Workers urge the nation to never forget ‘karahasan at kahirapan’ under martial law

Members of Partido of Manggagawa (PM) joined other human rights defenders under the umbrella of In Defense of Human Rights and Dignity Movement (IDefend) in urging the nation to never forget the atrocities committed under the martial law regime imposed by Ferdinand Marcos, Sr.

 

The call was made during a rally held last night at the People Power Monument in Quezon City on eve of the 51st anniversary of the declaration of Martial Law.

 

But more than the violence and atrocities that continue to persist even under the administration of the son, Ferdinand Marcos, Jr., PM remembers the grueling poverty endured by Filipinos during that dark period, including the rice crisis and the debt problem.

 

"Hindi lang dahas ang mayroon sa ilalim ng diktadura ni Marcos, Sr. at sa administrasyon ni Marcos, Jr. ngayon. Pareho ding may krisis sa bigas sa kanilang panahon," said PM Secretary General Judy Ann Miranda.

 

Miranda added that under the present administration, the cost-of-living crisis is deteriorating faster yet the first family and other top government officials are always seen just enjoying their grand display of wealth and power.

 

“Workers’ wages are eroded by high prices of food and other services, but the President and Vice President’s confidential funds were rising at exponential levels since 2022,” said Miranda.

 

She also lashed out at the way security forces today conduct themselves with impunity, citing as an example the two environmentalist youths who were kidnapped by the military in plain sight.

 

“With these illegal activities being tolerated by the higher ups in the chain of command, including the commander-in-chief, we all must be reminded that our human rights are seriously threatened under another Marcos and another Duterte, thus the need to fight back,” Miranda concluded.

21 September 2023

Kapatiran hits measly wage hike in Calabarzon, denounces price control on wages

Photo from Agence France Press

 

The Kapatiran ng mga Unyon at Samahang Manggagawa or Kapatiran on Friday said the P35-P50 wage increase for Calabarzon areas under Wage Order No. IVA-20 issued last September 1 failed to meet the principal demands for wage recovery and living wage of the wage petitioners in the region which amount ranges from P100 to P750 per day.

 

The increase, which takes effect on September 24, sets the new minimum wage in the region between P385 to P520 for the non-agricultural sector and from P385 to P479 for the agriculture sector.

 

“Kulang ang umentong ito ito kahit para sa isang kilong bigas sa isang araw at ni hindi makababawi sa nawala na at patuloy pang nawawalang halaga ng sahod ng manggagawa sa rehiyon. Sa kabila ng increase, ang tunay na halaga (real wage value) ng minimum wage ngayon sa Region 4-A ay P428.80 lamang,” said Kapatiran Chair Rey Almendras.

 

Almendras also criticized the numerous wage classifications in the region that make enforcement and compliance very complicated, notwithstanding the blanket exemption available for firms employing not more than 10.

 

“Para na ring bigas na may regular, well-milled, at premium na klasipikasyon ang sistema ng pasweldo sa bansa dahil kahit nasa iisang kalagayan lamang sa buhay ang mga manggagawa sa isang rehiyon ay magkakaiba ang halaga ng kanilang sweldo,” lamented Almendras.

 

Kapatiran argued that the wage hike in Calabarzon, and earlier the P40 in NCR, mirror the structural defects of the prevailing wage system in the country under RA 6727 where the financial health of employers is given more importance than the workers’ capacity to live and their right to a rising standard of living.

 

“Kung mayroon mang hindi makatwiran at mapang-abusong price control na ipinatutupad sa bansa noon pa man, hindi ito ang P41-P45 per kilo na ipinapataw ngayon sa presyo ng bigas kundi sa presyo at tamang pasweldo sa mga manggagawa,” bewailed Almendras, pointing to how the economic managers justifies the price caps on rice today but objecting to wage hikes because it would do more harm on the economy.

 

Kapatiran fears the NCR and Calabarzon wage orders will become the template for other regions, thus, the need to shift to battle for a legislated wage hike and reforms in the wage-setting mechanisms in the country.

 

Pending before Congress are the P150-P750 wage hike bills. Senators, including Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri, vowed to pass the measure while the House of Representatives has yet to conduct hearings on the pending wage hike bills.

PRESS RELEASE

KAPATIRAN (Kapatiran ng mga Unyon at Samahang Manggagawa)

08 September 2023

Reforms demanded in wake of deadly QC factory fire

Photo from Inquirer.net

 

The labor group Partido Manggagawa (PM) called for stronger labor enforcement and labor inspection in response to the deadly industrial fire at a small garment factory in Quezon City. The fire in the early morning of Thursday last week at MGC Wearhouse Inc. killed 15 people, 12 of whom were stay-in workers.

 

"Heads must roll and justice must be served for the needless deaths and injuries to workers,” insisted Renato Magtubo, PM chairperson.

