Subsidy to airlines must have pro-labor conditionalities

Photo from Asian Nikkei

The labor group Partido Manggagawa (PM) asserted that any subsidy for the airline industry must be tied to conditionalities. “Public aid to private corporations, especially big business like airlines, should enhance social justice and workers’ rights. We demand that taxpayer bailout of the three local airlines must be conditional,” declared Rene Magtubo, PM national chair.

He added that “Specifically, these conditions should include no layoffs, reinstatement of those already retrenched this year and institution of worker representation in the corporate boards of the airline companies. The airlines’ demand for P8.6 billion per month would easily surpass in two months the P3 billion spent for DOLE’s CAMP and P10 billion for SBWS that benefited workers. Withholding taxes levied on workers constitute the biggest portion of the tax revenues and thus labor is a stakeholder in any disbursement of people’s money.”

Last February 28, Philippine Airlines (PAL) announced a mass layoff of 300 regular employees allegedly due to the impact of covid. Then in March 19, Cebu Pacific let go of 150 cabin crew on probationary status because of covid travel bans. Finally on April 3, the 1Aviation Groundhandling Services Corp. retrenched 400 workers who were due to be regularized. The company services Cebu Pacific and is a joint venture of the Gokongwei-owned Cebu Air Inc. and another ground handling corporation.

“These 850 fellow airline workers deserve to have their jobs back as part of the recovery of the airline industry. No one must be left behind as the airline industry gets back on its feet with the help of taxpayer’s money,” insisted Eugene Soriano, former treasurer of the union PAL Employees Association (PALEA).

He demanded that PAL, before it receives any government subsidy, must implement the 2013 settlement agreement forged between the airline and PALEA to reinstate 600 employees retrenched in 2011 due to a controversial outsourcing program.

Magtubo argued that if the airlines would reject conditionalities on state aid for the airlines, the industry might as well be nationalized. “If the three airlines can only survive on taxpayer support, then nationalization is another option. Three private airlines competing for reduced passenger demand is an inefficient utilization of capital,” he averred.

PM’s demand for pro-labor conditionalities on government support is part of its call for “workers first in the new normal.” Part of its workers first platform are calls for ayudang sapat para sa lahat, balik trabahong ligtas, ayuda lagpas sa ECQ and makataong tugon hindi militarisasyon.

12 May 2020

ECQ extension should mean extended and expanded aid

Because ECQ has been extended, it follows that government aid must not only be extended but also expanded to cover all in millions who are left behind by CAMP and SAC due to its non-universal approach and bureaucratic gridlock. The amount should also be raised approximating the level of minimum wage, or P10K whichever is higher.

The extension should also be utilized in preparing the best protocols for workers' safe and protected return to work, including enhanced capacity for conducting the most effective method of mass testing and industry compliance to OHS law and other labor standards.

As to financial difficulty facing the our covid-19 response, we call on the government to consider imposing higher taxes on private wealth of big businesses and richest families.

24 April 2020

Mass testing gamit ang RT-PCR, full coverage ng Philhealth sa kaso ng Covid-19

Mamamatay ang ekonomiya kapag hindi nakabalik sa trabaho ang mga manggagawa. Pero kapag mahawa ng Covid-19 ang maraming manggagawa, mahahawa ang buong bansa.

Kung nais ng pamahalaan na unti-unti nang luwagan ang ECQ, bumalik sa trabaho na ligtas ang mga manggagawa, muling umandar ang ekonomiya at manatiling ligtas ang buong bansa sa Covid-19, ang kailangan ay mabisang paraan ng mass testing, hindi ang mabilisan ngunit walang katiyakan na rapid antibody test.

At para mabigyan ng dagdag na kumpyansa ang mga manggagawa na bumalik sa trabaho sa kabila ng panganib, kailangan silang bigyan ng kasiguruhan na sakaling maging biktima ng Covid-19 ay sasagutin ng Philhealth ang full coverage ng kanilang pagpapagamot at pagpapagaling. Ibig sabihin, dapat baguhin ng Philhealth ang patakaran nang bumalik ito sa case rate sa kaso ng Covid-19.

Mahigpit naming sinusubaybayan hindi lamang ang mga ayudang ipinangako para sa kabuhayan ng manggagawa kundi maging ang mga hakbang medikal sa bansa at sa buong mundo upang epektibong malabanan ang virus.

Kung kayat kami ay nabahala sa naging pahayag ng Pangulo kamakailan, kasama ang kinatawan ng mga negosyante na si Joey Concepcion, na magpapatupad ng malawakang rapid antibody test sa lebel ng mga pagawaan bilang kondisyon sa pagbabalik sa trabaho ng mga manggagawa.

Mahigit apatnapung milyon (40M) na manggagawa ang babalik sa paghahanapbuhay sa ibat-ibang paraan sakaling alisin na ang lockdown. Sa kanilang ligtas na pagbabalik-trabaho nakasalalay hindi lamang ang ating ekonomiya kundi ang kaligtasan ng ating bansa.

Ito ang dahilan kung bakit tinutulan namin ang paggamit sa rapid antibody test dahil mismong ang World Health Organization (WHO), mga scientist at medical experts ay hindi rekomendado ang paraan na ito kumpara sa Real Time-Polymerase Chain Reaction Test (RT-PCR) na subok na sa buong mundo. Ang ating DOH mismo ay naglabas ng guidelines laban dito, kasama ang infographic na nagpapaliwanag sa kaibahan ng dalawa.  At kahit ang Food and Drug Administration na nagpahintulot sa paggamit ng limang brand ng rapid test na ito ay nagsabi na kailangan pa rin ang PCR-based confirmatory test matapos nito.

