Labor group slams firing of unvaccinated workers

 

Press Release

October 22, 2021

Partido Manggagawa

Contact Rene Magtubo @ 09178532905

 

 

The labor group Partido Manggagawa (PM) slammed the opinion of Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello that unvaccinated workers can be fired and their salaries withheld on the basis of an IATF resolution.

 

“While refusing unvaccinated workers to work in facilities prohibited by alert levels is a practical health measure that employers may impose, terminating them from work is a cure worse than the disease. We demand that Secretary Bello withdraw this statement,” stated Rene Magtubo, PM chair.

 

The group declared that the call to defend the jobs and wages of unvaccinated workers will be included in the demands to be raised in the motorcade tomorrow of the Alliance of Labor Leaders for Leni (ALL4Leni). The ALL4Leni contingent of the “Unang Arangkada ng TROPA” will assemble by 8:00 am in the vicinity of the ABS-CBN compound in Quezon City. The motorcade will start by 9:00 am and wind its way around Quezon City before turning to EDSA and converge with other groups at the People Power Monument by 11:00 am.

 

Magtubo added that “We do not agree with the interpretation of Sec. Bello that the IATF resolution on alert levels can form the legal basis for terminating employees. Said resolution on vaccination is never and should never be part of just and authorized causes for terminating employment contracts. What can be done is place our workers in the order of priority in reporting for work based on alert levels, but never that their unvaccinated status be a ground for their termination.”

 

Following their expression of full support for the candidacy of Vice President Leni Robredo, ALL4Leni called on their members and workers all over the country to join the “Unang Arangkada ng TROPA” this tomorrow, a nationally coordinated action calling for all sectors of society to unite and support the Team Robredo-Pangilinan (TROPA) in the May 2022 elections.

 

“TROPA will end the regime of killings and repression, and provide space for the labor movement to campaign for workers’ demands. That space is key since it is the movement that will win change,” Magtubo insisted. ###

Mga manggagawa, todo puwersa para sa Unang Arangkada ng TROPA

Matapos na magpahayag ng lubos na suporta sa pagkandidato ni Bise Presidente Leni Robredo, nanawagan and Alliance of Labor Leaders for Leni (ALL4Leni) sa mga manggagawa at lahat ng sektor sa buong bansa na lumahok sa Unang Arangkada ng TROPA, isang pambansang pagkilos na nakatakda nitong Sabado ika-23 ng Oktubre, para sa pagkakaisa at pagsuporta sa Team Robredo - Pangilinan (TROPA) para sa darating na eleksyon sa Mayo 2022.

 

Magtititpon-tipon ang grupo ng ALL4Leni 8:00 ng umaga malapit sa ABS-CBN compound sa QC. Mula dito ay susulong ang isang motorcade 9:00 ng umaga, mag-iikot sa QC bago tumungo ng EDSA at sumanib sa iba’t-ibang grupo bandang 11:00 ng umaga sa People Power Monument.

 

Idiniin ni Rene Magtubo, lider ng Partido Manggagawa sa paglulunsad kamakailan ng ALL4Leni, na importante ngayong nahaharap ang bansa sa krisis pang-ekonomiya at panlipunan dala ng pandemya at kapabayaan ng kasalukuyang administrasyon ni Pres. Duterte, ang pagkakaisa at pagsiguro sa tagumpay ng Team Robredo - Pangilinan (TROPA) tungo sa maka-manggagawa at maka-mahirp na pamunuan sa bansa.

 

“Ang TROPA ang magwawakas sa pamahalaan ng paniniil at karahasan, at magbibigay ito ng puwang sa kilusang manggagawa para ipaglaban ang kanilang karapatan,” dagdag pa ni Magtubo.

 

Isinusulong ng ALL4LENI ang pagkandidato sa pagka-senador ni Atty. Sonny Matula, convenor ng Alyansa at isa ring lider manggagawa. Kabilang si Atty. Matula sa sinusuportahan ng ALL4LENI para pagka-Senador na sina Senador de Lima, Hontiveros, at Trillanes, at sina Atty. Chel Diokno ng KANP at Rep. Teddy Baguilat ng LP.

