires them on new ones to avoid the regularization of its employees. All of these are in violation of Philippine labor laws or regulations.

Mother of all layoffs at Cebu ecozone slammed as 4,000 fired

 

Labor groups Partido Manggagawa (PM) and the MEPZ Workers Alliance slammed the surprise mass layoff of an estimated 4,000 workers in the Sports City group of companies in the Mactan Economic Zone. The firing started yesterday but are continuing today. The groups also heard that there was tension in the factory gates this morning over the terminations happening.

 

“Some 4,000 breadwinners had the surprise of their covid lives when they were unceremoniously terminated without any clear criteria. This is the single largest layoff in the Mactan Ecozone since the 2009 economic crisis,” declared Rene Magtubo, PM chair.

 

The two groups are calling on the affected workers to fight for their jobs and oppose the impromptu termination. PM is providing legal assistance to laid off workers and already held an online consultation a few days ago. Meanwhile the MEPZ Workers Alliance is asking workers to raise their grievances and concerns at their Facebook page.

 

PM is also assisting workers in the ecozones of Cavite and Laguna who were terminated, loss their jobs due to temporary closures and have not been paid their wages. A glass factory in Calamba, Laguna shutdown indefinitely in the middle of the lockdown and threw some 200 workers out of work. In the First Cavite Industrial Estate (FCIE) in Dasmarinas, Cavite, a garments factory have not paid their workers their last salary and have put them on forced leave. Suspiciously, the company is already selling pieces of machines. Earlier, the Sejung garment factory also located in FCIE shutdown also without paying workers their salaries and benefits.

 

Magtubo stated that “We call for a timeout on retrenchments in the ecozones. We demand immediate action from the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), the Philippine Economic Zone Authority and the local government units.”

 

“Majority of those blindsided by the termination are women with families to feed but little prospect of finding new jobs in this pandemic economy. As per our monitoring, several hundred workers are being fired in each of the following factories: Vertex One, Mactan Apparel, Globalwear Manufacturing and Feeder Apparel,” explained Cherry Abadilla, spokesperson for the MEPZ Workers Alliance.

 

She added that the mass layoff at Sports City follows earlier terminations at Yuenthai and Kor Landa where 200 and 67 workers were affected. “There is a common modus operandi in all of these layoffs. They were surprise firings without prior notice. This is inhumane and disruptive of workers’ lives,” Abadilla insisted.

 

Scores of Yuenthai workers are refusing the separation offer of the company. In Kor Landa, the union filed a notice of strike which has triggered the preventive mediation proceedings of the National Conciliation and Mediation Board. Abadilla herself was terminated last July 10 along with Kor Landa workers, a French-owned manufacturer of jewelry.

September 5, 2020

Women’s Day demands: Job security, social protection amid COVID-19 outbreak

As women workers marched today on the occasion of International Women’s Day, the labor group Partido Manggagawa (PM) asserted that workers are more secured when engaged in regular jobs instead of unemployed in times of crises. The group demanded job security and social protection in response to the threat of massive job loss and health hazards from the COVID-19 outbreak.

“The capitalist system imposes a ‘no work-no pay’ principle at work. So when women workers are fired from work or put on job rotation, they lose the means to protect their selves and their families. This is aggravated in third world countries where weak healthcare and social protection systems prevail,” explained PM Secretary General Judy Ann Miranda.

PM members joined protest actions in this morning at the Timog Ave. cor. Scout Tobias in Quezon City led by World March of Women and with several women groups in a march to Mendiola before noon.

Miranda, who also heads the party’s women committee, said that mass layoffs should be the last in the menu of actions that can be taken in confronting the virus outbreak, fearing this health crisis can also be used by employers to implement labor flexibilization schemes like endo and downsizing.

The Asian Development Bank on Friday said the Philippine economy could lose between $669 million and $1.94 billion as well as lose 87,000 to 252,000 jobs across five sectors due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

“We can’t just wait in grief for these things to happen as pro-active measures can be prepared. Thus we demand that the government flag down any plan by employers to implement flexibilization schemes and mass retrenchments without going through a process of negotiations with affected workers. And for those who need to face the inevitable, a stronger package of social protection must be put in place,” explained Miranda.

Tomorrow, the group will be airing these proposals in a tripartite dialogue to be convened by the DOLE on the employment impact of COVID-19.

The group proposes that the social protection package must include unemployment insurance, or in the absence of it, paid leaves for those who face temporary job loss; additional health package on top of Philhealth; and enrolment to public employment programs, among others.

PM also seeks protection for workers, especially our health workers in the frontline, who must be provided with personal protective equipment. They also asked that health and allied workers be paid while on quarantine days.

The group demands further that the cost of these mitigation measures be taken out of the pocket of state and employers, who, for the last two or three decades, have gained much from increased labor productivity while wages stagnated.

