JOBHUNT Job seekers look for potential employers during a job fair held at Marikina City Hall on Saturday. Twenty-eight private companies participated in the event organized by the city hall before Labor Day, on May 1st. CHILD JESUS ORBETA
MANILA, Philippines — The Nagkaisa labor coalition on Saturday urged President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to schedule a meeting soon with labor leaders as the country marks May 1 Labor Day, noting a “worrying pattern” of lack of such dialogue with workers two years into his presidency.
In a statement, Nagkaisa president and Free Workers Federation president Sonny Matula also noted repeated requests from labor leaders to hold a meeting with Marcos.
READ: Marcos extends contracts for temporary public servants
Matula said he wrote to Labor Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma to facilitate such a meeting even after Labor Day.
“It has come to our attention that, once again, there is no scheduled dialogue between the labor groups and Marcos, despite several requests from us over the last two years,” said the union leader.
“The lack of dialogue with the President has been a worrying pattern that can no longer be ignored. As we celebrate Labor Day, it is essential that [our] Significant concerns are addressed directly with President Marcos to ensure effective representation and advancement of workers’ rights and well-being,” he added.
Among the “critical issues” facing workers, Matula said, are the proposed P150 legislated wage increase, challenges regarding job security and freedom of association.
Business groups have argued against the viability of a legislated wage increase – whether the P100 proposed by the Senate or the P450 proposed by the House of Representatives – citing its impact on small and medium-sized businesses.
The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) on Friday criticized the Department of Labor and Employment (Dole) for emphasizing the 50th anniversary of the Labor Code of the Philippines in the government's upcoming Labor Day celebration.
Meanwhile, “ordinary workers work in suffocating heat, in worsening traffic, in miserable wages, amidst the high cost of food and services, not to mention the rapid disappearance of space for freedom of association and collective bargaining”, he stated. the group in a statement.
The Labor Code was issued in 1974 by Marcos' father and namesake as Presidential Decree No. 442.
The TUCP said the historic directive would now be “scandalized by the condescending memorial presentation” by Dole, rather than using the occasion of Labor Day to allow workers' voices to be heard by the President.
“It is in the spirit of ongoing social dialogue that the TUCP is perplexed by the lack of labor dialogue, even just once a year on May Day,” the group said. “It has been two years in the president’s administration [Marcos]and there was no defined labor dialogue even at the scheduled Labor Day celebration in Malacañang this year.”
“So we asked Dole, 'What is there to celebrate and remember on the 122nd Labor Day?' Celebrating Labor Day would be an empty ritual without addressing or even listening to the pleas of struggling workers,” the TUCP said.
He also warned that the closure of the labor sector could make the President's proposal to the international community that the Philippines should be an investment destination unfeasible, considering that foreign trade and investments are inextricably linked to the clear and categorical observance of international labor standards.
'Positive' activities
For the celebration of the Labor Code to truly be worthwhile, the TUCP said the government should also highlight the state policy stated in the 1987 Constitution on protecting labour, ensuring equal employment opportunities and improving employer-worker relations , while promoting social justice.
Laguesma said on Friday that the government's main Labor Day celebration will be held in Malacañang to commemorate the anniversary of the signing of the Labor Code. A commemorative stamp will also be released for the occasion.
Another program of the Palace celebration will be the recognition of outstanding workers through the Torre Awards (The Best Workers of the Republic).
A memorandum of understanding between Dole, other departments and the municipal government of Tanay, Rizal will also be signed regarding the construction of the Workers' Rehabilitation Center for workers with disabilities or work-related injuries.
Teachers' demands
Laguesma said job fairs, distribution of livelihood programs and emergency employment payments are among other “positive” government activities that will mark Labor Day.
“Traditionally, Labor Day is marked by rallies and airing of grievances. But there is a time for that. In the government's view, especially on the part of Dole, it is an important day where we must present positive events that we can present to workers, and we will highlight and expand Dole's services with the other departments,” he said at a news conference on Friday. fair.
Meanwhile, the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) on Friday held a “national day of action” protest at the Scout Circle in Quezon City to demand that the Marcos administration heed the teachers’ call for better working conditions.
At the top of their demands is a substantial increase in the monthly starting salary of teachers to P50,000 and an increase in the national minimum wage for all workers to P33,000.
In a statement, ACT president Vladimer Quetua said: “It is not true that the government cannot fund our call for [a salary increase].”
Unable to save your signature. Please try again.
Your subscription was successful.
“We saw how billions of [pesos of] public funds were used to implement the proposal to amend the Charter and to intensify military exercises with the US, instead of meeting the demands for fair and decent wages and allocating sufficient funds for education and basic social services,” he said he. —WITH A REPORT FROM KATHLEEN DE VILLA
