Group slams DOLE intervention to stop strike at power plant

The group Partido Manggagawa slammed the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) for imposing an assumption of jurisdiction (AJ) order that stopped the union at the KEPCO (Korea Electric Power Corporation) Cebu coal power plant from staging a work stoppage. The union has been deadlocked in its collective bargaining (CB) negotiations with the company.

 

“The DOLE’s AJ is favorable to the company as it prevents workers from exercising leverage to achieve its reasonable demands. Moreso, DOLE violated its own DO 40-H-13 in imposing an AJ without the following the required procedure. Both KEPCO and DOLE are pasaway (misbehaving) labor relations actors!,” stated Dennis Derige, union organizer of SENTRO and spokesperson for the PM chapter in Cebu.

 

The KEPCO union is an affiliate of SENTRO and its members voted overwhelmingly for a strike, as required by law. DOLE’s AJ was handed down on the eve of the planned strike . “Since the union could not legally go on strike, KEPCO remains hardline in its bargaining position as it felt relieved of the pressure of an impending work stoppage,” Derige added.

 

The deadlocked CB provisions included wage increase, medical allowance, signing bonus, union security, grievance procedures, agency fees and the formation of a just transition committee composed of the union and management.

 

Derige explained that “None of the union’s economic and political demands are controversial or excessive. In fact, the union has shown flexibility by reducing its initial demands. But KEPCO—despite being stable and profitable—has been intransigent and just disrespects the union.”

 

He added that DOLE DO 40-H-13 requires that an AJ can only be ordered if either both parties requested for an AJ or the DOLE first called for a conference of the two parties prior to the issuance of the AJ. Derige said that neither of these two conditions were satisfied.

 

According to latest information posted on the National Conciliation and Mediation Board’s website, the DOLE has already issued three AJ’s as of February this year. In comparison seven AJs were imposed for the whole year of 2024. The Philippine government has been the subject of complaints to the International Labour Organization for its indiscriminate use of AJs that results in the effective prohibition of the right to strike, aside from the killings of trade unionists and other forms of repression of the freedom to unionize.

April 4, 2025

Advance basic sectors’ agenda, not charter change for the rich and foreign capital

 

Members of the NAGKAISA! Labor Coalition staged another protest in front of the Senate on the eve of Valentine's Day against charter change (chacha), simultaneous with the Senate's ongoing investigation into reported anomalies in the gathering of signatures for the people’s initiative (PI) to amend the Constitution.

 

Joined by Kalipunan ng mga Kilusang Masa (KALIPUNAN), the two groups urged the Senate and the House of Representatives to prioritize the immediate needs of the working people, such as increasing workers' wages, lowering the prices of goods, jobs crisis, combating poverty and violence, including those against women, and addressing the climate crisis, which is the biggest global problem today.

 

“Ang dapat pusuan ng mga mambabatas ay wage hike at pagkamit sa living wage, hindi ang chacha para sa mayaman at dayuhan," said Partido Manggagawa (PM) Secretary General Judy Ann Miranda, challenging the Senate to finally pass the proposed P100 wage hike bill, which was already reported in plenary by Committee on Labor Chair Sen. Jinggoy Estrada last week.

 

Miranda emphasized that the same should be done in the House of Representatives, where bills proposing P150, P750 and P33,000/month for public sector workers wage hikes as well as the abolition of regional wage boards are pending, instead of leading a fake people’s initiative.

 

Furthermore, creating green and climate jobs to address chronic unemployment and climate crisis is a new social imperative that Congress needs to decisively address, said Miranda.

 

Meanwhile, Josua Mata, one of the conveners of NAGKAISA! and Secretary General of the Sentro ng Nagkakaisa at Progresibong Manggagawa (SENTRO), stated that even the ongoing Senate hearings on economic charter change not only consume time but also divert attention from the real problems of the masses because the blame is placed on the Constitution rather than on the unequal distribution of wealth and dynastic governance in our country.

 

"The Constitution did not hinder us from developing our own industries. But we don't even have an industrial policy. In fact, foreign interest prevented us from doing so through the dictates of the IMF-WB and WTO for liberalization, deregulation, and privatization. But why are we blaming the Constitution now,” asked Mata to the proponents of economic charter change.

 

Mata also warned that opening up charter change in many ways could also lead to disregarding its provision prohibiting the entry of nuclear arms into the country, especially when the same is not strictly enforced in the case of the entry of US military hardware into the country.

 

This is a reaction to reports that the Philippines is expecting the arrival of nuclear-capable BraHmos supersonic missiles imported from India for P21 billion. "Is there a plan for the Philippines to become a nuclear power while the majority of Filipinos remain poor?"