 

Noong Lunes, inilunsad rin ng ALL4Leni ang kanilang billboard sa Bicutan interchange sa South Luzon Expressway (SLEX) na nagsasaad ng kanilang suporta sa Team Robredo - Pangilinan (TROPA) at sa anim na kandidatong nabanggit.

 

Ang iba’t ibang mga grupo mula sa hilaga, timog, at kanlurang bahagi ng Metro Manila ay nakahandang lumahok sa Unang Arangkada ng TROPA, kaalinsabay sa pagkilos ng iba’t ibang boluntaryong grupo sa buong Pilipinas.

 

Naniniwala ang ALL4LENI na ang mga isyu ng ENDO o ilegal na kontraktuwalisasyon at pangangailangan sa P10,000 ayuda sa mga manggagawa at kanilang pamilyang naapektuhan ng pandemya ay dapat mapagtuunan ng pansin bilang pangunahing usapin sa darating na eleksyon. Nauna nang ipinahayag ni Bise Presidente Leni Robredo ang kanyang panawagan para so kongkretong aksyon sa pagwawakas ng ENDO at para sa ayuda sa mga manggagawa sa pamamagitan ng ligtas na transportasyon at paglikha ng ligtas na trabaho at pagawaan. 

ALL4Leni

October 21, 2021

Labor groups full force for Unang Arangkada ng TROPA

 

Following their expression of full support for the candidacy of Vice President Leni Robredo, the Alliance of Labor Leaders for Leni (ALL4Leni) called on their members and workers all over the country to join the “Unang Arangkada ng TROPA” this Saturday, October 23, a nationally coordinated action calling for all sectors of society to unite and support the Team Robredo-Pangilinan (TROPA) in the May 2022 elections.

 

The ALL4Leni contingent will assemble by 8:00 am in the vicinity of the ABS-CBN compound in Quezon City. The motorcade will start by 9:00 am and wind its way around Quezon City before turning to EDSA and converge with other groups at the People Power Monument by 11:00 am.

 

Partido Manggagawa chair Rene Magtubo stressed during the ALL4Leni press conference during their launch last Monday that unity is important given the urgency of addressing the economic hardships and social impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic workers and other basic sectors are facing.

 

“TROPA will end the regime of killings and repression, and provide space for the labor movement to campaign for workers demands. That space is key since it is the movement that will win change,” Magtubo insisted.

 

Atty. Sonny Matula, another labor leader and convenor of ALL4Leni, is running for senator and hoping to be included in the TROPA senatorial slate, along with Senators de Lima, Hontiveros, and Trillanes, as well as Atty. Chel Diokno of KANP, and Rep. Teddy Baguilat of LP.

 

ALL4Leni unveiled Monday their billboard located near the Bicutan interchange of the South Luzon Expressway. The billboard showed its support for the slate of Robredo and Pangilinan, and the six senatorial candidates. Also included in the billboard was ALL4Leni’s call for “ayudang sapat at balik trabahong ligtas.”

 

Other legs of the Arangkada ng mga TROPA will come from the northern, southern, western and eastern part of Metro Manila. Similar motorcades are being planned by volunteer organizations all over the country.

 

ALL4Leni believes that ending illegal contractualization or endo and providing P10,000 monthly assistance for workers and their families affected by the pandemic should be priority election issues. Vice President Robredo has earlier called for an end to illegal contractualization and for assistance to workers in the form of safe, reliable transport and creation of safe employment, as well as ensuring safety in the workplace. 

October 21, 2021

ALL4Leni

STATEMENT ON VP LENI’S FILING OF COC

VP Leni Robredo’s final decision may have come late in the day, yet it can be a game-changer in a tightly contested presidential race. Leni may also have failed to assemble the broadest opposition to the Duterte-Marcos camp, yet she surely has earned more allies at the grassroots who come to know her better as a firm, agenda-based leader compared with those whose political train of thought is win first, lead later.

Our labor agenda does not end with Leni, but a Robredo presidency, based on her earlier commitments, opens new opportunities for workers’ continuing struggle for democracy. For now, we hold the common view that ending the bloody Duterte regime and preventing the return of the plundering Marcoses need collective effort. Yet organizing electoral resistance against authoritarianism also necessitates a platform that embodies the collective aspirations of the basic sectors, including the working class.

07 October 2021