Partido Manggagawa (PM)

By opting not to issue an EO and instead leaving it to Congress to address widespread contractualization of labor that has destroyed workers’ security of tenure and their exercise of other fundamental rights to form unions and collectively bargain, PDigong has effectively reneged on his campaign promise to end endo.

Ang EO ay naging ping pong. Sa halip na tuparin ang kanyang pangako, parang bola lang ito na ipinasa niya sa kongreso kung saan higit na malakas ang impluwensiya ng mga kapitalista at mga kakampi nito.

The move of Duterte to inhibit himself from exercising his executive powers to prohibit contractualization will send the wrong signal to members of Congress, who, for the last two years, were waiting for a clear policy guidance from the President on the issue of endo.

He made workers wait for more than two years, only to end up at the doorsteps of Congress begging for a stricter version of anti-contractualization bills.

Binigo ni PDigong ang mga manggagawa na bumoto sa kanya dahil sa kanyang pangakong wakasan ang kontraktwalisasyon. Inilantad ni PDigong ang tunay niyang papanigan sa pagitan ng interes ng manggagawa at kapitalista.

But the fight is not yet over. This only proves that the force of reason does not prevail in favor of labor as there are much powerful forces like the employers and their organizations that can sway the decision of the President.

We call on all labor groups to close rank, launch protest actions and convert the Labor Day commemoration as national day of workers indignation and protest.

Nagkaisa Labor Coalition
April 20, 2018

Media Advisory

April 20, 2018

Partido Manggagawa

Contact Judy Ann Miranda @ 09228677522

Women and youth to protest vs DTI, ECOP pro-endo lobby

WHAT: 100 working class women and youth to rally vs DTI, ECOP

WHEN: April 23 (Monday), 9:30 am

WHERE: Offices of DTI (Trade and Industry Bldg) then ECOP (ECC Bldg) near Buendia cor Makati Ave., Assembly at Petron gas station

DETAILS:

Some 100 women and youth members of Partido Manggagawa (PM) will lead a protest against the DTI and ECOP for their pro-endo lobby and scare tactics against regular jobs. The protest comes after the announcement of Malacanang that President Duterte is not signing an EO to make direct hiring the norm in employment.

Women members of PM will lambast DTI for its anti-worker and anti-consumer position of promoting contractualization instead of regulating the continuous increase in prices of basic commodities in the wake of the passage of the TRAIN law.

Members of PM-Kabataan (PMK) will also slam ECOP for the proliferation of endo jobs for graduates. With some 600,00 graduates about to enter the labor force, PMK is raising a red flag as the World Bank recently released a report about the lack of quality jobs in the country and the worsening inequality as a result. PMK is likewise questioning ECOP for the Jobstreet data that only 24% of employers are willing to hire K-12 graduates. ###

A notice of strike has been filed again by workers of a garments factory in the Cavite ecozone in response to the mass termination of 16 union officers. The strike notice was filed yesterday by the union at the Dong Seung Inc., a Korean-owned apparel manufacturer inside the Cavite Economic Zone, the country’s biggest government-run export processing estate.

“The firing of all 16 union officers, including the union president, is just the latest in a series of union busting moves by management. Moreover it is a maneuver done in bad faith as the union just withdrew a notice of strike earlier filed. The retraction of the strike was part of an agreement mediated by the Labor Department wherein workers will be accepted back to work after an investigation by management,” explained Dennis Sequena, coordinator of Partido Manggagawa (PM), which is assisting the Dong Seung workers.

PM announced that a big rally of some 1,000 workers is to be held on April 28 at the Cavite ecozone to protest the union busting at Dong Seung and other factories.

Sequena declared that “Tama na. Sobra na. Oras na para igalang ang karapatang mag-unyon para mapabuti ang kalagayan ng mga manggagawa. Workers in the Cavite ecozone are organizing to improve their wages and working conditions but the response of companies is to bust unions and harass workers.”

The Dong Seung union officers were served notices of termination in their houses by an HR officer of the company last Thursday. They were supposed to back to work yesterday as part of the agreement. The original strike notice was caused by the one-month suspension of the 16 union officers.

The union had filed a petition for certification elections in the company last December. Immediately after, the union alleged that management started harassing officers and members. Unionists were denied loans or were forced to withdraw support for the union in return for access to loans. Union leaders were transferred to different production lines and a union officer was demoted from mechanic to sewer.

Then in the latter part of March, management suspended for 30 days all union officers on the pretext that they smeared the company by seeking action from the factory customers regarding violations of freedom of association and labor standards.