Photos can be accessed at PM FB page: https://www.facebook.com/partidomanggagawa/posts/pfbid02Zi4mJTniMUU3EHTybNhUKHqFZv3EeZUs2fpK17pP7DNkq2QDLikFcVeMeHnDmzYNl

NAGKAISA! Labor Coalition

February 13, 2024

Comelec's Suspension of PI Proceedings: Merely a Truce in an Escalating Power Struggle

 

In the midst of an intensifying power struggle between the competing dynasties of the UniTeam coalition, the Nagkaisa Labor Coalition views the recent suspension of the people's initiative (PI) proceedings by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) as nothing more than a temporary truce.

 

The labor group stated this view while holding another picket outside the Senate Building on Tuesday, coinciding with the scheduled committee hearing on alleged irregularities in the PI process.

 

The Senate action was also part of Nagkaisa’s continuing campaign to press for the enactment of the P150 across-the-board wage hike, end to endo, and other economic measures to address the rising cost-of-living crisis, which for them requires immediate action from Congress and the Executive rather than to revising the Constitution at this point in time.

 

“Chicha hindi chacha ang kailangan ng mga manggagawa, lalong hindi ang pumili sa pagitan ng polvoron o fentanyl,” asserted Partido Manggagawa (PM) Secretary General Judy Miranda, as she dismissed claims about the benefits arising from constitutional amendments.

 

Josua Mata, Secretary General of Sentro ng Nagkakaisa at Progresibong Manggagawa (SENTRO), observed that the recent counter-rally in Davao on January 28 has further intensified the conflict between former allies within the UniTeam, and it looks like the war of dynasties has reached the point of no return.

 

“Hindi pa patay ang PI,” Mata insists, noting that the Comelec’s suspension of PI proceedings might only be a tactical move to buy more time for both sides to strategize.

 

Both Miranda and Mata emphasized the importance of exposing the political and economic motives behind the House-led push for charter change through PI, at the same time cautioning against allowing the anti-charter change narrative to be co-opted by the Duterte dynasty for their own political gain.

 

Addressing President Duterte's shifting stance on charter change, they remarked, "Duterte may attempt to rebrand himself as an opponent of charter change, but his track record speaks volumes about his true intentions."

 

They reminded the Senate that it was Duterte who vetoed the Security of Tenure bill passed by Congress, failed to fulfill his promise of abolishing the provincial rate system in wage setting, and destroyed unions through red tagging during his term, “therefore making him a sham ambassador of the anti-chacha campaign that he wants to elevate into a war against Bongbong Marcos and Martin Romualdez.”

 

In conclusion Nagkaisa! urged the Senate to prioritize pressing issues such as the proposed P150 wage hike and highlights the importance of distinguishing authentic agenda to improve the lives of workers from the personal and partisan political interests of the warring political dynasties.

PRESS RELEASE

Nagkaisa! Labor Coalition

30 January 2024

https://www.facebook.com/partidomanggagawa/posts/pfbid02dqzW4Fnf2aN9Fw5K2XA1vdr3ZD82TkLX2tCSU3vYSULEMscQU5WYVxfsoYNVXC7zl

Senate’s chacha dance unnecessary, out of step – Nagkaisa!

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:

https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=pfbid027Q4VBzy2jgGxFQeYmwfC4J1Gs4sRPWwR8nMnn1smBNTc2W7KWs1Sc44WCasaF9fal&id=100010005647238

 

https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=pfbid02LnDYnMsJfMEVbiLiHjoJTueqTk5uH5B2zXB3dzwtxvRSWQEuqv1GQuy6i8B5Rup9l&id=100010005647238

 

https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=pfbid0zoiVzTe4WoDUob7U9sQmctPAsMGk2PkrEHXyY7EhN5fd5tF6QiwRGm3FabmpPMSTl&id=100010005647238

 

https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=pfbid02UMtyxJRxGuXQV9hGKjuECVcf1t37uQjFXTgJTYHdgn9UBwqkEvhBvoqMs9brb9UNl&id=100010005647238

PRESS RELEASE

NAGKAISA! Labor Coalition

23 January 2024

 

Nagkaisa celebrates Bonifacio Day in ‘Blank Paper’ protest

 

A popular protest symbol against the zero covid policy and censorship in China found its way into the Philippines during the workers’ celebration of Andres Bonifacio’s 159th birthday.

 

The Nagkaisa Labor Coalition said the ‘Blank Paper’ protest is the Filipino workers’ adaptation of the symbolic protest to press for a Labor Agenda that the group finds sorely lacking in the Marcos administration.

 

“Bonifacio Day is always a day of protest for Filipino workers, but today is the first time that most of our placards bear no slogans. It is because the blank papers themselves convey the message that a labor agenda remains blank or missing under this new administration,” said Nagkaisa Chairman and Federation of Free Workers President Sonny Matula.

