Labor groups blast Duterte for reneging on poll promise

By: Julie M. Aurelio, Philippine Daily Inquirer, Mar 17, 2018

Labor groups have slammed President Duterte’s refusal to honor his election campaign promise to end contractualization, warning that workers are beginning to lose their trust in him.

“Palabra de honor seems lost on President Duterte. He does not value his own words anymore. And workers are losing trust,” the Federation of Free Workers and the Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) said in a joint statement.

The workers took to the streets in Mendiola last Thursday to protest the President’s refusal to sign the workers’ draft of the executive order banning contractualization, which he had promised to sign by March 15.

“Not signing the workers’ version of an executive order against contractualization is like the crow of the rooster when Peter denied Jesus, us workers, a third time,” they said.

More protests

The workers vowed to organize more protest actions to force the President to fulfill his promise.

The Alyansa ng mga Manggagawa Laban sa Kontraktwalisasyon (Almakon) said it had waited long enough for Mr. Duterte to live up to his promise to workers.

“We are angry [because] the Duterte administration completely turned away from his campaign promise to end contractualization when he did not sign the executive order drafted by labor groups,” said Almakon spokesperson Maristel Garcia.

Slave-like conditions

Ed Cubelo, spokesperson for KMU Metro Manila, said Mr. Duterte was allowing millions of workers to suffer slave-like conditions as contractual workers, while favoring the interest of the capitalists.

“Duterte has already unmasked himself as antiworker by rejecting workers’ demands to end contractualization, better wages and working conditions,” Garcia said.

But the Associated Labor Unions-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (ALU-TUCP) expressed optimism that Mr. Duterte would not renege on his two-year-old promise.

““It is a marked promise critical to ensuring inclusive growth under his administration. Sadly, the President obviously has been misled or misinformed about the demands of workers,” said Michael Mendoza, ALU-TUCP president.