Dong Seung produces garments for global brands Macy’s and Ann Taylor. The company is owned by the Korean multinational Suy Co. which also owns LS Phils. and Lee & Choi in the Cavite ecozone and other factories in Indonesia, Vietnam and Guatemala.

April 21, 2018

(Photo from Rappler)

The youth group Partido Manggagawa-Kabataan (PMK) expressed concern at the lack of jobs awaiting the hundreds of thousands of new graduates this year. Tomorrow, PMK is holding a protest at the offices of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP) to highlight its call for decent jobs for young workers.

“Are there enough jobs for 600,000 college graduates and thousands more of K-12 graduates immediately entering the labor force? Further, are there decent jobs awaiting them or just more of the usual endo work?,” asked Rea Foliente of PMK.

PMK is the youth wing of the militant Partido Manggagawa. PM is among the labor groups active in the campaign to end contractualization and has criticized President Rodrigo Duterte for his refusal to sign an EO to make direct hiring the norm in employment relations.

PMK is raising a red flag as the World Bank recently released a report about the lack of quality jobs in the country and the worsening inequality as a result. The group is likewise questioning ECOP for the Jobstreet data that only 24% of employers are willing to hire K-12 graduates.

Foliente insisted that “In 2016, 78% of the jobless were 15 to 34 years old. Half of them were aged 24 years old or below. A diploma is no antidote to unemployment as 34% of the unemployed had actually gone to college and 20% were college graduates!”

She added that “The youth challenge the DTI and ECOP to show us the numbers. How many graduates can be absorbed in the labor force? And will the work be regular or dead-end contractual jobs in agencies?”

“Another employers organization, the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry earlier questioned that the minimum number of hours required of senior high school students are not enough to train and qualify them for entry-level work,” Foliente explained.

Some 100 PMK and women members of PM together with contingents from the Philippine Airlines Employees Association (PALEA) and Philip Morris Fortune Tobacco Labor Union will join the protest tomorrow against the DTI and ECOP for their pro-endo lobby and scare tactics against regular jobs. The rally comes after the announcement of Malacanang that President Duterte is not signing an EO to make direct hiring the norm in employment.

Foliente cited the International Labour Organization (ILO) report titled “Global Employment Trends for Youth 2017: Paths to a better working future,” that stated that youth unemployment rate for Southeast Asia and the Pacific is seen to rise from 11.7 percent in 2016 to 12 percent in 2017, and to 12.2 percent in 2018.

April 22, 2018

Partido Manggagawa-Kabataan

Women and youth members of the militant Partido Manggagawa (PM) trooped this morning to the offices of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP) to protest their pro-endo lobby. “Instead of taming inflation to protect consumers, DTI Sec. Ramon Lopez, has been promoting endo to advance the interests of capitalists,” stated Judy Ann Miranda, PM Secretary General.

Some 100 PMK and women members of PM together with a contingent from the newly formed Kapatiran ng mga Unyon at Samahang Manggagawa joined the picket today against the DTI and ECOP for their “blackmail against regular jobs.” The rally comes after DTI and ECOP’s statements that ending endo will scare investors and the announcement of Malacanang that President Duterte is not signing an EO to make direct hiring the norm in employment.

“DTI has been so busy conspiring with capitalists against the workers’ campaign versus endo while prices have steadily increased since the TRAIN law was implemented this year. The 3.6% average inflation for the first quarter of 2018 is the highest in four years. Further, monthly inflation has moved from 2.9% in December 2017 to 3.4% in January 2018 then onto 3.8% this February and 4.3% last March. Thus the trend is go beyond 4.3% as the months go by this year,” Miranda explained.

Meanwhile the youth group Partido Manggagawa-Kabataan (PMK) expressed concern at the lack of jobs awaiting the hundreds of thousands of new graduates this year. “There are not enough jobs for the 600,000 college graduates and thousands more of K-12 graduates. Even worse, endo jobs not decent work awaits young workers entering the labor force,” asserted Kimberly Dolojo, a PUP student and a PMK spokesperson.

Gerry Rivera of the Kapatiran ng mga Unyon at Samahang Manggagawa, whose rationale is to foster solidarity among workers in struggle, declared that “President Rodrigo Duterte has betrayed the workers and surrendered to the employers lobby for his refusal to sign an EO to make direct hiring the norm in employment relations. The massive labor unity rally on Labor Day will be a nationwide expression of indignation against the government’s endo policy.”

Dolojo insisted that “In 2016, 78% of the jobless were 15 to 34 years old. Half of them were aged 24 years old or below. A diploma is no antidote to unemployment as 34% of the unemployed had actually gone to college and 20% were college graduates!”

