Aquino touts labor gains amid protests

THE GOVERNMENT celebrated Labor Day yesterday with President Benigno S. C. Aquino III’s visit to semiconductor plants in Laguna, and nationwide job fairs fielded by the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE).

In his Labor Day speech addressed largely to the semiconductors and electronics industry, the President said the manufacturing industry contributed largely to the improving business climate in the country.

In exports, Mr. Aquino said 40.4% of the $53.98-billion export is from the electronics industry while 18.6% of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is from electronics exports.

The President added that employment rate in the semiconductors and electronics industry is now at 91.43% citing the success of the Training for Work Scholarship Program (TWSP) of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), which he said addressed the country’s problem on job-skills mismatch.

Mr. Aquino claimed that jobs mismatch has been reduced in the past three years, following efforts by both the private and the public sectors.

In 2011, Mr. Aquino said he tasked the Labor and Education departments, as well as the Commission on Higher Education to coordinate with employers “to match their needs with the skills of those entering the labor force” and consequently, increase the number of the employed. He cited the TESDA scholars from semiconductor companies like Testech, Inc., Alliance Mansols, Inc., and Integrated Microelectronics, Inc. were employed last year.

REQUEST

Mr. Aquino ended his speech by urging people to elect government officials who would continue reforms under his administration saying corrupt officials caused poverty in the country.

“My request is that, if you believe in the reforms we’re doing, if you don’t want what we started go to waste, choose the next leaders who will continue the reforms we’ve started, and those who will further work on improving the reforms we’ve initiated,” he said.

The President’s remark came following a Pulse Asia survey conducted last month among 1,200 Filipino voters showing that 40% of Filipinos will choose Vice-President Jejomar C. Binay as the country’s president if elections were to be held now.

The labor sector was not able to get a surprise Labor Day package as Mr. Aquino earlier told labor leaders, their request for wage increase is beyond the capacity of government coffers at the moment.

Mr. Aquino, however, assured that the other demands of labor groups like tax breaks for minimum wage earners, job orders and security of tenure will be “further discussed.”

Labor Secretary Rosalinda D. Baldoz said that efforts to reduce a form of worker’s contractualization known as “5-5-5,” “6-6-6,” or “endo” have borne fruit.

She added that the DoLE has tightened the rules on subcontracting, cutting to a third the number of legal subcontractors.

“Through Department Order (DO) No. 18- A… we have whittled down the number of registered subcontractors registered from 17,000 to only 5,581 as of March 2014,” she said.

Ms. Baldoz said fly-by-night subcontractors that cannot comply with the stringent requirements of DO 18-A were removed from the list of registered subcontractors. “What remains are legitimate subcontractors who comply with labor laws and are registered with the DoLE under the requirements, terms and conditions of DO 18-A,” she said.

In a separate statement, Ms. Baldoz noted that those who break the law on subcontracting are punishable under the Labor Code, but the provision still needs testing.

Reacting to contractualization complaints of workers, the Labor chief said: “If there is sufficient evidence of violation of directly circumventing the provision of Presidential Decree (PD) 442 or the Labor Code on subcontracting, we can use Article 288 of the Labor Code, which imposes criminal liability for unlawful acts that the Courts can declare.”

“Unfortunately, this provision of the law has not been tested,” she added.

The Labor Code prohibits “labor-only” contracting, specifically for work directly related to the business of the principal like malls and restaurants, which effectively frees the employer from providing their workers health, social security and other benefits. But subcontracting is allowed under certain conditions, Ms. Baldoz explained.

Many malls, hotels and restaurants, construction companies, and security agencies hire people for less than six months in an apparent attempt to circumvent the Labor Code, which provides the automatic regularization of new hires on their sixth month of employment.

In their desire to get even temporary jobs, many service workers sign five-month employment contracts that are renewed after brief periods of “rest,” in violation of their right to security of tenure, Ms. Baldoz said.

Article 288 of the Labor Code specifies the penalties that may be imposed on violations of the Labor Code: P1,000 to P10,000 or three-month to three-year imprisonment, or both, depending on the discretion of the court.

BIGGEST

DoLE held nationwide job fairs in celebration of Labor Day yesterday. The Labor department claims that the job fairs yesterday were the biggest to date, with the most number of job vacancies available.

The Labor department said in the 68 simultaneous job fairs held nationwide yesterday, at least 240,000 job vacancies were offered with over 2,300 employers participating.

Earlier, Ms. Baldoz encouraged employers participating in these job fairs to improve their hiring rates, as a way of helping job seekers, especially the fresh graduates, land their first jobs.

“We will be gratified if employers participating in our job fairs on Labor Day can… increase the number of applicants hired-on-the-spot,” she said.

DISAPPOINTMENT

For their part, labor groups from various sectors trooped to the streets yesterday to air their demands to the government and “express disappointment for the government’s failure to address labor issues.”

Aside from tax breaks and wage increase for government employees, labor groups are also batting for a P135 across-the-board wage increase to augment the present daily minimum wage of P466 for those working in Metro Manila.

Alan A. Tanjusay, spokesperson of the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP)-Mendoza wing, said around 25,000 individuals from 49 labor groups went to the streets to protest the “unjust” economic growth which does not trickle down to the poor.

“Labor groups… successfully conveyed our message to [Mr.] Aquino that it is not straight, it is not right, it is unjust, if economic growth is shared only by a few,” Mr. Tanjusay said in a text message. “I hope [Mr.] Aquino understands this,” he added.

