PNoy gets ‘bokya’ mark from labor groups

MANILA, Philippines – Thousands of workers under the Nagkaisa labor coalition on Wednesday, May 1 gave a “bokya” or zero mark to President Benigno Aquino III in a protest march to Mendiola.

The coalition, which includes groups of various persuasions such as the leftist Alliance of Progressive Labor (APL) and Partido Manggagawa (PM) to the moderate Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) and the Federation of Free Workers (FFW), said the President doesn’t seem to appreciate the workers’ need for job security.

They slammed the President’s decision to reject their demand to certify as urgent a security of tenure bill and another measure that seeks to raise tax exemptions on certain benefits for Filipino workers.

During a pre-Labor Day celebration in Malacañang Tuesday, April 30, Aquino explained that he can only certify bills that respond to public calamities or emergencies. Aquino added that only 1.8 million would benefit from the security of tenure bill while an estimated 10 million Filipinos could lose their jobs if it is approved.

But Rene Magtubo, chairperson of Partido Manggagawa, said Aquino doesn’t get it. Because of the widespread hiring of contractual or temporary labor, Filipino workers need more job security, Magtubo said.

Manny Gan, a former customer service agent of Philippine Airlines, recalled how he was sacked from his job after 24 years of service. He narrated how he used to leave his family for work even during bad weather.

“We were very loyal to them and they sacked us with no warning,” he said. Gan continues to participate in Labor Day protests to continue fighting for job security and against unemployment.

Arnel Dolendo, chairperson of the Philippine Trade and General Workers, agreed with Magtubo, adding that more and more companies now resort to hiring contractual workers. This means that workers are dismissed on their 6th month of service. Contractual employees are not covered by basic benefits mandated by law.

Aquino however proposed long-term measures to address workers demand, saying that he will hire more Labor Law compliance workers to crack down on the abusive practice of renewing contracts every 5 months and amend the Social Security System (SSS) pension scheme.

Josephine Rañada, employee of an electronic company in Bataan, asked the government for a “living wage” to sustain her basic necessities in the province. Rañada explained how it is unfair for ordinary workers to living on minimum wage while everything else costs more. “We experience the lack of labor protection even in central Luzon,” Rañada said.

Senatorial bets present

With the elections coming up in 12 days, senatorial bets from Team PNoy and the United Nationalist Alliance were present in the protest. Among the candidates who joined the march were Team PNoy bets Risa Hontiveros, Alan Peter Cayetano, and Jamby Madrigal. Also spotted were Ricardo Penson, Bro. Eddie Villanueva, and UNA’s JV Ejercito-Estrada.

Nagkaisa claims to be the largest nationwide coalition of labor organizations composed of 250,000 unionists.

The coalition includes APL, PM, TUCP, FFW, the  Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino (BMP), Manggagawa para sa Kalayaan ng Bayan (Makabayan), the labor centers National Confederation of Labor (NCL) and SENTRO, the Caucus of Independent Unions (CIU), Philippine Government Employees Association (PGEA), Public Services Labor Independent Confederation (PSLINK), ang others. – Rappler.com