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?

Alyansa ng Maralitang Pilipino
Press Release
March 1, 2010

Land dispute in Parañaque escalates as community burned to ground

The land dispute at the depressed community of Palasan continues to escalate as the remaining houses were burned to the ground for the second time yesterday. More than 20 residents and their supporters were also arrested yesterday for resisting the demolition and detained in the Parañaque police precinct along Coastal Road in Brgy. La Huerta. The labor party-list Partido ng Manggagawa slammed the demolition as not just illegal but inhuman.

For the third time in two weeks, leaders of the Palasan Neighborhood Association together with scores of supporters among the Parañaque affiliates of Alyansa ng Maralitang Pilipino (AMP)—a network of urban poor organizations in Metro Manila, Southern Tagalog and Central Luzon—and the labor party-list Partido ng Manggagawa (PM) marched at 9:00 a.m. on the city hall of Paranaque to seek a dialogue with Mayor Florencio “Jun” Bernabe. Early this morning protesters picketed the police precinct were the Palasan residents and their supporters were detained.

“The demolition is illegal because there no order of demolition has been issued by any court.  Moreover the eviction is very inhuman. They did not just use heavy equipment but also put our houses on fire. Finally they arrested us like terrorists. But fighting for rights and defending our homes is not a crime,” explained Rodrigo Bautista, president of the Palasan Neighborhood Association.

Appeal for Solidarity
February 23, 2010

Appeal for Solidarity for the Alta Mode Workers Struggle

The embattled workers of Alta Mode Inc., a garments factory in the Mactan Economic Zone (MEZ) II and subcontractor for global brands such as Abercrombie & Fitch, are appealing for support and solidarity from fellow workers, the broad public and even concerned candidates running in the elections.

Since February 15, 2010, they have protested outside the main gates of the MEZ II, one of the biggest export zones in the Philippines, after they were refused entry and not allowed to go to work. The following day, they set up camp at the MEZ gates in order to oblige the Alta Mode management to dialogue with the union. But the very next day, security guards of Acoland, lessor of the MEZ II, tried unsuccessfully to force them out of the export zone that is built on privately-owned land.

AMWU is demanding that they return to work and for management to establish to the workers the alleged financial losses of the company. The workers though have proof through Alta Mode’s own financial statements for years 2007 to 2008 that management’s claims of monetary losses are lies. AMWU accuses the company of closing the factory in order to bust the union.

This is the reason management adamantly refuses to hold a dialogue with the workers about the supposed losses. All the workers have received was a written notice about the closure. Since the picket line was set up, no one from Alta Mode management has faced the workers. Management even boycotted the mediation hearings called by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).