Party-list Rep. Fernando L. Hicap (Anakpawis) said workers should be united in demanding for a “national legislated wage increase, job security, humane working condition in workplaces and union rights.”

“These basic workers’ rights are perennially ignored by employers and the government. Workers are the producers of social wealth, and yet they are among the most impoverished,” Mr. Hicap said.

Mr. Hicap is the author of House Bill (HB) 253 which seeks a P125 wage increase for workers in the private sector.

“We encourage workers to conduct massive lobbying and actions in Congress to press for a legislated wage increase. Actions from factories, offices and economic zones must converge in the streets to strongly highlight workers’ demands,” Mr. Hicap said.

Party-list Rep. Neri J. Colmenares (Bayan Muna) likewise urged Congress to enact Mr. Hicap’s proposed measure.

“The working class should continue to fight for their rights, and everyone should support their struggle for higher wages and better working conditions,” he said.

Senate President Franklin M. Drilon yesterday vowed to double the Senate’s efforts in working for the immediate passage of pending pro-worker bills that will help improve the economic condition of the Filipino employees.

“As a gift to the millions of dedicated workers both from the public and private sectors, we commit to work on the immediate passage of various pending measures that will have a direct and significant impact to their lives,” Mr. Drilon said in a statement.

Mr. Drilon said among the pending proposed measures that will receive “urgent legislative attention” is Senate Bill (SB) 256 authored by Senator Ralph G. Recto, which seeks to raise the tax exemption limit on 13th month pay, and other work benefits of public and private sector workers.

He also vowed to immediately work on the two pending measures, which seeks to increase the allowances of members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police, as well as increase the salary of government workers estimated to be more than 1.2 million nationwide as of last year.

“We will work double time in making sure that this piece of legislation will be enacted into law at the soonest in order to assist our workers in dealing with the effect of inflation, and to boost their morale and give them a renewed inspiration to excel in their work,” he said.

House Speaker Feliciano R. Belmonte, Jr., in his Labor Day message, stressed the importance of human resource development in sustainable growth, saying the government “should take a long-term view and develop mutually beneficial programs to improve the quality of our human resources for the benefit of the country”.

“May 1st should be celebrated by taking a more holistic view of human resource development, which is the key to our pursuit of an inclusive and sustainable socioeconomic growth for our country,” Mr. Belmonte added.

The House Speaker also discussed laws and initiatives on wages and the benefits of workers, saying that the government should first aim to have a quality human resource as he promised that Congress will continue drafting bills and reforming existing statutes to develop the country’s human resources.

In Davao City, workers from various groups mounted a rally yesterday morning calling for wage increases in the region. Moderate labor groups affiliated with the TUCP are seeking an P80 increase in the daily minimum wage in the city as part of their Labor Day demands.

The group said the amount was small enough and should be granted by the employers because the minimum wage rates in the region, ranging from P301 to P276, are not enough to support the families of workers.

However, members of progressive organizations like the Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) are demanding a P125 daily legislated wage increase as it called for the abolition of the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board.

The Davao Region’s seven-member board earlier announced it was still deliberating the proposal for a wage adjustment as it was to come up with a new order before the end of the month.

This developed as about 20,000 vacancies were offered to job seekers in a job fair held at the different shopping malls in the city.

Joffrey M. Suyao, Labor department’s regional director, said most of the vacancies are in call centers.

UPSET

Randy R. Ponteras of Akbayan Davao during the labor protest rally said workers are now upset with Mr. Aquino’s failure to deliver his promises to the laborers by ruling out a pay hike in the country.

The protesting groups are composed of workers representing various organizations namely the Alliance of Progressive Labor, Associated Labor Unions-TUCP, Partido ng Manggagawa, Federation of Free Workers, and 45 other civil society groups.

In Bacolod City, dismissed workers of a sack manufacturing firm withdrew their complaint against a regional Labor official after their former employer agreed to pay up.

Ian Evidente, regional coordinator of KMU, said the Labor department’s Regional Director Ponciano Ligutom had facilitated a meeting between Bacolod Sack Supply owner Antonio Llema and 19 dismissed workers belonging to the Bacolod Sack Supply Workers’ Union-National Federation of Labor Unions.

Mr. Llema reportedly agreed during the meeting to obey Mr. Ligutom’s directive to pay the dismissed workers a total of P2.3 million in back wages and benefits.

The union had filed a complaint before the Office of the Ombudsman Visayas against Mr. Ligutom after the latter allegedly failed to compel the employer to pay up.

“While we withdraw the charges we filed against him (Mr. Ligutom), we will remain vigilant of his actions on the labor cases we bring before his office,” Mr. Evidente told BusinessWorld.

Mr. Ligutom issued an order on May 31, 2013 directing Mr. Llema to pay the workers an aggregate amount of P2.3 million. The employer, however, failed to pay despite the issuance of a writ of execution on July 8, 2013.

Meanwhile, about 4,000 workers held protests at the Bacolod Public Plaza yesterday in observance of Labor Day.

Some 3,000 members of KMU issued a “notice of termination” to Mr. Aquino, saying the President failed to address labor problems in his five years of service. — with reports from Mikhail Franz E. Flores, Ailyn D. Galura and Jacqueline P. Miranda in Manila, Carmelito Q. Francisco and Maya M. Padillo in Davao City, and Adrian P. Nemes III in Bacolod City