Photos of the rally can be accessed at PM’s FB page: https://www.facebook.com/partidomanggagawa

April 23, 2018

It’s chicha, hindi chacha. For three consecutive years now, working class issues such as wage hike, controlling inflation, reducing poverty and job creation remained as Filipinos top concerns while charter change or chacha just hang around to be the least.

In reaction to this news, the labor group Partido Manggagawa (PM) said: “The pervasiveness of poverty as a result of low wages, high prices of goods and services, unemployment and lack of quality jobs cannot be swept under the rug by a more sensational war on drugs, the ambitious plan to build-build-build, or by shifting our form of government into federalism.”

Yesterday dozens of PM members among workers, women and youth led a picket at the Department of Trade and Industry office in Makati to assail government's inaction on inflation and its pro-endo policy. The protest was a buildup to the massive labor unity mobilization planned on May 1 to push for workers' demands such as regular jobs and a living wage.

According to PM chair Renato Magtubo, poverty concerns had always been in need of immediate action and unless addressed in a holistic manner, these issues will continue to hound any administration.

“Ang mas kailangan ng mga Pilipino ay chicha, hindi chacha,” said Magtubo, adding that the failure of President Duterte and his Congress to stop contractualization, abolish the regional wage boards, and to control the rising prices of goods and services due to the imposition of new taxes will always’s be viewed by the working class as a regression rather than an improvement in their quality of life.

Chicha is a Filipino slang for food, but for the labor group, its meaning expands to other rights and entitlements that enable workers to raise their standard of living.

The most recent Ulat sa Bayan report by Pulse Asia revealed that the first three concerns remained to be the issues that most Filipinos want the Duterte administration to address. The survey conducted between March 23-28, 2018 showed that wage hike, controlling inflation and reducing poverty were the top three concerns while charter change landed last in the list with only 3% of Filipinos demanding immediate action for it from the President.

Survey respondents were asked by Pulse Asia the following questions:

“Sa mga sumusunod na isyung pambansa, pakisabi ang tatlong isyung dapat aksyunan agad ng administrasyon ni Presidente Rodrigo R. Duterte. Maari kayong magbanggit ng iba pa na wala sa listahan. Alin po ang unang isyung dapat aksyunan agad ng kasalukuyang administrasyon? Ano ang pangalawa? Ano ang Pangatlo?”

Magtubo said the same sentiments will surely be expressed by workers who will be mobilizing themselves nationwide in the coming Labor Day celebration.

April 24, 2018

In response to the latest survey on people's concerns, the militant labor group Partido Manggagawa (PM) today called on the administration to drop charter change and shift it focus to poverty eradication.

“The pervasiveness of poverty as a result of low wages, high prices of goods and services, unemployment and lack of quality jobs cannot be swept under the rug by a more sensational war on drugs, the ambitious plan to build-build-build, or by shifting our form of government into federalism,” argued Rene Magtubo, PM national chair.

Among the group's demands for the coming Labor Day rally is opposition to the charter change initiative of the government.

"Workers say chicha hindi chacha. For three consecutive years now, working class issues such as wage hike, controlling inflation, reducing poverty and job creation remained as Filipinos top concerns while charter change or chacha is at the bottom of the list," insisted Magtubo.

Chicha is a Filipino slang for food, but for the labor group, its meaning expands to other rights and entitlements that enable workers to raise their standard of living.

The other day dozens of PM members among workers, women and youth led a picket at the Department of Trade and Industry office in Makati to assail government's inaction on inflation and its pro-endo policy. The protest was a buildup to the massive labor unity mobilization planned on May 1 to push for workers' demands such as regular jobs and a living wage.

According to Magtubo, poverty concerns had always been in need of immediate action and unless addressed in a holistic manner, these issues will continue to hound any administration. He added that the failure of President Duterte and his Congress to stop contractualization, abolish the regional wage boards, and to control the rising prices of goods and services due to the imposition of new taxes will always’s be viewed by the working class as a regression rather than an improvement in their quality of life.

Survey respondents were asked by Pulse Asia the following questions:

Magtubo said the same sentiments will surely be expressed by workers who will be mobilizing themselves nationwide in the coming Labor Day celebration.

April 25, 2018

Calabarzon workers slammed the hike in minimum wages in the region as “loose change that will be wiped out by rising inflation.” Several labor groups active in Calabarzon trooped this afternoon to the main gate of the Cavite Economic Zone, the country’s biggest government-managed export processing zone, to protest low pay and union busting.

