Martial law was a period of labor militancy not a golden age for workers—labor group

Globe Steel strike in the 1980's. Photo from Rappler

 

On the eve of the 50^th anniversary of the declaration of martial law, the labor group Partido Manggagawa (PM) asserted that the dictatorship era was a period of labor militancy not a golden age for workers.

 

“There was massive discontent by workers during the martial period over low wages, high prices, insecure jobs and employer abuse. In fact, despite repression by police and soldiers under the dictatorship, workers led protests and strikes that broke the white terror of martial law. The struggles of the labor movement would open the way for multi-sectoral rallies that culminated in the ouster of Ferdinand Marcos Sr. in the EDSA people’s uprising. This period is well documented if not well remembered by the present generation,” explained Judy Ann Miranda, PM secretary-general.

 

PM is joining activities by various groups today and tomorrow to commemorate the dark days of martial law and to remember the sacrifices and struggles of workers and other sectors during the dictatorship.

 

“Workers will join students, women and other sectors to a candle-lighting activity at 6:00 p.m. today at the Boy Scout rotunda in Timog Ave., Quezon City. Tomorrow, groups will have a rally at the grounds of the Commission on Human Rights at 9:00 am before marching in the afternoon to the Bantayog ng mga Bayani. We call on our kababayans to hold candle-lighting activities in our homes and communities tomorrow to shine a light on the darkness of authoritarianism and revisionism,” Miranda elaborated.

 

She added that “Immediately after martial law was declared, then President Ferdinand Marcos, Sr. signed General Order No. 5 prohibiting strikes by workers. The American chamber of commerce was one of the first groups to congratulate Marcos on the declaration of martial law. All these reveal the class character of martial law—it was not just to outflank the liberal opposition rivals of Marcos but also to suppress the resistance of the working class to plunder and exploitation.”

 

Miranda insisted that “Contrary to the fake news peddled by social media influencers and amplified by a paid army of trolls, martial law was not a time of happiness for Filipinos nor a period of economic prosperity. A case in point, nutribuns were a response to widespread hunger and malnutrition. However, plunder of the public treasury, theft of debt-financed development projects and crony control of key industries indeed resulted in a golden age for the Marcoses.”

September 20, 2022

DOLE Usec could have helped resolve biggest strike yet--union

Fired DOLE Undersecretary Joel Maglunsod found an ally in the workers of the biggest strikebound factory to date. The Philip Morris Fortune Tobacco Labor Union (PMFTCLU-NAFLU) declared that Maglunsod could have helped resolve the labor dispute at the leading cigarette firm. Maglunsod was dismissed by President Rodrigo Duterte last Tuesday for the series of strikes that have broken out in the last few months.

“Duterte has nobody to blame but himself since his broken promises of ending endo, abolishing regional wages and jailing errant employers are the reasons why workers are launching strikes. Maglunsod has done a good job of trying to resolve the labor disputes. His only sin is making sure that workers are protected as mandated by the Labor Code and Constitution,” averred Rene Magtubo, chair of Partido Manggagawa and former union president of PMFTC.

The week-long strike at the Marikina and Vigan, Ilocos Sur factories of the Philip Morris Fortune Tobacco remains pending as the mediation called by the DOLE-NCMB last Monday ended without any agreement. Management refused the union demand that retrenched workers be reinstated and the mass layoff be reviewed. Another mediation is set on October 10.

“If Usec Joemag were still around, we would definite seek his intervention. Too bad he was a victim of the hunt for Red October, which is really a fairy tale spun by the government to divert attention from the sufferings of the workers and the poor due to inflation, TRAIN and the rice shortage,” declared Rey Almendras, PMFTCLU president.

Workers unrest is rising with a series of labor strikes in recent months and the Philip Morris Fortune Tobacco strike is the biggest yet. The Marikina factory of the leading cigarette firm remains paralyzed since workers walked off the job in the middle of the shift on Friday last week. Picketlines have also been set up in the Vigan, Ilocos Sur redrying plant.

“If the company wants to resume operations then management must reinstate the workers terminated due to the sudden closure of the Vigan redrying plant and the mass layoff at the Marikina factory,” reiterated Almendras.

In August the Lucio Tan Group announced a P3.63 billion total income for the first quarter of this year. Some P2.35B or 65% of the total income of the Lucio Tan Group came from its tobacco business. “The Constitution mandates that workers receive their fair share of the fruits of production. But at PMFTC, retrenchment was the company’s reward for increased labor productivity and workers meeting key performance indicators,” argued Almendras.

PMFTCLU is alleging unfair labor practice over the closure and retrenchment. The union slammed the bad faith and deceit attending the so-called right-sizing plan of management. The group believes that union busting is the real agenda as the non-union sister factory in Sto. Tomas, Batangas just regularized 100 contractual employees. In contrast, the Marikina and Vigan plants are both unionized factories. Moreover, the Vigan plant is now being operated by a new entity but with contractual workers.

Photos of the strike can be accessed at PMFTCLU’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/zpipsamonte/

October 4, 2018

Partido Manggagawa slams Duterte’s tete-a-tete as propaganda

The Duterte-Panelo “talk show” yesterday at Malacañan Palace did not address what workers and the poor desire to hear from the President: tangible solutions to the rising prices of rice and other basic commodities that have impacted negatively on income and the cost of living.

Worse, the President blamed workers strikes for lack of foreign investors. It is such a lame excuse. Investors invest in a country primarily because of profitability and political stability. Moreover, a strike—though a guaranteed workers’ right under the Constitution—is highly regulated by the government. Thus it will not be a major factor to affect the country’s stability and employers’ profitability. In most cases, a strike occurs because of employers’ unfair labor practices and the deprivation of workers’ just share in the fruits of their labor.

The “talk show” was primarily designed to strike back against Trillanes— laying the ground for the government to make the arrest after the Supreme Court referred the latter’s case to the Makati regional trial court. The address was not about arresting problems brought about by runaway inflation.

Moreover, the “talk show” tried to sow fear in the public’s mind based on an imagined destabilization plot against his government. The President by “selling hard” his theory of destabilization plot has exposed his real aim of “an authoritarian rule” in order to effectively govern the country.

We rate the “talk show” as “SPG”: striktong propaganda ng gobyerno. Indeed, as many media practitioners lament: an interview done to a government official by another government official is pure propaganda.

12 September 2018