 

PM lambasted employers for cutting corners in occupational safety in order to raise profits and the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) for the lax implementation of labor and safety standards. The deaths of MGC workers recall the Kentex factory fire which killed 74 people, the country’s worst industrial tragedy. Further, over the years workers have also been killed or injured in several construction sites amidst the current real estate boom.

 

“While capitalists were scrimping on protection for workers and DOLE was sleeping on its job of enforcement, workers are dying in the workplace,” Magtubo elaborated.

 

He averred that “Accidents are not acts of divine providence that can be dismissed as unavoidable. Instead, accidents are the result of unsafe acts and therefore preventable by strict enforcement of occupational safety and health and labor standards.”

 

“We propose that the DOLE deputize labor leaders as labor inspectors. In so doing the number of inspectors and inspections can be increased several fold overnight, enforcement can be strengthened immediately, and workers' lives and limbs can be saved,” Magtubo recommended.

 

He noted that the DOLE’s “Labor Laws Compliance System” (LLCS) inaugurated in 2013 and the hike in the number of labor inspectors to almost 600 is still not working. An audit by the International Labor Organization in 2009 revealed that with only 193 labor inspectors to inspect 784,000 companies, an establishment gets inspected only once every 16 years.

 

“A big loophole in the so-called LLCS is the focus on ‘voluntary compliance’ and ‘self-assessment’ by employers. Voluntary compliance and self-assessment mean that the government is asking the wolf to guard the sheep. No wonder the sheep gets slaughtered,” Magtubo criticized.

 

He added that “The DOLE has again been caught sleeping on the job. DOLE must check firms for compliance not just with safety regulations but labor standards such as payment of minimum wages and benefits, observance of working hours and remittance of social security among others. Non-unionized workers are among the most overworked yet underpaid since they do not have the protection of an organization.”

Press Release

September 4, 2023

Economic managers moonlighting as employers’ spokespersons—labor group

 

The labor group Partido Manggagawa (PM) slammed National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Secretary Arsenio Balisacan and Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno for “moonlighting as employers’ spokespersons” with their doomsday predictions about a P150 legislated wage hike is approved by Congress.

 

“Employers Confederation of the Philippines President Sergio R. Ortiz-Luis, Jr. also warned of job losses, price hikes and economic slowdown if wages are raised. Government’s economic managers and employers’ representatives are both painting the same apocalyptic scenarios without any substantiation,” stated Rene Magtubo, PM spokesperson and Marikina City councilor.

 

He added that “Our own economic modelling shows that salary increases will have an insignificant impact on both employment and inflation contrary to Balisacan and Diokno’s claims. Empirical studies for other countries also show similar results.”

 

PM cited that Indonesia, which is similarly situated as the Philippines as a middle-income country with a large informal economy, raised wages by some 50% in 2011 and 2012 without negative effects on prices, employment and GDP. In comparison, a P150 wage hike redounds to just a 25% boost in the minimum wage in Metro Manila.

 

“Raising wages improves living standards and has a secondary effect of increasing worker motivation and morale and thus labor productivity. Further, salary hikes in the formal sector also increases incomes in the informal economy through the so-called lighthouse effect. That is, the rise in formal sector wages signal to the rest of economic actors what a socially acceptable income should be. Finally, Balisacan’s own NEDA admits that GDP growth in the Philippines is primarily driven by household consumption and thus increasing the purchasing power of workers will have a positive effect on the economy,” Magtubo explained.

 

He furthered that “Balisacan and Diokno conveniently forget that government’s own data confirm that from 2001 to 2016, real wages were stagnant but labor productivity grew by 50% while GDP doubled. In other words, the economic pie expanded but the slice given to workers remained the same and employers monopolized all the growth. Why are they silent on this?”

 

PM contended that the P150 legislated wage hike seeks mainly to recover the lost value of workers’ wages and not yet to partake of the increased labor productivity. “Even a P150 will not raise workers’ wages to the level of a living wage, which today stands at around P1,300 per day and increasing due to unabated inflation,” Magtubo insisted.

Press Release

August 17, 2023

Adidas and Sports City should be up front about the reason for the closure of Mactan Apparel

 Workers rejoinder to the response of brand and supplier   

We call on the global brand Adidas and one of its tier-1 suppliers, Sports City, to be up front to the workers about the reason for the closure of Mactan Apparel and its two printing facilities. At the very least, transparency is the foundation for corporate social responsibility.

 

We demand honesty from Adidas and Sports City since it is as clear as day that they contradict each other in their separate replies to inquiries from the Business and Human Rights Resource Center. Adidas claims that the closures are due to the decision of Sports City to consolidate its supply chain in the Philippines. Meanwhile Sports City alleges that the shutdown was prompted by the supply chain consolidation of its buyer. In sum, nobody wants to accept responsibility for a decision that led to the loss of livelihood of some 4,000 workers. So, what is the real score?

 

Corporate social responsibility dictates that brands and suppliers must be transparent to workers who have been loyally making their garments and producing profit for the companies.