Bagsak na kabuhayan dahil sa nagtaasang presyo, pondong naglalaho

Salamat sa TRAIN, sabi ng mga economic managers ni Pangulong Duterte. Lumaki ng 20% ang tax collection ngayon lamang kalahati ng taong 2018. Salamat sa TRAIN, tumaas ang take-home pay ng mga nakakaangat na uri sa amin. Salamat sa TRAIN, unti-unti na raw mapopondohan ang build, build, build (BBB) projects ng administrasyon.

Pero may narinig na ba kayong mahirap na nagpasalamat sa TRAIN? Wala dahil mahirap magpasalamat sa bagay na siyang nagpapahirap sa atin. Dahil sa TRAIN ay nagtaasan lahat ng presyo ng bilihin at serbisyo. Kaya’t habang sila ay galak na nagpapasalamat dito, tayo ay namumulubi sa perwisyong dala ng pasaning ito.

Kaya isinagasa sa atin ang TRAIN ay para daw mapondohan ang mga programa ng gubyerno. Pero bakit nawala ang pondo sa pabahay ng maralita? Bakit nabawasan din ang pondo sa edukasyon, kalusugan, at iba pang serbisyo? Dahil ba hindi naman ito problema at ayon kay DBM Secretary Ben Diokno, hindi naman magugutom ang mahihirap kung magsisipag lang?

Balikan natin ang pondo sa pabahay. Sa halagang P2.8B para sa housing sector ay walang bagong pabahay na maitatayo. Halos singlaki lang ito ng P2.5B intelligence fund ni Pangulong Duterte. Kaya’t ang mangyayari ngayon ay may pondo ang HUDCC, HGC at NHA para lamang umandar ang kanilang mga opisina at hindi para magtayo ng mga bagong pabahay.

Dahil daw ito sa bagong sistema ng cash-based budgeting. Ang hindi raw marunong gumastos ng pondo sa loob ng isang taon ay hindi bibigyan ng panggastos. Bilyun-bilyon daw kasi ang hindi nagagastos dahil sa bagal ng implementasyon ng mga ahensya ng gubyerno.

Pero bakit maralita ang magdurusa sa kapalpakan ng mga ahensyang ito? Kung umistambay ang NHA sa programang pabahay, ang mga opisyal dapat nito ang tinapyas hindi ang pondo sa pabahay.

Nang magreklamo ang economic managers sa kawalan ng pondong gagamitin sa pederalismo, ang sabi ng Pangulo sa kanila ay gawan ito ng paraan. Pero sa isyu ng pondo sa pabahay, hindi na nag-iisip ng paraan, diretso agad sa tapyasan. Sa madaling salita, magkakaroon ng pondo para itayo ang bahay ng pederalismo pero sa pantayo ng bahay ng maralita, wala.

Huwag natin itong payagan. Mas malaking pondo para sa pabahay at iba pang serbisyo, ipaglaban! Dagdag na buwis labanan! Kaltas sa badyet ng pabahay pigilan!

Alyansa ng Maralitang Pilipino

30 Agosto 2018

Cigarette workers protest at DOLE today as strike nears

Workers of Philip Morris-Fortune Tobacco Corp. (PMFTC) picketed today the Intramuros office of the Department of Labor and Employment while mediation was ongoing between management and the union. Members of the Philip Morris-Fortune Tobacco Corp. Labor Union (PMFTCLU-NAFLU) and their supporters carried placards that said “Job security not redundancy” and “Welga sagot sa tanggalan.”

The union is set to hold a strike vote in a few days. A strike can then be held seven days after a majority of union members vote yes. Yesterday the union held a general assembly in preparation for the strike vote.

The labor dispute at the leading cigarette manufacturer is part of a rising wave of workers unrest. Scores of notices of strike have been filed and strikes are erupting in various companies. This morning, employees of the big Japanese pharmaceutical firm Takeda Healthcare Philippines in Rockwell, Makati went on strike over a deadlock in collective bargaining negotiations.

The leading cigarette manufacturer shut down its Vigan, Ilocos Sur redrying plant affecting 90 workers and also laid off 220 workers (a third of the 600 workforce) at its Marikina factory early this month. In response the union filed notice of strike last August 9 and immediately started protests.

“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. What kind of system is this?,” argued Rene Magtubo, chair of Partido Manggagawa and former president of the Marikina union.

This month 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 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.

“Management told the union that the Vigan plant will be closed and sold to another entity. No other details were given. This raises the suspicion that this is another outsourcing program similar to the contractualization scheme at Philippine Airlines,” declared Gerry Rivera, president of the Philippine Airlines Employees Association (PALEA-TUCP) and head of the newly formed Kapatiran ng mga Unyon at Samahang Manggagawa. Both PALEA and PMFTCLU are members of the Kapatiran.

He declared that “We express support for the fight of PMFTCLU for job security and against union busting. Ang laban ng isa ay laban ng lahat.”