The regional wage board in Calabarzon ordered pay hikes of P14 to P21.50 thus increasing minimum wages to P303 to P400 depending on the area. The minimum wage hike takes effect tomorrow. The last wage hike in the region was in July 2016.

“A 4.6% rise in prices will erase the P16.50 minimum wage increase in Rosario. From 2.9% last December, inflation has steadily risen to 4.3% this March. By the time the wage hike is implemented tomorrow, it will not redound to any real wage improvement,” asserted Dennis Sequena, coordinator of the Cavite chapter of Partido Manggagawa (PM).

More than a hundred members of labor groups PM, Sentro, Samahang Nagkakaisa ng Cavite, and Katipunan ng Manggagawang Pilipino picketed the Cavite ecozone. The mass action is also a buildup to the massive labor unity rally of workers for the Labor Day commemoration on Monday.

“Workers in the Cavite ecozone are organizing to improve their wages and working conditions but capitalists are illegally busting unions and harassing workers,” Sequena explained.

Last week, garments factory Dong Seung Inc. at the Cavite ecozone terminated en masse all 16 union officers including the union president. In response, the union filed a notice of strike and a strike vote will be held tomorrow. Yesterday management did not attend the mediation meeting convened by the National Conciliation and Mediation Board (NCMB).

Meanwhile, a complaint for harassment was filed by the union at another apparel company, Jisoo Garments Manufacturing Corp. Jisoo workers are alleging that management is behind a falsification case filed against union officers. The case came just after a certification election was held in the company. Among the grievances of workers at Dong Seung and Jisoo that led to unionization was that salaries for all workers, new or old, including people who have worked for several years, remained stuck at the minimum level.

PM also criticized the two-tiered wage system in Calabarzon for being an instrument for cheapening wages. Sequena insisted that “In the two-tiered system, the minimum wage is just a floor wage that will be supplemented by productivity-based increases. But companies in the Cavite ecozone do not provide for productivity pay hikes even though labor productivity has continuously grown as measured by the annual GDP growth.”

April 27, 2018

Workers of a garments factory in the Cavite ecozone voted yesterday to go on strike in response to the mass termination of 16 union officers. The law provides a seven-day notification period before any actual work stoppage can be launched by workers of Dong Seung Inc. The National Conciliation and Mediation Board have called for a conciliation meeting between the company and the union on Monday.

Yesterday scores of Dong Seung workers and their supporters trooped to the Cavite ecozone main gate to protest the union busting and call for respect for freedom of association. The rally followed a forum in which Cavite ecozone workers aired their grievances about low pay, insecure jobs, verbal harassment and excessive work quotas.

The Dong Seung union officers were served notices of termination in their houses by an HR officer of the company last April 12. They were supposed to back to work on April 13 as part of the agreement. An earlier strike notice was precipitated by the one-month suspension of the 16 union officers.

“The firing of all 16 union officers, including the union president, is just the latest in a series of union busting moves by management. Moreover it is a maneuver done in bad faith as the union just withdrew a notice of strike earlier filed. The retraction of the strike was part of an agreement mediated by the Labor Department wherein workers will be accepted back to work after an investigation by management,” explained Juanito Diaz, president of the Dong Seung Workers Union-Independent.

Dong Seung Inc. is a Korean-owned apparel manufacturer inside the Cavite Economic Zone, the country’s biggest government-run export processing estate. It manufactures garments for global brands Macy’s and Ann Taylor. Dong Seung workers are asking Macy’s and Ann Taylor to remediate the code of conduct violations of its supplier.

Diaz declared that “Tama na. Sobra na. Oras na para igalang ang karapatang mag-unyon para mapabuti ang kalagayan ng mga manggagawa. Workers in the Cavite ecozone are organizing to improve their wages and working conditions but the response of companies is to bust unions and harass workers.”

Photos of the Dong Seung workers rally can be accessed at FB page of Partido Manggagawa: https://www.facebook.com/partidomanggagawa/

April 28, 2018

In reaction to President Rodrigo Duterte’s call for some 260,000 OFW’s in Kuwait to come home, the youth group Partido Manggagawa-Kabataan (PMK) asked if there are decent jobs awaiting them in the Philippines.

“We welcome our parents coming home from Kuwait so families can be reunited. But are there regular jobs paying living wages for them and the 600,000 new graduates plus thousands more finishing K-12 that won’t go to college? The reason OFW’s go to Kuwait and elsewhere is because of lack of decent jobs in the Philippines,” asserted Kim Dolojo, PMK spokesperson and a PUP student.

