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Issue Highlights
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04-23-2010 PAL union holds new protest vs. mass layoff of 3,000 workers |
Press Release
April 23, 2010 PAL union holds new protest vs. mass layoff of 3,000 workers Philippine Airlines employees will hold a new motorcade today against the planned layoff of an estimated 3,000 employees by May 31. The motorcade will start at 10:30 a.m. at the Department of Labor and Employment office in Intramuros then proceed to the PAL Center at the PNB Compound along Diosdado Macapagal Ave., then move on to the PAL In Flight Center along Airport Road and then end at the Nichols terminal. “The fight against mass layoffs in PAL continues,” declared Gerry Rivera, president of the PAL Employees Association (PALEA) and vice-chairperson of Partido ng Manggagawa (PM). The protests started last Monday with more than 200 employees participating in a motorcade of 100 motorcycles and cars. “PAL is propagating the myth that the jobs to be spun off are non-core units. But how can passenger airlines function without ground crew that handles ticketing reservations, cargo handling and in flight catering? These are jobs that are essential to PAL’s smooth and safe operation, or in the language of the labor code, work that is necessary and desirable to the principal business of the company,” Rivera insisted. |
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04-22-2010 Workers slam midnight appointment of GMA manicurist to Pag-IBIG board |
Press Release
April 22, 2010 Workers slam midnight appointment of GMA manicurist to Pag-IBIG board The labor party-list Partido ng Manggagawa (PM) slammed President Gloria Arroyo’s appointment of her personal manicurist, a certain Anita Carpon, as government employees’ representative to the Board of Trustees of the Pag-IBIG Fund. “This is another controversial midnight appointment and an example of GMA planting loyal people to key positions in government as she vacates Malacañang,” declared Renato Magtubo, PM chairperson. Magtubo explained that “We do not criticize Carpon’s appointment because she is a lowly manicurist. Even an ordinary worker deserves to sit in important posts in government such as administering the state housing fund. But we doubt Carpon will represent the interests of public sector workers because she owes a debt of gratitude to GMA and because of their personal relation.” Magtubo was a congressman for 12 years while remaining a factory worker in the Fortune Tobacco plant in Marikina. PM called on public sector labor groups to name government workers who they believe deserve to be state employees’ representative in the Pag-IBIG board. “Is there no one among a million government employees who can represent their interests in Pag-IBIG but does have a personal relation with GMA? It is not difficult to believe that Carpon will just be used by GMA so she can dip her hand in the P200 billion fund of workers in the private and public sector,” Magtubo asked. |
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04-21-2010 Mass layoff sparks labor unrest in Cavite export zone |
Press Release
April 21, 2010 Mass layoff sparks labor unrest in Cavite export zone A planned mass layoff of 450 workers, about half of the total workforce of a factory in the Cavite Economic Zone, has pushed its employees to form a union and file a case with the Labor Department. Workers of Dyna Image Corp. Phils., an electronics export firm owned by Chinese foreigners, trooped yesterday afternoon to the National Conciliation and Mediation Board-RAB IV in Imus, Cavite to file for preventive mediation of cases of illegal retrenchment and harassment. Dyna Image will layoff the workers by May 10 and is offering them 13 days per year of service in separation pay. The company declared that the dismissal is to prevent losses due to the financial crisis. “But if the company is suffering difficulties, why is production in full blast and workers required to do overtime work,” questioned Virgielita Morite, president of the newly certified Samahan ng Manggagawa sa Dyna Image Corp. Phils. Out of 933 total workers, 229 are already members of the union and more are signing up according to Morite. She alleges that management forced workers to sign papers giving consent to the termination. Morite added that “But the fact that workers organized a union show that they do not agree to the layoff and we suspect that they will just replace regular workers with contractual agency workers.” |
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04-19-2010 PAL union hold motorcade vs. planned layoff of 3,000 employees |
Press Release
April 19, 2010 PAL union hold motorcade vs. planned layoff of 3,000 employees Philippine Airlines (PAL) employees held a motorcade today in protest at a massive retrenchment to be implemented on May 31. An estimated 3,000 employees, more than half of the total PAL workforce, will be laid off due to the closure of the in flight catering services, airport services (which includes ground, cargo and ramp handling) and call center reservations including all support units. The motorcade of some 40 cars and motorcycles started around 11:30 am at the PAL Center located at the PNB Compound along the Diosdado Macapagal Ave. in Pasay City. The motorcade moved on to Nichols airport terminal then onto the PAL In Flight Center (IFC) along Airport Road in Paranaque and finally ended at the Terminal 3 of the airport. Gerry Rivera, newly elected president of the PAL Employees Association (PALEA) and vice-chairperson of the party-list Partido ng Manggagawa (PM), said that “Spinoff aims to outsource work to companies also owned by Lucio Tan where workers will be non-union and thus receive cheaper wages, fewer benefits and have no security of tenure. Regular workers will be retired and then rehired as contractuals. This has happened before when work was spun off to Lufthansa Technik and Macro Asia, in which Lucio Tan both had major interests. Employees retrenched from PAL because of the spinoff were employed by Macro Asia and Lufthansa Technik on new contracts.” |
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04-19-2010 Workers slam employers’ opposition to P75 wage hike |
Press Release
April 19, 2010 Workers slam employers’ opposition to P75 wage hike The labor party-list Partido ng Manggagawa (PM) denounced the employers’ opposition to the P75 wage hike in a hearing called today by the NCR wage board. PM members picketed the hearing at the Occupational Health and Safety Center in Quezon City at 1:00 pm today and called the employers’ arguments as “black propaganda and blackmail.” Renato Magtubo, PM chairperson, stated that “A salary increase is again being rejected as inimical to the economy on grounds that it will lead to a spiral in prices, the bankruptcy of companies and a host of other horror stories.” The hearing today is already the second in a series being called by the wage board in Metro Manila. In the first hearing last April 8 that was attended by the labor sector, PM expressed support for the P75 wage petition. In a position paper read at the hearing, Magtubo argued that “The threat of bankruptcies due to the wage increase is all lies. The truth is that capitalists just don’t want their profits decreased.” |
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04-08-2010 Position Paper on the P75 Wage Petition |
Position Paper
April 8, 2010 Position Paper on the P75 Wage Petition (Filipino version at the end) The Partido ng Manggagawa supports the P75 wage petition filed by the TUCP. Its basis is rock solid. Inflation has truly eroded the purchasing power of workers in the almost two years since the last wage order in June 2008. And price hikes in the coming months should indeed be factored into any computation of the wage increase. From the point of views of workers, a P75 wage hike is both appropriate and just. But a salary increase will always be rejected as inimical to the economy on grounds that it will lead to a spiral in prices, the bankruptcy of companies and a host of other horror stories. But such is only so much black propaganda and blackmail. Why should we be afraid of additional money circulating in the economy due to a wage hike when billions of dollars in remittances entering the country is always applauded? If the stronger purchasing power of OFW families is a positive factor in the economy then should not the same thing hold for more money in the hands of workers which we will use to buy the necessities of life? A wage hike will be good for the workers and will also be beneficial to the economy because it will spur the production of more goods and provision of more services. We seek to emphasize, the labor movement stands as one body and speaks with one voice in favor of a wage hike. The differences arise only because of the nagging question—will the NCR wage board approve of the P75 wage petition? |
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