 

Nagkaisa staged the ‘Blank Paper’ and ‘die-in’ protest at Liwasang Bonifacio before joining the United Labor together with Kilusang Mayo Uno and Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino in a march to Mendiola.

 

Matula said workers want a Labor Agenda as a basis for continuing engagements with the government as the lack of it implies disregard if not outright neglect of labor in the face of soaring prices, deteriorating quality of jobs, and chronic unemployment problems, among others.

 

“Our proposed Labor Agenda embodies the workers’ most urgent concerns as well as reforms in labor policies to decisively address poverty, inequality, and injustice in the country,” stressed Matula.

 

The Nagkaisa Labor Agenda includes demands for a wage hike, public employment program, labor rights and an end to contractualization, affordable and quality public services, and mechanisms for a continuing policy dialogue on structural reforms.

 

Reiterating their call for a P100 wage hike, Partido Manggagawa Chair Renato Magtubo, stated: “The amount is merely to recover wages lost to inflation. It’s a relief for a minimum wage that remains at starvation level but still way too far from achieving living wages and improvements in workers’ standard of living as provided under the Constitution.”

 

On his part, Sentro ng Nagkakaisa at Progresibong Manggagawa (Sentro) Secretary General Josua Mata, attributed the prevailing regime of low wages to the unresolved problems of unemployment and contractualization.

 

“Contractualization, both in the private and public sector, significantly weakens the exercise of other labor rights such as freedom of association and collective bargaining, thus, keeping the life of ‘endo’ workers to the barest minimum,” explained Mata.

 

He added that without a robust public employment program in key sectors of the economy, including in climate and environment, the army of unemployed will just continue to crowd the market of cheap labor. 

 

Moreover, inadequacy and high cost of services aggravates this problem, said Public Services Labor Independent Confederation (PSLINK) leader Jillian Roque, who also warned that the Marcos administration’s massive rightsizing plan would only lead to further deterioration of public services.

 

In protecting labor rights, Nagkaisa demands a solid renunciation of the previous administration’s policy on extra-judicial killings, the scrapping of anti-union laws as well as the abolition of anti-union bodies involved in red-tagging like the NTF-ELCAC and the Joint Industrial Peace and Concern Office (JIPCO).

 

The coalition is likewise campaigning for the ratification and effective implementation of ILO Convention 190 to protect women from violence and harassment in the workplace.

NAGKAISA Labor Coalition

30 November 2022

Partido Manggagawa condemns arrest of 20 Labor Day rallyists in Cebu

The militant Partido Manggagawa (PM) condemned the arrest of 20 rallyists who assembled at the Plaza Independencia in Cebu City this morning. Police arrested 8 miners from Carmen Copper in Toledo and 12 fishers from Talisay City on alleged violation of quarantine protocols. “The government is using covid-19 as an alibi to suppress the right to peaceful assembly of workers who are airing their demands on Labor Day,” asserted Dennis Derige, spokesperson for PM-Cebu.

 

A third group of rallyists who were workers in the Mactan Economic Zone and other factories together with student supporters were finally able to hold a short program at Plaza Independencia. All three groups, who are affiliates of PM and Sentro ng mga Nagkakaisa at Progresibong Manggagawa (SENTRO), were supposed to commemorate Labor Day by marching around Cebu City. The arrests effectively scuttled the Labor Day plans of workers in Cebu City.

 

“Today’s arrests reveals the impunity of police against workers who are suffering under the economic crisis that has been spawned by the failed covid response of the Duterte administration. Similarly, the commemoration of Bonifacio Day was marred by the arrest of five union organizers who led a workers protests against mass layoffs in the Mactan ecozone. Covid is being weaponized against workers who are fighting for their rights and welfare,” stated Derige.

 

The workers in Cebu and in other major cities nationwide were to commemorate Labor Day with the theme “Tabakk ng Manggagawa Laban sa Palpak.” “Tabakk stands for Trabaho, Ayuda, Bakuna, Karapatan at Kasarinlan which are the key demands of workers in response to the economic crisis and the covid pandemic,” explained Rene Magtubo, PM national chair.

 

He added that “However, workers are also raising the political call ‘Palpak, Palitan.’ This means we are calling on the people to replace the inutile and authoritarian government with a new one which will respect political rights and respond to workers’ demand for social and economic reform.”

 

In Metro Manila, PM, SENTRO and other groups in the Nagkaisa labor coalition held a motorcade from the ABS-CBN headquarters to the People Power Monument to Mendiola and finally at Liwasang Bonifacio.

 

As of the time of writing, the release of the 20 rallyists in Cebu have been put on hold by the police despite the payment of fines for each of the workers arrested.