Last week, PMK held a protest at the offices of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP) to highlight its call for decent jobs for young workers.

“President Duterte is again making a personal promise, this time of providing jobs for OFW’s. But he has yet to deliver on his campaign promise two years go to end endo the moment he assumes the presidency. Mr. President, not another broken promise,” Dolojo warned.

She added that “So this Labor Day, PMK members are joining Nagkaisa, KMU and other labor groups is uniting to denounce the administration’s broken promises and demanding regular jobs for Filipinos.”

“An employers organization, the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry earlier questioned that the minimum number of hours required of senior high school students are not enough to train and qualify them for entry-level work,” Dolojo explained.

She cited the International Labour Organization (ILO) report titled “Global Employment Trends for Youth 2017: Paths to a better working future,” that stated that youth unemployment rate for Southeast Asia and the Pacific is seen to rise from 11.7 percent in 2016 to 12 percent in 2017, and to 12.2 percent in 2018.

Partido Manggagawa-Kabataan

April 29, 2018

On the eve of Labor Day, the workers group Partido Manggagawa (PM) warned of rising unemployment with a call from President Rodrigo Duterte for Kuwaiti OFW’s to come home, the six-month closure of Boracay and the impact of TRAIN on the economy.

As part of the buildup for the massive Labor Day indignation rally, the union Philippine Airlines Employees Association (PALEA) is holding a motorcade around Ayala Ave. this afternoon while members of PM-Kabataan distribute leaflets appealing for participation in tomorrow’s protest.

Tomorrow, PM is participating in the labor unity rally in Manila and other key cities to slam the President for his broken promise of ending endo. Aside from Manila, PM chapters in Cebu, Bacolod, Davao and General Santos are mobilizing for the nationwide Labor Day commemoration. The group is calling for the government to drop the chacha and focus instead on regular jobs and a living wage.

“Where are the jobs for the 260,000 OFW’s deployed in Kuwait, the 27,000 registered and unregistered workers displaced in Boracay, the 900 workers laidoff by Coca-Cola due to the TRAIN law, the 600,000 college graduates and thousands more of K-12 graduates,” declared Judy Ann Miranda, PM secretary-general.

The group is alarmed as well with the rising inflation together with worsening unemployment. Economists predict that inflation will hit 4.6% this April. Inflation has steadily climbed every month from just 2.9% last December.

Last week, PM held a protest at the offices of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP) to highlight its call for decent jobs for young workers and slam rising inflation.

Miranda cited a recently released report by the World Bank about the lack of quality jobs in the country and the worsening inequality as a result.

She added “And if these young and old workers are lucky enough to find a job, will it be regular and pay a living wage? We all know that the reason OFW’s go abroad is because of lack of decent jobs in the Philippines. So why will Kuwaiti OFW’s fly back home when nothing has changed in the jobs situation in the Philippines?”

Miranda insisted that “President Duterte is again making a personal promise, this time of providing jobs for OFW’s. But he has yet to deliver on his campaign promise two years go to end endo the moment he assumes the presidency. Mr. President, not another broken promise.”

April 30, 2018

The labor group Partido Manggagawa (PM) slammed the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte for the persistence of endo, rising inflation and the threat of unemployment. PM called on the government to drop charter change and instead prioritize regular jobs and a living wage.

“Ang end endo ay naDuterte. Isa itong naDigong pangako. Workers are bearing the brunt of the broken promises of the administration. Malacanang’s belated announcement that an EO may be signed today is obviously a last minute maneuver. We’ll judge the EO when indeed one is signed. Contractuals do not become regular just because of a press release. Gawa hindi salita,” exclaimed Dennis Derige, PM-Cebu spokesperson.

PM joined the labor coalition Nagkaisa and the Cebu Citizen’s Assembly in the rally that gathered at the Sto. Rosario Church before marching to downtown Colon. PM participated in the labor unity rally of Nagkaisa and KMU in Manila that was a massive indignation mobilization against President Duterte’s failure to end contractualization. PM chapters in Bacolod, Davao and General Santos also mobilized for the nationwide Labor Day commemoration.

In Bacolod, PM and KMU contingents had a salubungan in the morning at the Fountain of Justice at the old City Hall. PM’s main rally was held in the afternoon after a mass meeting in the morning. In Davao, Nagkaisa and KMU assembled in the morning at Orcullo Park and then marched around the city.

PM warned of rising unemployment with a call from President Rodrigo Duterte for Kuwaiti OFW’s to come home, the six-month closure of Boracay and the impact of TRAIN on the economy.