Photos of the IWD actions today can be accessed at: https://www.facebook.com/partidomanggagawa/

March 8, 2020

Bato hit for indifference to 11K ABS-CBN workers

The labor group Partido Manggagawa (PM) today slammed Senator Ronald “Bato” de la Rosa for his indifference to the predicament of some 11,000 workers of ABS-CBN who will be affected by a shutdown of the network.

“Wag pagmatigasan ni Bato ang mga manggagawa ng ABS-CBN. If Senator Bato is does not care about 11,000 ABS-CBN workers losing their jobs then he also does not care about the Filipino people. The plight of 11,000 ABS-CBN workers are a microcosm of the the conditions of some 26 million wage and salary workers in the country who together with their families definitely comprise a majority of the Filipino people,” argued Rene Magtubo, PM national chair.

On Monday, PM and other groups like Kalipunan and I-Defend are mobilizing to call for resistance to the repression of democratic rights and defense of freedoms such as a critical press and the right to unionize. Unions are being red-tagged and strikes are being dispersed around the country, the group observed.

Magtubo made this remark in answer to Senator dela Rosa’s contention that the interests of the Filipino people trump concern over the livelihood of the ABS-CBN workers. He added that “It is obvious that the threat to shutdown ABS-CBN is rooted in President Duterte’s personal grudge and does not have anything to do with the national interest. Bato himself said that he lives or dies with President Duterte so his loyalty is just to one person not the entire nation.”

“Higher wages and better working conditions for ABS-CBN workers and the regularization of some 10,000 so-called talents in the network are the same popular demands of Filipino workers. Survey after survey reveal that regular jobs and decent wages are desired by the Filipino people,” Magtubo explained.

The group joined the clamor against the threat to shutdown ABS-CBN. “Stop the threat to end the franchise of ABS-CBN but the company must also stop endo among its workers,” demanded Magtubo.

The group called on regular and contractual ABS-CBN workers to forge an alliance and for the talents to organize so that they have voice and representation. “Neither the Lopezes nor Duterte, or his lackeys like Bato, can be relied upon to treat ABS-CBN workers fairly. Whatever happens to ABS-CBN, the workers are protected if they are united and organized,” stated Magtubo.

February 19, 2020

Workers make final push for SOT bill, bewail demonization of unions and right to strike

Members of labor coalition Nagkaisa are making the final push for the approval of the Security of Tenure (SOT) bill now pending before the Senate. Hundreds of workers rallied at the Senate yesterday to demand the approval of the bill.

Subject to on going plenary debates in the Senate is SB 1826 which aims to prohibit illegal and unjust forms of contractualization and tighten the noose further against valid or allowable contracting. The bill was certified as an urgent measure by the President.

“We demand that SB 1826 is put into final consideration before the Senate takes a break this week and legislators get swallowed by the October electoral fest,” said Nagkaisa in a statement.

Nagkaisa spokesman and Partido Manggagawa chairperson Renato Magtubo said the bill can be put into final vote now by the Senate as opposition to it, if there’s any, stand on weak and overly-discussed arguments during the last two decades.

The SOT Bill tightens regulation by changing the definition of prohibited “labor-only” contracting by prohibiting all instances where the contractor merely places workers to another entity. At the same time, it continues to recognize valid contracting arrangements but places reasonable safeguards to prevent abuse of workers.

Decent work

The senate action of Nagkaisa is also in celebration for the bicam’s approval of the proposed Expanded Maternity Leave bill.  But aside from SOT, the group is also raising several other issues such as low wages and runaway inflation, trade union repression, inadequate social security benefits, and weak representation at many levels of government, among others, which prevent Filipino workers from enjoying decent work.

October 7 is marked yearly as World Day for Decent Work by the international trade union movement amid rising inequality across the globe despite economic growth.  According to published studies, the world’s richest 1% owns more wealth than the rest of the planet. The same is true in the Philippines with the richest 50 families in command of more than a quarter of the economy while the rest cope with bare subsistence under the regime of low wages and irregular income due to chronic unemployment and underemployment problems.

Furthermore, the group deplore in strongest possible term the way President Duterte, in particular, demonizes strikes and other union activities as if exercising these guaranteed constitutional rights is no longer existent in his law or has become illegitimate acts before his eyes.

“It is absolutely detestable to see the President and the armed forces paint unions as destabilizers and demonize strikes as if workers were exercising this right in pursuit of criminal objectives. Trade union rights far exceed the right of one person, however powerful he is, to deny the oppressed class from exercising it. Globally these rights are under attack from owners of capital and the least that we expect from the President is to be on the offensive side of capital,” concluded Magtubo. ###

Nagkaisa Labor Coalition

10 October 2018

Cigarette firm lost P1B in production due to strike--union

Philip Morris Fortune Tobacco Corp. has lost some P1 billion in production due to a week-long strike, according to the union. The Philip Morris Fortune Tobacco Labor Union (PMFTCLU-NAFLU) has been on strike since September 28 and has maintained picketlines at the factories in Parang, Marikina and Vigan, Ilocos Sur.

