Leading the charter change (chacha) dance this time is
totally unnecessary and out of step for the Senate, the Nagkaisa! Labor
Coalition declared in a statement, a week after Senate President Juan Miguel
Zubiri himself led the Senate majority in the filing of Resolution of Both
Houses No. 6 (RBH 6) which aims to amend the economic provision of the 1987
Constitution through a Constituent Assembly (ConAss).
Protesting outside the Senate gates on Tuesday, Nagkaisa!
members called on Zubiri to redirect his focus to the pressing demands of
workers, including a wage hike, an end to labor contractualization (endo), and
employment guarantees to address the chronic jobs crisis in the country. Their
rallying cry: "Sahod itaas, Chacha i-atras!"
Josua Mata, Convenor of Nakakaisa! and Secretary-General of
Sentro ng Nagkakaisa at Progresibong Manggagawa (SENTRO), expressed
disappointment, stating, "SP Zubiri made significant promises to workers
last year, vowing to enact a P150 across-the-board wage hike. Now, it seems he's
shifting focus to cha-cha, an agenda unrelated to labor concerns."
Mata cautioned against a dubiously assembled ConAss,
suggesting it could veer off course, impacting not only the economic provisions
but also the political structures, catering to trapos’ (traditional politician)
perpetual lust for power.
Addressing the diversionary tactics, Judy Miranda, Nagkaisa
Women Committee Head and Partido Manggagawa (PM) Secretary-General, accused
cha-cha proponents of diverting attention, energy, and resources from issues
directly affecting 99% of Filipinos. She emphasized the urgency of prioritizing
the P150 wage hike bill and creating more jobs, especially for women, over
alien bids to acquire 100% land ownership and control of Philippine businesses.
Citing survey results from Pulse Asia and OCTA, Miranda
underscored that over two-thirds of Filipinos are more concerned about
inflation, wage hikes, and job creation than constitutional changes. She also
criticized politicians for denying their complicity in maintaining poverty
under a capitalist system that concentrates 90% of national wealth in the hands
of the 0.1%.
Nagkaisa Chair and Federation of Free Workers (FFW)
President Sonny Matula reiterated the call he made earlier that the government
rather address workers' core concerns: higher wages, job security, and the
freedom to organize for collective bargaining. He criticized the Charter change
initiative for diverting attention and resources away from these pressing
issues.
Nagkaisa! pledged to actively oppose moves to revise the
Constitution, announcing plans to collaborate with broader sectors to build an
anti-cha-cha movement. The group aims to present workers' agendas as a
compelling counter-narrative against pro-alien and pro-dynasty arguments. ###
Photos and videos of the rally can be accessed here:
PRESS RELEASE
NAGKAISA! Labor Coalition
23 January 2024
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