“PMFTC management has been absolutely opaque behind the misnamed right-sizing plan. When management first discussed the plan before the union, they withheld the names of workers affected, they did not disclose how the termination process will proceed and finally they did not give any solid basis for the closure and redundancy. And then just hours after the meeting with the union, management unveiled its surprise gift to unsuspecting workers who were cajoled into signing separation without the presence of union officers who barred from entering the factory,” Magtubo elaborated.

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

28 August 2018

Advisory: Cigarette workers protest at DOLE today, strike nears

Media Advisory

August 28, 2018

Partido Manggagawa

Contact Rene Magtubo @ 09178532905

Cigarette workers protest at DOLE today, strike nears

What: Picket-protest by workers DOLE conducts mediation

When: Today,  August 28, 12:00 noon

Where: DOLE Intramuros

Members of the Philip Morris Fortune Tobacco Labor Union (PMFTCLU-NAFLU) will hold another picket today while the DOLE convenes another mediation hearing.

The union is set to hold a strike vote in a few days. A strike can then be held seven days after a majority of union members vote yes.

The labor dispute at the leading cigarette manufacturer is part of a rising wave of workers unrest. Scores of notices of strike have been filed and strikes are erupting in various companies.

The cigarette company shutdown its Vigan, Ilocos Sur redrying plant affecting 90 workers and also laid off 220 workers (1/3 of some 600 workforce) at Marikina factory three weeks ago.

In response the union filed notice of strike on August 9 and started protests. Yesterday the union held a general assembly to finalize plans for the strike vote.

Management alleges "rightsizing" is due to forthcoming impact of TRAIN and other factors. Union avers shutdown and layoff is attended by bad faith and deceit as the basis and terms of the shutdown and layoff were not subject to negotiation.

Moreover management admitted that the company is profitable and workers have achieved the target key performance indicators. Thus the union is lambasting management for termination as a "reward" for labor productivity.

Some P2.35B or 65% of the P 3.63B total income of the Lucio Tan Group for the first quarter of this year came from its tobacco business.

Photos of the various union protests and activities at https://www.facebook.com/zpipsamonte/. ###

Labor, church groups unite in the “Martsa ng mga Manggagawa” to Mendiola today

The Church-Labor Conference (CLC) comprised of different labor and church groups joined the protest action on National Heroes Day dubbed as Martsa ng Manggagawa at Mamamayan Laban sa Karahasan at Pagbagsak ng Kabuhayan. 

“Filipino workers, our modern day heroes, will condemn the Duterte government, for further legitimizing contractualization, pressing down wages through the TRAIN Law, and violent curtailment of basic trade union and human rights,” asserted Rene Magtubo, chair of Partido Manggagawa and also co-chair of CLC.

The CLC assembled along UST, España at 9:00 am. After holding a short program, the group marched with the contingent from Welcome Rotunda towards Mendiola for the main program. 

“We welcome the solidarity of various church groups and their support for the workers demand for lower prices, higher wages, regular jobs and labor rights in the rally today,” averred Magtubo.

He observed that inflation rose from just 3% last December to more than 6% in Metro Manila since the implementation of TRAIN in January. “In the face of this, wage boards in nine regions gave paltry salaries hikes. Duterte’s promise of abolishing regional wages is just as broken as his end endo pledge,” Magtubo added.

The groups warned the government to heed workers legitimate demands lest it further leads to the escalation of labor unrest. Notices of strikes and actual strikes are on the rise, especially in the last several months.

Workers of the leading cigarette firm Philip Morris Fortune Tobacco Corp. (PMFTC) are on the verge of a strike because of a dispute over the closure of its Vigan, Ilocos Sur redrying plant and the mass layoff at its Marikina factory. Some 90 and 220 workers were affected respectively by the shutdown and retrenchment. After the Martsa ng mga Manggagawa, the PMFTC labor union convened a general assembly this afternoon to unite its membership for a strike vote planned in the next few days.

“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. What kind of system is this?,” argued Magtubo, who is a former president of the Marikina union.

The Lucio Tan Group recently 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 PMFTC labor union 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.

August 27, 2018

Media Advisory: "Martsa ng mga Manggagawa" from UST to Mendiola today

Media Advisory

For 27 August 2018

ThE Church-Labor Conference (CLC) comprised of different labor and church groups will join the protest action on national heroes day dubbed as Martsa Ng Manggagawa at Mamamayan Laban sa Karahasan at Pagbagsak ng Kabuhayan. 

Filipino workers, our modern day heroes, will condemn the Duterte government, for further legitimizing contractualization, pressing down wages through the TRAIN Law, and violent curtailment of basic trade union and human

The CLC will assemble along UST, España at 9am, will hold a short program and will march with the contingent from Welcome Rotunda towards Mendiola for the main program. 

MEDIA COVERAGE IS REQUESTED.

Photo opportunities are available. 

Contact person:

Ka Rene Magtubo

PM Chair and Co-chair for Labor, CLC

Cp number: 0917 853 2905