 

Photos can be accessed at https://www.facebook.com/partidomanggagawa/posts/10159032773159323

 

May 1, 2021

As Cebu labor organizers released from jail, DOLE asked to act on mass layoffs

 

Labor groups welcomed the release from detention of three labor organizers who were arrested in a workers rally at the Cebu Mactan Ecozone last November 30. Cases of “disobedience against a person in authority” lodged against Dennis Derige, Joksan Branzuela and Jonel Labrador were dismissed yesterday afternoon. Their colleagues Myra Opada and Cristito Pangan, both union leaders at the Mactan Ecozone, were released earlier.

 

Partido Manggagawa (PM) and Sentro ng mga Nagkakaisa at Progresibong Manggagawa (Sentro) also asked the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) for pro-active measures to stem the series of mass layoffs in the ecozones.

 

“We condemn the double standard of police in implementing the quarantine rules. Police turn a blind eye to Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque leading a mass gathering in Bantayan, Cebu last November 27 but without batting an eyelash arrest union leaders who were airing grievances on mass firings,” stated Rene Magtubo, PM national chair.

 

Meanwhile Josua Mata, Sentro secretary-general stated that “I would like to laud the decision of the prosecutor in dismissing the cases against our organizers. It only shows that there are still people in our justice system who are courageous enough to uphold the constitutional rights of workers.”

 

Magtubo insisted that “Another double standard is DOLE’s inaction on employers engaging in mass layoffs for dubious reasons while police immediate suppress workers’ protests against indiscriminate firings. We demand that Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello remind police that existing DOLE-PEZA-PNP rules on labor disputes prohibit security personnel from harassing workers’ concerted actions. We also ask him to convene a dialogue with labor groups on the continued hemorrhage of jobs inside and outside of the ecozones.”

 

Last November 30, the so-called MEPZ 5 led more than a hundred recently terminated ecozone workers in rally at the Mactan ecozone gate. But police dispersed the rally and arrested the MEPZ 5.

 

On November 27, First Glory Apparel fired 300 workers. This comes on the heels of mass layoffs at other firms in the Mactan ecozone. Earlier the Sports City group of companies retrenched 4,000 workers, Yuenthai fired 2000 workers, FCO laid off 100 workers and Kor Landa terminated 67 workers.

December 2, 2020

Black Monday protest by workers vs Duterte veto of SOT bill

Workers are launching protests today in Manila and Cebu in response to President Rodrigo Duterte’s veto of the Security of Tenure bill last Friday, on the eve of its lapse into law. The noise barrage today is also the start of labor’s renewed campaign for a strong law to strictly regulate the rampant practice of contractualization.

“The Security of Tenure bill is the latest victim of killing under the Duterte regime. Workers vow to continue the fight to end endo,” declared Wilson Fortaleza, spokesperson of Partido Manggagawa (PM).

PM and other labor groups such as Sentro ng Progresibo at Nagkakaisang Manggagawa (SENTRO) and Alliance of General Unions, Institutions and Labor Associations (AGUILA) will launch this afternoon a noise barrage dubbed “Black Monday Protest.” In Metro Manila, the protest is at 5:00 pm at the Boy Scout Circle. While in Metro Cebu, the noise barrage is also at 5:00 pm at Gate 1 of the Mactan Economic Zone in Lapu-Lapu City. Protesters will wear black to symbolize the death of the SOT bill.

The groups also preparing to lobby the new Congress for a new and stronger version of the Security of Tenure bill. “Workers want a law that will ensure regular jobs is the norm in employment relations. We do not accept Duterte’s excuse that employers can outsource jobs even if it is directly related and necessary to its business. That simply opens the floodgates to the abusive system of contractualization that is happening today,” Fortaleza argued.

“Workers will not forget this betrayal by Duterte of his promise to end endo. Three months into his administration, Duterte forcefully warned employers that he will kill them for continuing with the practice of endo. But now three years into his term, he is parroting the lame capitalist alibi that businesses will die if workers are made regular. Duterte’s promise to end endo is dead,” Fortaleza asserted.

He added that “In the class war between the workers and capitalists on contractualization, Duterte has revealed that he is an enemy of the working class and the CEO of the capitalist class.”

July 29, 2019

Southern Luzon network of civil society groups launch Manlaban Ka

A Southern Luzon-wide network of civil society organizations working for the promotion and protection of human rights was launched in Cavite.

Some 300 representatives of basic sectors from labor, urban poor, farmers, fisherfolks, women, youth, transport workers, church and anti mining advocates, gathered Wednesday at the historic Casa Hacienda popularly known as the Tejeros Convention Center in Rosario Cavite, to launch the Mamamayang Nagkakaisa sa Laban ng Bayan para sa Karapatan or Manlaban Ka.

Made part of the launching program is a forum on charter change and human rights with constitutionalist Christian Monsod and former Representative Erin Tanada as guest speakers. Representatives of the CHR also graced the occasion.