The group is concerned as well with the rising inflation together with worsening unemployment. Economists predict that inflation will hit 4.6% this April. Inflation has steadily climbed every month from just 2.9% last December.

“Even as jobs remained contractual not regular, wages are being eroded by the escalation of prices. Where is the iron fist to control prices? Government is sleeping on the job!,” Derige argued.

He insisted that the fight against contractualization is not over as the group vowed to organize and mobilize workers in the continuing campaign to end endo.

May 1, 2018

Our reaction on the EO that what signed by PDigong in Cebu, today, Labor day:

PDigong signed the DOLE-DTI sponsored EO which was rejected by Nagkaisa! months back.

We felt we were taken for a ride. There was no consultation with our 5th draft submitted to the Office of the President thru the Labor Secretary last April 13. The EO that was signed definitely is an EO for the employers not for the workers. We will not waver, we will continue to fight to give justice to workers affected by the widespread contractualization of labor.

If PDigong wanted to fulfill his promise of ending endo he should have signed the 5^th draft of the workers’ EO that would make direct hiring of workers to principal employers a norm in employment relations of his administration but on the other hand would open some jobs or functions to labor contracting subject to consultations in the National Tripartite Industrial Peace Council. Instead PDigong broke his promise and betrayed the workers.

Ka Rene Magtubo

PM Chairperson and Nagkaisa! Spokesperson

May 1, 2018

Press Statement

Rene Magtubo

PM National Chair

The EO narrative is over. Sadly, we are in for another waiting game as the anti-endo ball was passed by the President to Congress for ultimate resolution. The workers’ struggle for security of tenure, therefore, is far from over. Tuloy ang laban!

A bigger question, consequently, is bothering our workers now: Will Congress, which is known for greasy political horse-tradings, stand stronger than the mightiest President this country ever had?

Yes, we were truly dismayed and frustrated with the Executive Order (EO) on endo signed by President Duterte yesterday. First, it was an EO that no one in the labor sector was able to read. Second, none of the most important povisions demanded by labor - which is the reinstatement of direct-hiring and regularization as the norm in employment relations - was adopted in the signed document.

In short, after more than two years of protest actions, negotiations and labor groups’ dutiful drafting of five drafts of an EO, it was big business and their captured officials in DTI and DOLE in the end that won the heart of the President. The die is cast here and in this episode of class battle it is the side of capital that gained momentum with their effective capture of the Executive, including the President.

Upon signing of the EO, President Duterte admitted that his order is limited only to what is provided under the Labor Code. What he never explained is the fact that such limitation is surmountable by the the Code’s the same grant of executive powers to the President and the Labor Secretary (Article 106) to prohibit contracting and sub-contracting. The five drafts submitted to him by labor groups have in fact addressed that concern by providing exemptions to allowable forms of contractualization upon consultations with the tripartite council.

The President said he cannot be a legislator to correct the Labor Code’s constraints. That, to us, sounded so legalese and diplomatic for a President known for unorthodox political brinkmanship.

“Sinagad ko na ito,” Duterte declared after signing the EO. At nasagad nga sa kasiyahan ang ECOP.

2 May 2018

In pursuit of their respective interests, the “class conflict” between employers and workers on the issue of labor contracting has shifted to Congress, the Senate in particular, after President Duterte issued EO 51 last Labor Day. President Duterte dropped the ball on endo. Workers challenge the Senate to pick it up.

EO 51 was welcomed by employers’ groups, especially by the subcontractors, but labor groups have not wholeheartedly accepted it.

The endo fight at Congress would be long and complicated battle given that both the employers and workers would deal with 23 senators to come up with a Senate version of the bill on security of tenure, and the members of the bicameral conference committee to iron out differences on the versions of both houses.

The House of Representatives has already approved their security of tenure measure under House Bill 6908 principally authored by Rep. Ting, chairperson of the Committee on Labor and Reps. Mendoza and Villarin of TUCP and Akbayan party-lists, respectively.

It would greatly expedite the process in the Senate in particular and to the Congress as a whole if President Duterte will issue clear “directives” to his “super majorities” in the Senate and House of Representatives. Such “directives” should express his will for the realization of his campaign promise to end contractualization of labor.

Labor solidarity displayed in the fight against the ill-effects of widespread contractualization on workers’ rights and welfare has convinced the House of Representatives and the President to act accordingly.

It would be labor solidarity again that would play a vital role on convincing the Senate. But this time, the solidarity should be broader, stronger and sharper on its action in order to win the battle.

