A reinvigorated TUCP rises

THOSE who attended our regular media forum at Annabel’s in Quezon City on Saturday, April 21, could not help but notice that newly installed Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) President Ernesto “Boy” Herrera was speaking with a heavy heart when he outlined the plans and programs of the labor center he now heads in the years to come. He just succeeded longtime TUCP President Democrito “Kito” Mendoza in what was described as a sad parting of ways between two close and long-standing friends.

The indefatigable duo presided over years of struggle and consolidation of the country’s fractured labor movement into what is now the country’s internationally recognized labor center. It will probably take some time before the hurts engendered by this parting will heal but for now Herrera and the reinvigorated TUCP leadership will have to work hard and show that they can stand up to the challenges which a new and certainly changing world brings. For now the Herrera-led TUCP has been recognized by all the duly constituted institutions of the international labor movement as the country’s labor center and will therefore have to carry on the obligations of such membership in the global community from hereon.

TUCP’S international standing

In a letter dated March 16, 2012, the International Trade Union Confederation-Asia Pacific (ITUC-Asia Pacific) through its general secretary, Noriyuki Suzuki, advised Herrera that “…on the basis of our analysis of the situation and in consultation with ITUC General Secretary Sharon Burrow, the ITUC and the ITUC-AP are pleased to endorse your constitutional succession of the TUCP presidency.”

The ITUC-AP also advised that “…under the leadership of President Herrera, it is strongly hoped that the TUCP General Council will continue to guide the united TUCP movement in the Philippines…” while at the same time commending “…the great contributions of Brother Democrito Mendoza, former president of the TUCP, to the growth of the free, independent and democratic trade unionism in the Philippines.”

On the other hand, the American Center for International Labor Solidarity and the AFL-CIO through Jamie Davis, country program director for Indonesia and the Philippines, in a letter to Herrera dated March 15, 2012, sent “salutations and congratulations to you [Herrera] and all the delegates attending the TUCP Special Convention on March 16…” noting, in the process, that given the special and important partnership of the labor movements in the United States and the Philippines, the center “…applauds your efforts to seek ways to revitalize and strengthen the TUCP given the many challenges workers face in this day and age of globalization.”

Finally, the Japanese Trade Union Confederation (JTUC-RENGO) through its President Nobuaki Aga, commended Herrera in a letter dated April 5, 2012, saying, “Under your leadership, I am sure TUCP will further promote free and democratic labor movement for the betterment of the workers in the Philippines and for the workers worldwide….”

Herrera said other labor centers in Europe, Asia-Pacific, the Americas and even Africa have also sent their recognition of his constitutional assumption to office with the hope that this change in leadership will further strengthen the labor movement in the Philippines and advance the welfare and protection of the country’s work force, here and abroad.

Reinventing unionism

Indeed, the former solon and the newly constituted TUCP leadership faces a host of challenges. One critical major challenge— not just to the Herrera-led TUCP but other labor federations as well—is the continuing decline in union membership in the country. Ten years ago, membership was as high as 15 percent of the country’s work force. That number has since steadily declined to a level of only 7 percent as of today. That will now have to be arrested fast enough if only to assure those in the labor force now as well as those yet to enter it that there is value in union membership. So, even as the TUCP tries to stabilize itself, it must at the same time reinvent and reinvigorate its operations to make sure that it is attuned to the needs and challenges of a new working environment.

On this score, Herrera, who has served in both houses of Congress, emphasized that the greatest challenge to unionism at this time is the scourge of unemployment. Our swelling labor force, he noted, has become both a blessing and a bane. On the one hand, we are blessed because we have a young and vibrant work force that can adapt to the requirements of a globalizing work place more easily than before and whose numbers can contribute vigorously to the creation and development of employment opportunities as well as welfare and protection packages not just for the workers but for their families and communities, as well.

Quite apart from initiating a thorough and comprehensive review of the Labor Code which was issued in 1974 yet and all other amendatory laws which have been passed after to “strike out any anti-employment provisos,” one immediate initiative which the Herrera-led TUCP is embarking on is the lobby for the passage of two “employment generating laws” in the US Congress, namely, Save Our Industries Act and the Sweatshops Regulatory Act. Should these pass muster in the US Congress, it is surmised that hundreds of thousands of new jobs may be generated in the country. It can mean, for example, the revival of the country’s once vibrant garments and textile industries, which not too long ago employed the most number of organized workers. It can also mean the upgrading and expansion of job opportunities in such sunshine industries as upgraded BPOs, biotech, medical treatment, agribusiness, metallurgical and educational and technical services.

In addition, and this is where we completely agree with Herrera and his group, there is a need for the TUCP and other labor federations to develop the kind of entrepreneurial and business development culture themselves like the successful movements in such countries as Singapore, Japan, Switzerland, the European Union, the US and Israel. He noted during the forum, for example, that the Singapore NTUC operates the island nation’s taxi service and owns a string of supermarkets, among other enterprises, which has not only dampened any price increases in basic goods and services but provided training and added emoluments to its members. In Israel, the trade union movement owns the biggest bank and financial services group, has a stake in the IT/communications industries and modern biotech and research facilities.

In Switzerland and Japan, the biggest supermarkets are owned by the agricultural workers through their cooperatives. In Germany and other European countries, the trade unions own banks, hotels and tourism enterprises, construction firms, supermarkets, telephone companies and even some oil, gas and power companies. In the US and Canada, the employees pension funds such as Calpers and even the Teamsters own chunks of the biggest companies from banks, hotels, construction companies and developers, telecommunications as well as huge stakes in venture capital funds. In fact, the trade unions are not only active in organizing workers and fighting for their job security, rights and welfare but are major funding providers and employers in their own right. It is time that the TUCP and the other labor federations set their eyes on opportunities for such advancement to ensure that they do not get calcified in the ways and practices of old. One more thing—the opportunities that abound with the organization of the 8 million to 10 million Filipinos working and living overseas cannot be overemphasized. There are huge gaps in the development of platforms for the protection of the jobs and hence, the enhancement of the welfare of our toiling countrymen overseas. The example of the TUCP-affiliated seaman’s group Amosup is one such model. The initiatives and projects of other seaman groups in Japan and Europe can also be looked into.

In fact, the TUCP can possibly be the best partner of government in instituting viable bilateral cooperation agreements with labor- receiving countries to enhance the protection and welfare of our countrymen overseas. There are a number of other such possibilities if only the TUCP and the other labor groups look into such opportunities and provide the necessary vehicles to bring these into realization.

The earlier, the better. –J.A. de la Cruz / Coast-to-Coast, Businessmirror