The formal launching of Manlaban Ka ended up with the ratification of the group’s Unity Statement and a brief discussion on the network's ways forward such as conducting grassroots education, database building on cases of HRVs, operational structures and ways forward. (see attached unity statement)

The formal launching was followed by a march of the participants to the Cavite economic zone in support of the strikebound workers of Dong Seung, a garments factory. During the past several months, a series of labor disputes around the freedom of association and working conditions have rocked the Cavite ecozone, the country's biggest publicly-managed zone.

Ecozones particularly in the provinces of Cavite, Laguna and Batangas employ tens of thousands of workers. Regrettably it is also in these economic havens of foreign investors in the country where rampant violations of human and labor rights go unchecked and the violators go unpunished.

The launching of Manlaban Ka is the final outcome of a five-month process of consultations and focus group discussions among the basic sectors and civil society organizations working for the promotion and defence of human rights in the Southen Luzon region. This partnership building initiatives among the CSOs is in cooperation with the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) under its Governance in Justice or Go Just program.

The Southern Luzon process was facilitated by Kalipunan ng Kilusang Masa, with Partido Manggagawa (PM) and Sentro ng Nagkakaisa at Progresibong Manggagawa (Sentro) as lead organizations.

Prior to this launching, consultation meetings were held in Calamba City last April 7-9, 2018 where participants discussed the state of human rights in their respective areas and sectors. Resource speakers were invited in this process to give inputs on the many aspects and forms of human rights issues, including the many cases of extrajudicial killings in the southern Luzon region due to the ongoing war on drugs as well as violations of the economic, social and cultural rights of our workers, farmers, urban poor, women; and the destruction of many communities due to mining and land-grabbing activities.

Representatives from Bicol, Mimaropa, and the Calabarzon areas have actively participated in the previous process leading to their decision to form this loose but highly coordinative network of organizations willing to work together for the promotion and protection of human rights.

Part of Manlaban Ka Unity Statement declared:

“NANININDIGAN ang MANLABAN KA na ang mga karapatang pantao at demokrasya kung saan maraming aspeto nito ay hindi pa namin ganap na natatamasa, ay nararapat lamang na ipagtanggol at ipaglaban sa halip na isuko sa harap ng sinumang kapangyarihan na may hayagan at tagong layunin na ito’y pahinain o kaya ay ganap na patayin.

KUNG GAYUN,  at mula sa mga batayang nabanggit, kami’y nangangahas at ngayon ay ipinapaalam sa lahat, na kaming mga sektor at indibidwal na nabibilang sa koalisyong ito, ay nakahanda nang MANLABAN sa ibat-ibang paraan katulad ng pagmumulat, pag-oorganisa, pagpapalawak at mga direktang pagkilos para ipagtanggol ang karapatan at demokrasya ng buong sambayanan.”

PRESS RELEASE

Manlaban Ka

30 May 2018

Labor party calls for shorter not compressed workweek

Photo from Philippine Star

The Partido Manggagawa (PM) today declared its opposition to the proposed bill on compressed workweek as it called the proposal a “scheme to overwork and underpay workers.” Instead, PM is calling for legislating a shorter work day.

Members of PM joined the labor group Sentro in a picket at the Senate this morning to coincide with a hearing on proposed bill. The bill providing for a compressed workweek passed the House of Representatives on third and final reading last August 24.

“Legislating the compressed workweek will lead to the derogation if not destruction of the historic eight-hour work day. Instead of lengthening the working day, it should be shortened without lost of pay for workers. The compressed workweek will lead to health and safety issues while shortening the working day will vastly improve work-life balance,” insisted Rene Magtubo, PM national chair.

Also being heard today at the Senate are proposals for 15 minute breaks and service charge in the hotel industry. Members of PM ans Sentro chanted “Workers need a break, We are not robots,” “No to compressed work, Yes to 8-hour law,” “Compressed workweek is hazardous to our health.”

Magtubo added that “Imagine workers laboring for 12 hours a day without overtime and travelling hours more through traffic. This is a recipe for killing workers through overwork and stress.”

He added that “Millions of workers already work 12 hours day because they avail of overtime as a way of augmenting their meager daily wages which are not enough to sustain their families. The compressed workweek will legalize this epidemic of overwork but worsen it by taking away overtime pay. The compressed workweek is a ploy to cheapen salaries, similar to the regionalization of wages.”

“In the exceptional cases where workers find that flexible work arrangements like flexi-time or compressed workweek is advantageous to them, there are already rules that allow for that on the condition that workers are consulted and agree to it. These must remain exceptions to the rule and the norm should be that the workday is eight hours and work beyond must be paid overtime,” Magtubo elaborated.