“We estimate that in every shift, some P60 million worth of cigarettes have not been produced as scheduled. In three shifts per day, that is a total of P180 million. In the eight lost production days since the start of the strike (not counting Sunday which a rest day), that is about P1.44 billion,” declared Rey Almendras, PMFTCLU president.

In contrast, NutriAsia announced in July that it had lost P200 million in income in the course of one month due to the strike at its Marilao plant.

“Management has nobody to blame but itself. We patiently participated in mediation meetings for a whole month between the filing of notice of strike and the actual start of the strike. But management took a hardline position of refusing to consider the union demand that retrenched workers be reinstated and the mass layoff be put in review,” stated Almendras.

He added that “We remind management about occupational safety protocols and call on them to stop forcing untrained scabs from operating machines. Likewise, the rules prohibit companies from hiring contractuals as striker replacements during disputes.”

Workers unrest is rising with a series of labor strikes in recent months and the Philip Morris Fortune Tobacco strike is the biggest yet. The Marikina factory of the leading cigarette firm remains paralyzed since workers walked off the job in the middle of the shift on Friday last week.

“If the company wants to resume operations then management must reinstate the workers terminated due to the sudden closure of the Vigan redrying plant and the mass layoff at the Marikina factory,” reiterated Almendras.

In August the Lucio Tan Group announced a P3.63 billion total income for the first quarter of this year. Some P2.35B or 65% of the total income of the Lucio Tan Group came from its tobacco business. “The Constitution mandates that workers receive their fair share of the fruits of production. But at PMFTC, retrenchment was the company’s reward for increased labor productivity and workers meeting key performance indicators,” argued Almendras.

PMFTCLU is alleging unfair labor practice over the closure and retrenchment. The union slammed the bad faith and deceit attending the so-called right-sizing plan of management. The group believes that union busting is the real agenda as the non-union sister factory in Sto. Tomas, Batangas just regularized 100 contractual employees. In contrast, the Marikina and Vigan plants are both unionized factories. Moreover, the Vigan plant is now being operated by a new entity but with contractual workers.

Photos of the strike can be accessed at PMFTCLU’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/zpipsamonte/

October 9, 2018

DOLE Usec could have helped resolve biggest strike yet--union

Fired DOLE Undersecretary Joel Maglunsod found an ally in the workers of the biggest strikebound factory to date. The Philip Morris Fortune Tobacco Labor Union (PMFTCLU-NAFLU) declared that Maglunsod could have helped resolve the labor dispute at the leading cigarette firm. Maglunsod was dismissed by President Rodrigo Duterte last Tuesday for the series of strikes that have broken out in the last few months.

“Duterte has nobody to blame but himself since his broken promises of ending endo, abolishing regional wages and jailing errant employers are the reasons why workers are launching strikes. Maglunsod has done a good job of trying to resolve the labor disputes. His only sin is making sure that workers are protected as mandated by the Labor Code and Constitution,” averred Rene Magtubo, chair of Partido Manggagawa and former union president of PMFTC.

The week-long strike at the Marikina and Vigan, Ilocos Sur factories of the Philip Morris Fortune Tobacco remains pending as the mediation called by the DOLE-NCMB last Monday ended without any agreement. Management refused the union demand that retrenched workers be reinstated and the mass layoff be reviewed. Another mediation is set on October 10.

“If Usec Joemag were still around, we would definite seek his intervention. Too bad he was a victim of the hunt for Red October, which is really a fairy tale spun by the government to divert attention from the sufferings of the workers and the poor due to inflation, TRAIN and the rice shortage,” declared Rey Almendras, PMFTCLU president.

Workers unrest is rising with a series of labor strikes in recent months and the Philip Morris Fortune Tobacco strike is the biggest yet. The Marikina factory of the leading cigarette firm remains paralyzed since workers walked off the job in the middle of the shift on Friday last week. Picketlines have also been set up in the Vigan, Ilocos Sur redrying plant.

“If the company wants to resume operations then management must reinstate the workers terminated due to the sudden closure of the Vigan redrying plant and the mass layoff at the Marikina factory,” reiterated Almendras.

In August the Lucio Tan Group announced a P3.63 billion total income for the first quarter of this year. Some P2.35B or 65% of the total income of the Lucio Tan Group came from its tobacco business. “The Constitution mandates that workers receive their fair share of the fruits of production. But at PMFTC, retrenchment was the company’s reward for increased labor productivity and workers meeting key performance indicators,” argued Almendras.

PMFTCLU is alleging unfair labor practice over the closure and retrenchment. The union slammed the bad faith and deceit attending the so-called right-sizing plan of management. The group believes that union busting is the real agenda as the non-union sister factory in Sto. Tomas, Batangas just regularized 100 contractual employees. In contrast, the Marikina and Vigan plants are both unionized factories. Moreover, the Vigan plant is now being operated by a new entity but with contractual workers.

Photos of the strike can be accessed at PMFTCLU’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/zpipsamonte/

October 4, 2018