May 4, 2018

Ka Rene Magtubo

PM Chair and Nagkaisa Labor Coalition Spokesperson

The decision of the Supreme Court to remove Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno can never be considered as a triumph of justice. It’s purely a result of a political coup organized from both the outside and inside of the country’s deteriorating state of institutions.

Sereno was clearly ousted not because of her missing SALNs but mainly because of her missing loyalty to the Chief Executive. And while the quo warranto was effectively used only as a means to achieve the end of administratively ousting the Chief Justice, it’s the political side of it that’s more intimidating as far as the whole nation is concerned. It’s not really the quo warranto proceedings, we believe, that has become a threat to the SC itself as an institution. Rather, it’s the majority vote that is worth watching as this number has already become a political trend in itself.

Is it the same majority that will ensure the victory of Bongbong Marcos before the Presidential Electoral Tribunal? Will the same majority vote in favor of ConAss to ensure the smooth sailing of the chacha train? Were they the same majority who voted to reverse the FASAP decision 20 years after?

The recent decision on former CJ Sereno provides a preview of what’s going to be the next big things this ruling majority will do or undo in this increasingly becoming confused and supressed nation.

11 May 2018

Press Release

May 12, 2018

Partido Manggagawa

Contact Dennis Sequena @ 09301803072

Workers of a garments factory in the Cavite ecozone went on strike yesterday morning in response to the mass termination of 16 union officers. However the picketline setup by workers was torn down by an official of the Cavite ecozone administration and the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) police.

“We condemn the harassment by Cavite industrial relations officer Mr. Lindon and the head of PEZA police, a certain Mr. dela Cruz, of the legal strike by Dong Seung workers. Just like during the strike by women workers of the electronics company Lakepower Converter last December, PEZA is actively suppressing the right of workers to peaceful concerted activities. These are gross violations of the Joint DOLE-PNP-PEZA Guidelines in the Conduct of Security Personnel During Labor Disputes,” declared Dennis Sequena, coordinator of the Cavite chapter of Partido Manggagawa (PM), which is assisting the striking workers.

The strike continues today with scores of Dong Seung workers conducting a roving picket. This morning, PEZA police once more harassed the striking workers and prohibited their use of a megaphone while conducting a protest program in front of the Dong Seung factory gate. Members of the union are also being stopped and prevented from entering the Cavite ecozone.

Last April 27, Dong Seung workers and their supporters trooped to the Cavite ecozone main gate to protest the union busting and call for respect for freedom of association. The rally followed a forum in which Cavite ecozone workers aired their grievances about low pay, insecure jobs, verbal harassment and excessive work quotas.

“The firing of all 16 union officers, including the union president, was the latest in a series of union busting moves by management. Moreover it is a maneuver done in bad faith as the union just withdrew a notice of strike earlier filed. The retraction of the strike was part of an agreement mediated by the Labor Department wherein workers will be accepted back to work after an investigation by management,” explained Juanito Diaz, president of the Dong Seung Workers Union-Independent.

Photos of the Dong Seung workers strike and rally can be accessed at FB page of Partido Manggagawa: https://www.facebook.com/partidomanggagawa/

A supervening event from the sharp inflationary impact of the TRAIN law is enough reason for the regional wage boards to conduct summary proceedings on the necessity of wage hikes even in the absence of wage petitions within their respective regions.

Evidently, the effect of TRAIN law on inflation is fast and furious nationwide hence, the regional wage boards need not wait a year to lapse from their last issued wage orders before they can conduct public hearings on wage petitions. In fact, they can even act moto propio on this issue on the basis of a supervening event like this one.

Workers, especially the majority of wage earners who gained nothing from TRAIN yet ending up devastatingly hit by inflation, clearly need a wage hike now.

On the other hand, we would like to point out that a wage hike in the immediate would merely mean recovery of the lost purchasing power of wages due to inflation. In the long term, this action will neither rectify the structural defects in the country’s wage fixing mechanism that keep wages low nor satisfy the worker’s right to a living wage mandated by the Constitution.

In other words, while a wage hike is an immediate concern for workers now due to the effects of TRAIN, reforming the existing wage policy has long been a necessity demanded by labor under different regimes, including the Duterte administration. As a matter of fact, aside from his unfulfilled promise to make endo history, President Duterte has yet to abolish the ‘provincial rates system’ in favor of a national minimum wage standard that he promised during the presidential campaign and previous dialogues with organized labor.

Unfortunately for now, the President only has the TRAIN law to drain our pockets, with the poor shouldering the pay-pay-pay (PPP) part of the build-build-build (BBB) program of the administration.

Mr. President, either you stop the TRAIN or let the poor bleed some more.