September 13, 2017

Groups call on government to heed demand for “just transition” after successful first day of jeepney strike

The first day of the two-day transport holiday was called a success by groups that launched the jeepney strike. They reiterated their demand on the government to stop the planned jeepney phase-out and instead implement a “just transition.”

Elmer Blancaflor, spokesperson for the Iloilo chapter of Partido Manggagawa (PM) and also president of the United Panay Truck Drivers Association, said that “Jeepney transport was paralyzed in the whole of Panay island. We estimate that 97% of jeepney drivers participated in the strike in Iloilo City, 95% in Roxas City, 95% in Aklan and 100% in Antique and Guimaras.”

PM together with the National Confederation of Transportworkers Union-Sentro are supporting the strike by the Iloilo City Loop Alliance of Jeepney Owners and Drivers Associations (ICLAJODA) and Confederation of Iloilo Province Jeepney Operators and Drivers Associations (CIPJODA).

“The unity of the jeepney drivers in Panay should be a wake up call on local governments and the Department of Transportation on the grave impact of their so-called modernization plan. The strike yesterday and today is just a preview of more militant protests if government remains deaf and blind to the demand for a just transition,” explained Blancaflor.

PM describes the just transition as consisting of four steps. First, a transition of five years before full implementation of the phase out. Second, assistance and subsidies to operators for the replacement of jeepneys. Third, a ban on the importation of old and surplus engines and second-hand vehicles. And last, conduct a study on the most appropriate alternative to jeepneys such as electric jeeps or hybrid, LPG or Euro4 engines.

“The livelihood of thousands of jeepney drivers should be benefited not endangered by the shift to environmentally-friendly public transportation. Social justice must accompany social progress,” Blancaflor emphasized.

PM criticized the draft Department of Transportation order mandating a minimum of PhP 7 million as capitalization for jeepney operators. “The capitalization requirement is discriminatory and anti-poor. It will lead to the gentrification of the jeepney sector and the dominance by big capitalists to the detriment of ordinary Filipinos who derive their livelihood as operators at present,” Blancaflor averred.

June 6, 2017

Unacceptable!: Labor groups thumb down proposed new DO on endo

 

It’s dead on arrival (DA) for the proposed new Department Order (DO) on endo of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) as far as labor groups are concerned.

 

The draft DO, the country’s major labor groups under the labor coalition Nagkaisa declared, will not lead to the ultimate end but rather  to the further strengthening of the legal standing of contractualization in the country.

 

“DOLE intends to adopt what all labor groups unanimously rejected during the labor summit – the ‘win-win solution’ of DTI.  This could signal the end of President Duterte’s campaign promise to end endo,” declared Danny Edralin, Vice-Chair for the Private Sector of the Sentro ng Nagkakaisang Manggagawa or SENTRO. 

 

For Partido Manggagawa (PM):  “The draft new DO may seem to restrict labor contracting to seasonal and project employment but these employment schemes may however be extended to cover jobs, work or services which are directly related to the business operations of a company. As such, contractualization of labor would still proliferate in the guise of describing the job, work or service as seasonal or project employment,” said PM Chair Renato Magtubo.

 

The working draft of the new DO was presented during the Tripartite Executive Committee (TEC) of the Tripartite Industrial Peace Council (TIPC) last week.  Said DO recognizes trilateral employment relationship which has long been opposed by organized labor as it undermines workers’ rights to security of tenure, to organize and collectively bargain.

 

For TUCP, the proposed DO is unacceptable.  “It is a mere rehash of what current laws already provide. It gives nothing new to workers. Change requires a DO that further restricts contractualization while a new law is needed to end contractualization,” said Luis Corral, Executive Director of the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP).

 

‘Win-win’, for Nagkaisa, is DTI doublespeak roundly rejected as ‘lose-lose’ by workers. Thus, it is pushing for the passage of HB 4444 (Rep. Raymond Mendoza. TUCP Partylist) which prohibits contractualization and calls on Sec. Bello to endorse it for certification by President Duterte as an urgent Presidential measure.  HB 4444 prohibits all fixed term contracts and criminalizes violations.

 

The Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino (BMP) on the other hand wanted to directly challenge President Duterte to completely prohibit endo by means of an executive order.

 

“The new draft DO is a mere attempt to rehash DO 18-A with sophisticated words to continue justifying contractualization under the Duterte regime. Thus, BMP now directly challenges President Duterte to immediately issue an Executive Order to strictly prohibit all forms of contractualization by urgently signing a draft EO which BMP crafted and submitted to the Office of the President last November 10, 2016 for instant Presidential executive action,” said its President Leody De Guzman.

 

Even public sector unions are disappointed on the way the end endo agenda of the Duterte administration regresses.

