Workers question spike in Labor Secretary’s wealth
National labor center Kilusang Mayo Uno questioned the spike in Philippine Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz’s net worth, which is the highest among government secretaries, claiming she may have increased wealth by keeping labor in the country cheap and workers poor.
The labor group said the 45.7 per cent increase in Baldoz’s wealth, according to her Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth or SALN, from P2.99 million in 2012 to P4.35 million in 2013 may have come from big capitalists who benefit from the policies she implements.
“The increase in Baldoz’s wealth is not surprising, but is still revolting for workers. We have every reason to suspect that she was able to increase her net worth by aiding big capitalists increase their already huge profits,” said Roger Soluta, KMU secretary-general.
The labor leader said big capitalists could only be very happy with Baldoz’s reign at the Department of Labor and Employment:
· The department’s thrust of “job generation” has been changed into “job facilitation.”
· Wages have been pressed down by the government’s rejection of calls for a significant wage hike and implementation of meager wage adjustments.
· The Two-Tiered Wage System which cuts and freezes wages has been implemented, and plans to eliminate the minimum wage are afoot.
· Contractual employment continues to be legalized despite the government’s claim that it will regularize contractuals.
· Capitalists have been allowed to illegally dismiss workers who are trying to form unions.
· Major labor disputes, starting from that in the Philippine Airlines, have been resolved in favor of big capitalists.
“Like Noynoy Aquino, Baldoz has not done anything good for workers. Like Noynoy Aquino, she’s all lies and optimistic projections. And like Noynoy Aquino, she deserves to be removed from her post,” Soluta added.
The labor leader said workers have branded Baldoz “Baldozer (bulldozer) of workers’ rights” since she presided over the retrenchment of 2,600 PAL workers so their positions can be contractualized.
He added that workers, drawing from the colloquial Filipino expression “makapal ang mukha (thick-faced),” has likened Baldoz’s face to “Baldoza,” which means floor tiles, in describing her ability to lie through her teeth.
Reference: Roger Soluta, KMU secretary-general
KMU calls for justice for workers killed in Pasay fire
National labor center Kilusang Mayo Uno called for justice for the eight female workers who were killed and nine others who were hurt at a fire in a padlocked warehouse in Pasay City last Friday, blasting the Aquino government for failing to uphold health and safety standards at the workplace.
Citing major cases of violations of workers’ occupational health and safety such as that in Eton Towers (2010, 10 dead), Keppel (2011, five dead), Ali Mall (2012, four dead), Novo (2012, 17 dead), and SPC Malaya Power Corporation (2013, five dead) the labor group also condemned the government for failing to attain justice for workers who were killed at work.
KMU condemned capitalists Juanito Go and Samson Co, owners of Asia Micro Tech, the multi-story illegal electronics warehouse that was razed by fire, over the death and injuring of the workers, who are all female.
“We condemn the violations of workers’ health and safety that resulted in the death of eight workers in Pasay City. Together with the Filipino workers and people, we call for justice for the workers who were killed and injured and their families,” said Nenita Gonzaga, KMU vice-chair for women’s affairs.
The labor leader agreed with the Institute for Occupational Health and Safety or Iohsad which said that the warehouse owner violated Rule 1943-03 of the Philippine Occupational Health and Safety Standards or OHSS which orders the creation of at least two exits in every floor and basement that are capable of allowing workers to clear the area in five minutes.
“The Aquino government’s widespread violations of workers’ rights and rabid defense of capitalist profiteering have emboldened capitalists to take workers’ lives for granted. Worse, this government has failed to attain justice for workers who were killed at the workplace,” Gonzaga added.
The families of workers who were killed at the Eton Towers construction site in 2010 were merely given compensation that ranged from P80,000 to P150,000 in exchange for signing a waiver that states that they will not file any charges against their relatives’ employers, which can be traced to business tycoon Lucio Tan.
“This government has failed to learn from the 2012 fire at the Novo Jeans and Shirts Department Store in Butuan City and from other cases of violations of workers’ health and safety. Worse, it has allowed capitalists to treat workers’ lives as dirt cheap,” stated Gonzaga.
KMU also revealed that it has been working with pro-worker institutions such as Iohsad and the Pro-Labor Legal Assistance Center or PLACE in crafting a bill that, if approved into law, will criminalize violations of occupational health and safety, especially those that result in the death of workers.
“Numerous violations of workers’ health and safety under the Aquino government have compelled us to craft a bill that will criminalize such violations. We do not expect the Aquino government, given its anti-worker record, to act on its own to uphold the dignity of workers’ lives,” Gonzaga said.
Reference: Nitz Gonzaga, KMU vice-chair for women
ITUC correct, PH one of the worst countries for workers – KMU
National labor center Kilusang Mayo Uno said that the International Trade Union Confederation’s report is correct in saying that the Philippines is one of the worst countries in the world for workers, claiming Filipino workers’ rights to form unions, collectively bargain, and hold strikes have been severely attacked.
The labor group said ITUC’s Global Rights Index — which covers the period from April 2013 to March 2014, ranks countries from 1 (best) to 5 (worst), and gave the Philippines a grade of five, touches base with the reality experienced by workers more than the statements made by the Aquino government and big capitalists.
“The attacks made by the government, especially that of Aquino’s, on workers’ rights to form unions, collectively bargain and hold strikes have made the Philippines one of the worst countries for workers. Without these rights, workers are practically at the mercy of capitalists,” said Roger Soluta, KMU secretary-general.
The labor leader said that many workers who try to form unions are simply dismissed from work, that capitalists work to undermine the few collective bargaining negotiations that exist, and that the government attacks workers’ strikes.
“The government has also made it more difficult to form unions by promoting contractual employment. Contractuals find it more difficult to form unions because they can be dismissed from work any time,” Soluta added.
KMU has been calling for the passage of the Regular Employment Bill, or House Bill 4396, which was filed by Gabriela Women’s Party Rep. Emmi de Jesus and seeks to make contractual employment superfluous.
“Big capitalists’ pronouncements attacking the ITUC’s report only highlight their resolve to violate workers’ basic trade-union rights. They are lying in saying that they are observing rigid laws that protect workers,” Soluta stated.
The labor leader was referring to Edgardo Lacson, Employers Confederation of the Philippines’ president, who said that the ITUC’s assessment is unfair because not all workers have left the country to work abroad.
The labor leader also pointed to the power of the Labor Secretary to assume jurisdiction over strikes and other labor disputes, which is contained in the Labor Code and orders workers to go back to work and avoid actions that may aggravate disputes, or face dismissal and criminal charges.
Soluta said the power to assume jurisdiction over strikes and labor disputes authorizes the Labor Secretary to bring the police and the military over to the workplace, which in the case of the strike in Hacienda Luisita in 2004 resulted in the November 16 massacre.
Reference: Roger Soluta, KMU secretary-general
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