Press Release
September 30, 2011
Workers and Urban poor led by BMP (Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino)
hailed P-Noy as the No. 1 enemy of the working class
Indignant workers and urban poor marched to Mendiola to protest Malacañang’s conformity with the DOLE decision reaffirming the outsourcing and spinoff scheme of the PAL Management as valid and justified. In effect the decision resulted to the illegal retrenchment and termination of 2,600 PALEA workers effective September 30, 2011.
The Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino (BMP) together with its various allied organizations namely; SUPER (Solidarity of Unions and Pederations for Empowerment and Reforms), MELF (Metro East Labor Federation), PMT (Pagkakaisa ng Mangggawa sa Transportasyon), KPML (Kongreso ng Pagkakaisa ng Maralitang Lungsod), Sanlakas, PLM (Partido Lakas ng Masa), Kalayaan, AMA (Aniban ng Manggagawa sa Agrikultura, KPP (Koalisyon Pabahay sa Pilipinas) and Makabayan Pilipinas declared September 30, 2011 as the death of the Filipino Workers’ Security of Tenure.
The group marched from Morayta to Mendiola carrying a mock coffin with slogans: “2,600 PALEA workers massacred by P-Noy and Lucio Tan!” and “P-Noy, enemy of the working class!”
“P-Noy did not only reaffirm the DOLE decision once but thrice to the detriment of the Filipino working class. His action speaks louder than his words when his government is entertaining the filing of a case that will add more insult to the already hapless and injured workers of the nation’s flag carrier.” BMP President Leody De Guzman articulated in his speech during the program held at the footsteps of the Mendiola bridge.
“The Filipino workers have already concluded what kind of government P-Noy wanted to be called and regarded, reminiscent of the past administration of Estrada where PALEA is similarly exemplified as the precedent of the moratorium scheme that hounded the labor front. In turn, the Filipino workers branded him as truly the enemy of the working class. Unfortunately, P-Noy is doing the same trick and backtracking his slogan “Kayo ang Boss Ko!” which is similarly patterned to Erap’s popular slogan of “Erap para sa mahirap!” In so doing, P-Noy can now be aptly adjudged as the new number 1 enemy of the Filipino working class.” De Guzman further averred.
For his part, Mr. Teody Navea, BMP’s Secretary General, called on the workers and the masses to escalate the fight against the evils of contractualization, where P-Noy is adhering to as its main policies bolstering the interests of the capitalists in this era of globalization. “The working class should exert more vigilance and achieve the broadest solidarity to win its battle against contractualization. We must frustrate this gargantuan problem for it will pave the way that will ultimately annihilate the existence of our unions, the highest form of organization we have attained protecting our rights over the past decades,” Navea elaborates.
After the program, the group later in the afternoon joined with the broad labor for a big mobilization in support with protesting PALEA workers scheduled 3pm at the Philippine Airlines. (30)