25 May 2018

The militant labor group Partido Manggagawa (PM) called on President Rodrigo Duterte to implement a national minimum wage as he had previously promised. This was PM’s response to the directive of the President yesterday for the Labor Department to convene the regional wage boards to study the grant of salary increases in the face of sharp inflation.

“The order to convene the regional wage boards falls short of a firm presidential response to the inflationary crisis. For the past three decades, wage orders by the regional boards are so low that at present it cannot offset the impact of the rising cost of living brought about by the TRAIN law and profiteering by unscrupulous employers. President Duterte should amend his order to explicitly ask a substantial salary hike as a relief measure and direct the wage boards to raise minimum wages to a national level,” explained Rene Magtubo, PM national chair.

The PM leader recalled that in a dialogue with labor leaders, President Duterte declared that there is need to abolish what he termed as “provincial rates” of workers.“Now is the perfect time to turn mere words into presidential action,” Magtubo insisted.

He added that “The substantial increase can be attained only if the wage boards will decisively base the determination of minimum wages on the cost of living and the living wage criteria not on their default criterion—the capacity to pay of employers. Because of this subjective criterion, records will show that the increase in minimum wage rates granted by the regional wage boards do not exceed PhP 1,000 per month, a far cry from the additional burden of expenses incurred by low income earners to date brought about by the rising inflation.”

The group stated that the present mechanism of fixing minimum wage rates per region should be abolished for it does not satisfy the mandate of the Constitution of granting workers a living wage. “While the abolition of the regional wage boards require the repeal of the ‘Wage Rationalization Act of 1989,’ there is no rule preventing the existing boards from coordinating towards raising wages to a national minimum in response to a presidential call,” Magtubo affirmed.

He furthered that “Wage regionalization does not conform to the principle of ‘equal pay for work of equal value.” Differentiating wage rates on the geographical location where a worker works which is absurd. Why would an equally capacitated carpenter differ in minimum wage rate in a construction firm because one works in Quezon City and the other in Bulacan?”

May 27, 2018

Similar to the broad unity forged in the fight to end endo, different labor groups are now raising a common demand for a national minimum wage. The change in wage fixing from regional to national will be facilitated by a Presidential Executive Order directing the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to review and amend RA 6727 or the Wage Rationalization Act of 1989.

The Executive Order should direct the DOLE to draft a new wage fixing bill after consultation with labor, employers and other sectors. The bill should then be certified urgent to Congress by the President.

This effort will pave the way for the realization of PDigong’s promise to labor in their dialogue to end what he termed as “provincial rates” of worker’s wages.

RA 6727 and its implementing rules and regulations sets the minimum wage rates by region through the establishment of regional wage boards and a criteria for the determination of the amount of wage increases.

Left alone, the regional wage boards cannot satisfy the demand of workers for a substantial and uniform increase in the minimum wage as demanded by different labor groups. Historically, for almost three decades, the wage boards have granted minimum wage hikes that are less than PhP 1,000 per month. This is a far cry from what is needed today to augment the lives of low income workers gravely affected by the rising cost of living.

The root of this cheap labor policy is that regional wage boards base their determination of minimum wage increases on employers’ capacity to pay instead on the prevailing cost of living and living wage.

Meanwhile, aside from ordering the wage boards to motu proprio conduct public hearings, the President should clarify that they should base their determination for a minimum wage increase on the prevailing cost of living and living wage.

May 28, 2018

The President has reneged on his promise but we will continue to fight! - Nagkaisa!

Advisory: Women and youth to protest vs DTI, ECOP pro-endo lobby

Strike notice filed anew as Cavite factory fires unionists en masse

Youth group concerned at lack of jobs for new graduates

Women and youth slam DTI & ECOP for pro-endo lobby

Workers are more concerned with chicha, not chacha

Workers demand "stop to chacha, shift to chicha"

Wage hike is loose change in face of rising inflation—Calabarzon workers

Cavite workers vote to go on strike in response to mass firing

Youth group asks: Are there decent jobs for OFW’s going home plus new graduates?

Workers warn of unemployment with OFW’s going back, Boracay closure and TRAIN impact

Labor group slams Duterte for endo, inflation and unemployment

Labor's reaction to EO signed by PDigong

On the signed EO on Endo: Will Congress stand stronger than the mightiest President this country ever had?

Workers challenge Senate on endo

Quo warranto vs Sereno was a political coup

Cavite workers go on strike, slam harassment by PEZA

Wage increase now!

Workers call on Duterte to order a national minimum wage

PDigong asked for an EO to abolish “provincial rates” of workers