 

“The proposed DO officialises contractualization and bastardizes Duterte’s campaign platform to end contractualization,” said Annie Geron, President of the Public Services Independent Labor Confederation (PSLINK).

 

The government is being accused by labor groups as the single biggest practitioner of contractualization in the forms of job order (JO) and contracts of service (CS).

December 19, 2016

Workers doubt DOLE claim of new regulars

The labor group Partido Manggagawa (PM) expressed doubt on the announcement of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) that 25,000 contractuals have been regularized. DOLE Secretary Silvestre Bello made the claim in a press conference in Malacanang.

“As much as we welcome thousands upon thousands of endo workers becoming regular employees, we are skeptical of DOLE’s claim because our own experience is that employers are extremely resistant to regularization,” declared Rene Magtubo, PM national chair.

Meanwhile PM, together with other groups like the Philippine Airlines union PALEA and the labor center SENTRO, today held a rally at the DOLE main office to push for an “end endo” formula of regulation and prohibition of subcontracting of regular jobs. The protest today is a buildup for the big nationwide mobilization by workers on November 30 to highlight the call to stop all forms of contractualization, including outsourcing.

Magtubo added that “We know for a fact that the DOLE has not been able to enforce regularization of workers in numerous instances. To cite a few examples. One is a Japanese-owned electronics factory in the Cavite ecozone that has refused to regularize hundreds of its agency workers despite an order from the DOLE. Second is the PALEA 600 who have not been reinstated by Philippine Airlines as regular workers despite a settlement agreement that provides for it. Finally the case of 149 Pizza Hut contractual workers who were retrenched when they sought regularization but have been reinstated only as agency workers.”

“The contagion of contractualization is spreading instead of being contained. In Toledo City in Cebu province, a large mining company is laying off workers who will then be hired as contractuals in agencies to do the same work. So we ask DOLE: Show us the 25,000 new regulars!,” Magtubo averred.

He quipped that “It seems that the news of 25,000 newly regularized workers is fake similar to posts in Mocha Uson's controversial blog,” he insisted.

Magtubo also slammed Bello’s endorsement of the employers’ “win-win” formula on contractualization. “The so-called win-win formula of the employers and now the DOLE will not end endo. The ‘win-win’ scheme is a scam that will lead to the utter proliferation of outsourcing and contracting out of regular jobs in the principal employers. The Labor Secretary is turning his back on the participants to the three Labor Summits convened by the DOLE in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao who resolved to end all forms of contractualization,” insisted Magtubo.

November 24, 2015

PM condemns vigilante style killing of a leader

The militant Partido Manggagawa (PM) condemned the killing of one of its leaders in Talisay, Cebu today. Orlando Abangan, a community leader of PM-Cebu, was shot at close range by a lone gunman around 8:00 am while he was on his way home in Sitio Lawis, Barangay Maghaway in Talisay City.

“We condemn the vigilante-style killing of Ka Lando and call on the authorities for a thorough investigation of his murder. Justice for Ka Lando and other victims of extra-judicial killings,” declared Wilson Fortaleza, PM spokesperson.

Abangan, 35 years old, is survived by his wife and two children. He was a full time organizer of PM in the province of Cebu since 2001. During the last election, he built an organization of persons with disabilities in Talisay that campaigned for social protection and social services for their sector. Recently he was engaged as informal sector organizer of the labor center Sentro.

Fortaleza added that “In calling for justice for Ka Lando, we are also assailing the culture of impunity that has resulted to the spate of slayings everywhere. Labor rights and human rights are an indivisible whole. Before he was killed, Ka Lando was vocal in criticizing the extra-judicial killings in our country.”

PM is a member of the coalition In Defense of Human Rights and Dignity Movement (iDefend) which advocates that human rights and due process cannot be sacrificed in government’s ongoing war against drugs and criminality.

PM is joining iDefend  and other human rights groups in a rally in Manila on Wednesday, September 21, on the anniversary of the declaration of martial law. Justice for Abangan will be one of the demands of the forthcoming protest.

September 17, 2016

State of Negros: The rise of ‘new sacadas’ belies SONA claim of PNoy on labor

NEWS RELEASE

Partido Manggagawa-Negros

28 July 2015

The rise of ‘new sacadas’ in Negros belie the claim of President Aquino during his State of the Nation Address (SONA) yesterday that the country is now moving from cheap labor to high-tech producer.

Fresh from the joint consultation-workshop on the state of sugar workers held in Bacolod City last Sunday, the Negros chapter of Partido Manggagawa (PM-Negros) and the Sentro ng Nagkakaisang Manggagawa (Sentro) described as ‘first world falsehood’ the assertion of the President that high-tech production is taking over cheap labor that for a long time characterized the Philippine labor force.

“What country are you talking about, Mr. President?  Negros is now home to BPOs yet the island remains a country of sacadas,” said the two groups in a statement.