Samakatwid, ang mataas na rate ng false negatives na inaasahan ng mga eksperto mula sa rapid antibody test ay hindi lamang magsasayang ng oras at rekurso sa paraan na ito kundi magbibigay pa ito ng maling kumpyansa at magbabaliwala sa kaligtasan ng manggagawa pagkatapos ng lockdown.

Bilang alternatibo, ang dapat mas bilisan at palawakin ng pamahalaan ay ang mass testing gamit ang RT-PCR. At magiging realidad lamang ito kung sa lebel ng mga LGU ito palalawakin katulad ng inisyatiba ng lungsod ng Marikina. Ang ganitong hakbang ang dapat suportahan ng pondo ng national government at ng mayayamang may-ari ng mga industriya at negosyo, hindi ang ekspiremento ng rapid antibody test na malamang ay maghatid pa sa atin sa kapahamakan.

Habang papalapit ang Araw ng Paggawa, patuloy na nagpapahayag ng paninindigan at mga kahilingan ang Partido Manggagawa (PM) sa pamahalaan para sa kapakanan ng uring manggagawa, kasama ang iba pang mga samahan ng paggawa sa buong bansa.

Sa partikular, itinutulak ng PM ang tatlong kahilingan. Ang mga ito ay: (1) Ayudang Sapat Para sa Lahat; (2) Extensyon ng ayuda lagpas sa panahon ng lockdown at ligtas na pagbabalik s trabaho ng mga manggagawa; at, (3) Mas makataong tugon sa krisis, hindi militarisasyon.

18 March 2020

Workers ask gov’t to reopen factory to make facemasks

Sejung factory gate is padlocked on April 10, 2020

Workers of a garments firm that has been shuttered for the past four months are asking the government to reopen the factory to produce facemasks. Sejung Apparel Inc., a Korean-owned firm in the First Cavite Industrial Estate (FCIE) in Dasmarinas, was shutdown in December last year.

“The Bayanihan Act gave the government the power to direct the operations of a company to respond to the covid pandemic. Thus we demand that 315 Sejung employees be put back to working to make PPE’s that are desperately needed at this time,” stated Jopay Odchimar, president of the labor union of Sejung workers.

She added that “We want to help others even as we lift ourselves by our own efforts. The government should not think twice about our appeal to reopen the factory and retool it for making washable facemasks.”

Last April 10, officials of the FCIE padlocked the factory gates.

The DOLE has rejected the application for assistance to Sejung workers since the factory shutdown was not due to the covid quarantine. Ironically, the Sejung workers are also not qualified for the social amelioration for informal workers since they are technically still employed by the company.

Sejung workers have been embroiled in a long-running dispute since last year. The labor dispute is due to non-payment of 13^th month pay, last salary and union busting.

Sejung declared temporary shutdowns several times. The first shutdown in October last year occurred just one week after the union submitted a collective bargaining proposal and just three weeks after the union won a certification election. The company reopened but once more closed in December 12 and has remained shutdown since then.

“For more than four months, the DOLE provincial and regional offices did not act on a clear case of labor standards violation despite undertaking an inspection in December 19. The case has dragged on for so long that the covid pandemic and the resulting quarantine further aggravated the sufferings of workers,” Odchimar explained.

April 13, 2020

Strikers being starved using covid lockdown as cover

Workers of garments factory Sejung Apparel Inc. have been on picket-protest since December. In recognition of the need to maintain social distancing, the number of people at the picketline was reduced by the union. From March 27 until today, all attempts to bring food and water to Jackie Elorde and Amer Taluba, the two workers at the picketline, have been stopped by security guards.

Sejung Apparel is a Korean-owned garments factory at the First Cavite Industrial Estate (FCIE) in Dasmarinas, Cavite (part of the industrial region just outside the capital Metro Manila). Guards have maintained a 24/7 cordon sanitaire around the picketline in violation of the 2011 Guidelines on the Conduct of Security Personnel During Labor Disputes which mandate that police, military and guards should be 50 meters away and not interfere in peaceful picketing. It appears that FCIE wants to starve Jackie and Amer into submission so as to dismantle the picketline.

On the morning of March 27, the union president Jopay Odchimar was prevented by FCIE guards from returning to the picketline to bring food. The guards said that this was upon the orders of FCIE estate manager Raffy Malanyaon and alleged due to the covid quarantine. However, workers continued to go in and out of the FCIE that day as the export processing zone was not shuttered.

After a standoff from morning to afternoon, the union president agreed not to proceed to prevent further argument. That night, FCIE guards stopped water from being given by friends from nearby factories allegedly upon the orders of the estate manager.

This is a clear case of harassment by the FCIE estate manager under the cover of the covid lockdown. Freedom of association and labor rights—including the guidelines on the conduct of security personnel—have not been revoked or suspended just because a quarantine is in effect. From a labor dispute the case has morphed into humanitarian issue.

The labor dispute is due to union busting and also non-payment of 13^th month pay and last salary. For more than four months, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) provincial and regional office has not acted on the clear case of labor standards violation despite undertaking an inspection. The case has dragged on for so long that the covid pandemic and the resulting quarantine has further aggravated the sufferings of the workers.

Sejung Apparel has declared temporary shutdown for three times since October. The first shutdown occurred just one week after the union submitted a collective bargaining proposal and just three weeks after the union won the certification election. Again, the circumstances point to union busting by management. But action by the DOLE has been lacking to protect freedom of association at the export processing zones.

We call on the DOLE to act immediately to bring food and water to Jackie and Amer. Further, we call on FCIE to stop the harassment of the Sejung workers and respect the right to peaceful picketing. ###

April 8, 2020