Workers’ march at Ayala calls on pols to address wages & jobs

Press Release

October 7, 2015

Several hundred workers from labor groups under the coalition Nagkaisa are marching this afternoon along Ayala Ave. to dramatize the call for job security and a living wage as their way of commemorating World Decent Work Day. The marchers will assemble at the Makati Fire Station at 3:00 pm and then will march by 4:00 pm around the country’s premier business district.

The militant Partido Manggagawa (PM) is challenging politicians to spell out platforms addressing voters’ urgent concerns on the erosion of wages due to inflation and the generation of regular jobs.

“Everyday we see candidates declaring their intent to run but we hardly hear their platform for workers and the poor. Para lumawak ang tuwid na daan, manggagawa naman! Para walang maiiwan, manggagawa naman! Ang Makati, hindi lang dapat paraiso sa mga negosyante, manggagawa naman! We dare the national candidates to state what concrete steps they will do to resolve the problem of wages and jobs,” averred Rene Magtubo, PM chairperson.

 “Concretely, we are asking candidates to make a stand on the security of tenure bill meant to regulate the abusive practice of contractualization. And also their commitment to achieving a living wage through a combination of wage hikes, basic goods discounts, tax exemptions and social security subsidies,” Magtubo clarified.

For this year, the World Decent Work Day has a theme of “End Corporate Greed.” The call for decent work is given a local flavor by a recent survey that reveals the most pressing issues of Filipino voters are inflation, wages and employment.

“What is the use of economic growth if wages are frozen, and jobs are not enough and contractual in status? Para sa totoong pag-unlad, manggagawa naman! Handa ba ang mga kandidato na salubungin ang Apat na Dapat?,” Magtubo argued.

He listed the Apat na Dapat as “1. Mababang presyo, 2. Sapat na sweldo, 3. Regular na trabaho,  at 4. Matinong serbisyo publiko.”

“In PAL, more than 5,500 workers have been retrenched in a series of mass layoffs since 1998 and they were all replaced by agency contractuals in a brutal outsourcing scheme meant to bust unions. Yesterday contractuals, called talents, in GMA-7 won their regularization case. This followed a similar move in 2010 by ABS-CBN talents for recognition as regular workers. From malls to factories to offices, contractuals are supplanting regulars. So we ask the candidates, ok ba silang endo pa more?,” Magtubo ended.

Workers dare Napoles: Be “Mother of all whistleblowers”

Press Release

November 7, 2013

The Partido ng Manggagawa (PM) asked the alleged mastermind of the pork barrel scam, Janet Lim-Napoles, to “name names” and “tell all” as hundreds of workers picketed the Senate grounds in time for the Senate blue ribbon committee hearing today.

“Workers call on Napoles to turn a new page in her life. Instead of invoking her right to remain silent or repeating evasive answers, she should name names and tell all about the pork barrel scam. Napoles can still turn from being the “pork barrel queen’ to being the ‘mother of all whistleblowers,’” averred Wilson Fortaleza, PM spokesperson.

Several hundred members of workers groups under the labor unity coalition Nagkaisa assembled at the Film Center and then trooped to the Senate grounds to air their demands on the pork barrel issue. Nagkaisa, which includes PM and the Philippine Airlines Employees Association (PALEA), are pushing for the abolition of the pork barrel and its reallocation to universal social protection such as health care, unemployment insurance and public employment.

“We are also calling for people’s participation in the budget process not just as watchdog but also as stakeholder. Workers in particular demand a ‘full employment budget,’ meaning government policies, programs and projects be focused on generating jobs for all Filipinos,” declared Fortaleza.

The workers picket at the Senate today is just the start of a series of activities to highlight Nagkaisa’s demands for the abolition of the pork barrel and the creation of a full employment budget. On November 23, hundreds of labor leaders from some 40 workers groups and institutions will assemble to affirm labor’s position on the pork barrel, job security, wage increase and power rates. The culmination is a big mobilization on November 30 in which call for the reallocation of the pork barrel to social services will be among the central demands.

Fortaleza announced that “Workers will celebrate in the streets the 150^th birth anniversary of Andres Bonifacio on November 30 in continuation of his historic struggle for national liberation and social emancipation.”