It is clear, according to PNoy, “The Filipino can now compete.  Previously our only selling point was cheap labor.  Now factories for high-tech equipment are coming here, from airplane parts, electrical tricycles, printers, and other digital media products to high-quality medical devices.”

During their Sunday consultation, PM-Negros presented a study that pointed to the rise of ‘new sacadas’ in Negros resulting from the dismal failure of agrarian reform in the island as well as the massive contractualization of farm works in the Sugarlandia.

“The old dumaans (regular workers) were replaced by tens of thousands and contractual workers. And the migrant sacadas that mainly came from Panay and other neighboring provinces before are now replaced by inland sacadas -- a phenomenon that suggests a downside shift in labor relations in the island,” explained the group.

According to PM-Negros, the ‘new sacadas’ of Negros is represented now by tens of thousands of contractual farm workers who comprise at least 80% of the total workforce in sugar plantations in the island.  They receive not more than P150 per day working as planters, weeders, fertilizer applicators, harvesters and haulers.

“Until the late 90s, Negros sourced its shortage of sacadas from outside of the island but now the internal labor market is heavily populated with contractual, seasonal and mobile workers who perform work previously done by regular workers or the dumaans,” said the two groups.

For PM and Sentro, the combination of failed agrarian reform and the onslaught of contractualization schemes created this phenomenon as workers who were displaced due to massive retrenchments lost their employee-employer relationship (EER) and eventually their right to become land reform beneficiaries. 

“This condition left at least 100,000 hectares with no more agrarian reform beneficiaries to claim the lands, creating in effect an army of sacadas that hop from one hacienda to another around the island to find work,” explained the group.

This state of sugar workers in Negros, added the groups, is further threatened by the expected adverse impact of Asean integration on Philippine agriculture once the zero tariff regime begins to be implemented this year.

“We expect massive job loss once the country’s sugar industry fails to survive the intense competition with Thai and Vietnamese sugar,” said PM.

The saddest point, said PM and Sentro, is to hear the SONAs of the past and present Presidents, without any mention of the pressing problems in Negros, specifically the life of sugar workers.

“Ang problema namon, amon lang gid problema. Isa kami sa halimbawa sang SONA nga indi matalupangdan,” concluded the group.

Labor Day strike in Cebu? DOLE asked to respect KEPCO workers right to strike over low pay, union busting

Press Release

April 29, 2015

The labor party Partido Manggagawa (PM) today called on Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz to “stay” its use of assumption of jurisdiction powers as requested by the management of KEPCO-Salcon Power Corp. in Naga, Cebu. “We call on Secretary Baldoz to give a reprieve to the KEPCO unions so that they can exercise their right to strike against low pay and union busting. We hope Sec. Baldoz will remain true to her word that government intervention in labor disputes is now a thing of the past,” asserted PM chair Rene Magtubo.

Energy Secretary Carlos Jericho Petilla has said that a power outage may hit Mactan City and the island of Negros should a strike push through at the 200MW KEPCO power plant. However, PM avers that KEPCO is refusing to meet its workers demands as it expects that the planned strike will be stopped through an assumption of jurisdiction (AJ) order.

The rank-and-file and supervisory workers who are affiliated to WSN-Sentro can hold a strike as early as tomorrow but the unions will still attend a mediation hearing scheduled tomorrow morning. They are also meeting the Cebu Governor Hilario Davide III today.

“The rank-and-file and supervisory KEPCO unions have already offered to avert a strike by narrowing its main demand to the reinstatement of union leaders fired because of union activities. But we suspect management is still playing hardball as it expects an AJ order against the unions,” insisted Magtubo.

He added that “We ask KEPCO to moderate its greed. The power industry is the most profitable sector of the economy with the richest Filipinos and foreign investors like Korea’s KEPCO engaged in an industry that is structured in such a way that there is no possible way to lose money. Every cent of business expense is passed on to consumers, mainly the middle class and the working poor, thus we have one of the most expensive electricity rates in world.”

PM avers that productivity in the power sector is the highest of all industries yet the fruits of labor appear not as wages for workers but as profit for capitalists. “According to the Census of Philippine Business and Industry in 2012, the power industry’s labor productivity is at PhP 4 million annually per worker. In contrast, KEPCO rank-and-file workers receive an average of just PhP 13,000 per month or PhP 169,000 per year. Thus workers wages at KEPCO amounts to just 4% of the industry’s labor productivity,” Magtubo explained.

He asserted that “The meager wages of KEPCO workers was the motive for them to unionize and bargain as a means of enhancing their working and living standards. But rather than respect labor’s right to self-organization and collective negotiations, KEPCO is busting the supervisors union and harassing rank-and-file workers whose union has already been certified as the sole and exclusive bargaining agent.”