5/5/2016

LaborDaycry:'Endcontractualization,raisewages'

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PHILIPPINES

Labor Day cry: 'End contractualization, raise wages'

On Labor Day, militant workers call the Aquino administration a 'butcher' of jobs as they
challenge presidential bets to abolish contractualization and raise wages
Voltaire Tupaz
@voltairetupaz
Published 2:42 PM, May 01, 2016
Updated 4:00 PM, May 01, 2016

'BUTCHER' OF JOBS. On May 1, 2016, militant workers and their supporters will converge at various points
in Manila before marching to Mendiola, where they will burn President Benigno Aquino III's efgy, which
depicts him as a "butcher of jobs". Photo by Buhay Manggagawa

MANILA, Philippines Under the searing heat of the sun on Sunday, May 1, militant
workers set re to their last Labor Day efgy of President Benigno Aquino III, which
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depicts the chief executive as a butcher of jobs.

They condemn Aquinos dismal 6-year record on labor marked by "widespread
contractualization and the pressing down of wages, according to Kilusang Mayo Uno
chairperson Elmer Ka Bong Labog.
"Workers basic needs are being neglected, workers basic rights are being violated, and
workers basic dignity is being attacked for big capitalists prots, said Labog.
The plight of 75 dismissed workers of fruit exporter Nakashin Davao International, who
were allegedly urged by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to accept a
P1,000-settlement offered by the Japanese-owned company, reects the condition of
millions of workers across the country, said a local union.
Workers who have worked for 3 years should receive around P5,000 payment for SIL
(service incentive leave). Some of us have worked for 6 years. We can't accept a lower
amount because there is a labor standard. Whats the use of DOLE if it cannot enforce
the labor standards, worse, it it convinces workers to accept substandard benets?
lamented Lester Pillado, president of the Nagkahiusang Mamumuo sa Nakashin
The workers of Nakashin have been picketing the regional ofce of DOLE in Davao. On
Sunday, they will join other workers to press their demands.
Thousands of workers and and advocates of their rights were expected to attended
protests in various parts of the country including Metro Manila, Cordillera, Central
Luzon, Southern Tagalog, Bicol, Eastern Visayas, Central Visayas, Panay, Caraga,
Socsargen, and Southern Mindanao, KMU announced in a statement.
At noon on Sunday, protesters converged at various points in Manila before marching to
Mendiola, where they will burn Aquinos efgy.
On the eve of Labor Day, Aquino hailed the country's workers at home and abroad,
recognizing their contribution to the economy.

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PICKET. Sacked workers of frozen fruit exporter Nakashin Davao International picket DOLE's regional ofce
in Davao City. Photo courtesy of KMU Southern Mindanao

Challenge to the next president

The May 1 protest is also the workers show of force "to push for the realization of
presidentiables promise to end contractualization, and to warn the candidates that the
labor sector will "take to task the next president if he or she fails to carry out his or her
promise on the issue, said Labog.
All presidential candidates vowed to end endo or "end of contract", an alleged practice
of companies by which they hire employees for less than 6 months to avoid being
covered by the labor code requirement to regularize employment after that period. The
1987 Philippine Constitution mandated that the state shall afford full protection to
labor" and workers "shall be entitled to security of tenure, humane conditions of work,
and a living.
Analysts noted that for the rst time in Philippine electoral history, labor
contractualization is a pivotal campaign issue, an opportunity that Filipino workers
would like to seize as they observe International Workers Day. (READ: Can the next
president end contractualization?)
On Sunday, the National Anti-Poverty Commission's Formal Labor and Migrant Workers
(NAPC-FLMW) Sectoral Council, however, urged the candidates to bare their plans on
how they will exactly address the issue.
There is a loophole in our labor laws, which is why many companies have been able to
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get away with legal charges. We need to map out strategies on how to address the
continuously eroding job security of government and private sector employees, said
Edwin Bustillos, sectoral representative of the NAPC-FLMW.
Bustillos also noted that the Security of Tenure Bill "has been languishing in both
houses of congress for such a long time.
Senator Sonny Angara, chairman of the Senate committee on labor, noted that this is a
bit more complex challenge that requires the industry, government, and labor to work
together.
To end contractualization, you need to look at the laws which limit
training/apprenticeships, but at same time provide some degree of security for
workers, Angara told Rappler.
According to Angara, the issue is not only to guarantee full tenure but to ensure that
workers will have recognized credentials and an ability to earn more once they reach
certain levels of training or competence.
Our qualications framework is important because it will give workers something to
look forward to, Angara noted, explaining that "if they are not earning fully while
training, at least they know that if they reach a certain level, they will be guaranteed a
certain position or compensation. Other countries have this, we dont.

ENOUGH? Current wages are less than half of the estimated daily amount of P1,088 needed for a family of
5 to meet their basic necessities, according to data bank IBON. Graphic by Alejandro Edoria

'Family living wage'

The country's unemployment rate has decreased from 6.6% a year ago to 5.8% in
January 2016, based on data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
However, the key challenges of providing decent jobs, attaining higher productivity rates,
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and decreasing the number of working poor have remained unaddressed. (READ:
#AnimatED: Fast growth + slow job creation = inequality)
Three out of 10 employed are either self-employed or unpaid, this includes jeepney
dispatchers, sidewalk vendors and other informal low-paying jobs, said Anakpawis
Representative Fernando Hicap.
At least 7.9 million workers said their wage is inadequate, according to the Labor Force
Survey released in March.
"The current purchasing power of workers daily minimum wage still cannot afford the
governments lowest standard food and non-food needs for a family of 5 to survive,
said Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) president Raymond Mendoza.
The government pegged food and non-food need at P417 a day, but even the current
highest daily minimum wage rate, which is P481, could barely meet the requirement.
Metro Manila has the highest minimum wage rate relative to 16 other regions in the
country, but its real value, according to TUCP, is merely about P316.
Data bank IBON, meanwhile, said that current wages are less than half of the estimated
daily amount of P1,088 needed for a family of 5 to meet their basic necessities.
KMU and allied labor groups are demanding at least a P750-national minimum wage,
which they described as a family living wage. Rappler.com
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PHILIPPINES

P15 minimum wage hike for Metro Manila workers approved

(UPDATED) Starting April 15, the region's minimum wage for workers in the nonagricultural sector is now at P481, and in the agricultural sector at P444
Buena Bernal
@buenabernal
Published 4:27 PM, March 18, 2015
Updated 2:32 PM, March 19, 2015

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