Workers picketed ERC

PRESS RELEASE
January 27, 2014

Workers say resignation of ERC Chair Ducut is not enough:

No real regulation unless EPIRA is repealed
and energy regulating body is reorganized and democratized

MEMBERS of the Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino (BMP) picketed the offices of the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) in Pasig City this morning. The protesters are calling for the reorganization of the ERC, not just the resignation of its chair, Zenaida Ducut, a former representative of Pampanga and believed to be an ally of the Arroyos.

BMP National President Leody de Guzman said, "The removal of Ducut from the ERC is not enough. It will not reduce even a single centavo from extremely costly power rates now plaguing the Filipino people. Meralco's $0.25/kwh is now the fifth highest in the world”.

He added, “The problem of spiraling electricity rates stems from the twin policies of privatization and deregulation, not from the personal character of the ERC chair, however repulsive she may be to this yellow administration. This dilemma started with the passage of the Electricity Power Industry Reform Act of 2001 (EPIRA), which fully opened the doors of the power industry to the richest oligarchs in the land: Lopez, Aboitiz, Cojuangco/Ang, Ayala, George Ty, Alcantara, Manny Pangilinan, Henry Sy and Gokongwei”.

De Guzman clarified, “In a privatized industry under EPIRA, the ERC became a useless ornament to rein in power rates. In actuality, it was an Energy DEREGULATION Commission that could not perform its supposed mandate as a regulatory body. It became an accomplice and ally of corporate interests”.

At the picket, protesters mimicked Makapili traitors by wearing straw bags (bayong) with the slogans “ERC: Tuta ng Kapitalista!” and “ERC: Kasabwat sa Mahal na Kuryente!”. According to De Guzman, the BMP intended to expose the treachery of ERC commissioners who have sacrificed their countrymen to the altars of corporate profit.

“Even if we appoint a saint to replace the much-despised Ducut, government would be virtually powerless to the oligarchs in the power industry as long as EPIRA remains enforced and the ERC is not reformed,” he explained.

The labor leader proposed that the majority of the ERC Board should come from people's organizations, from representatives from workers, farmers, urban poor, professionals, academe, entrepreneurs and other basic sectors. He concluded, “The underlying motive beneath the clamor for the resignation of Ducut is the people’s rage against excessive power rates. It is driven by justice not by simple bloodlust against a perceived incompetent public official. The most fitting conclusion to this controversy is for the Aquino administration to initiate the first steps towards regulating and controlling the power industry, not just to replace a pro-Gloria bureaucrat with a lackey of the Liberal Party”. #

 

Polyeto - sa isyu ng pagtaas ng singil sa kuryente

‘Sang taong pahirap na Sin Tax, dapat nang ibasura!

Press Release
14 Enero 2014

Contact person:
Gie Relova
0915-2862555

‘Sang taong pahirap na Sin Tax, dapat nang ibasura!

GALIT dahil pagkabawas ng araw ng trabaho nang magsimula ang Bagong Taon, sinugod ng mga empleyado mula sa isang malaking kumpanya ng tabako sa Marikina ang Batasang Pambansa at hinikayat ang mga mambabatas na agad na magpasa ng panukalang batas na magpapawalang-bisa sa Republic Act 10351 o ang Sin Tax Reform Law of 2012. Ang pagpapawalang-bisa sa nasabing batas, ayon sa kanila, ay magwawasto sa inhustisya na ipinataw sa kanila ng pamahalaang Aquino.

Nasa ikalawang taon pa lamang ng pagpapatupad, ang pinakahuling iskema ng batas ay nagbigay sa pamahalaan ng dagdag na P41.1 bilyon ng sariwang kita. Ang kabuuang kita mula sa koleksyon ng excise tax mula Enero hanggang Nobyembre 2013 ay umabot ng P91.6 bilyon, mas mataas ng 6.7 bahagdan kung ikukumpara sa target na buong taon ng 2013 na P85.86bilyon ayon sa ulat ng Bureau of Internal Revenue.

Kabaligtaran sa sinasabi ng mga mambabatas sa pangunguna ni Senador Franklin Drilon at ang pangunahing tagapagtaguyod ng sin tax na si Secretary Cesar Purisima ng Department of Finance na ang Sin tax ay diumano tutungo sa pagkawala ng trabaho, tinuligsa ng mga manggagawa ng Philip Morris Fortune Tobacco Corporation (PMFTC) sa pangunguna ng pangulo ng unyon na si Rodelito Atienza at ng kanilang mga tagasuporta ang  batas sa Sin Tax pati mga may-akda nito.

"Sagad-sagarang nagsinungaling ang mga mambabatas noong deliberasyon ng batas. Dahil sa kanilang mga kasinungalingan, ang mga pamilya ng mga manggagawa'y nagdurusa ngayon sa kakapusan ng panggastos dahil pinagkait maging produktibong trabaho sa mga susunod na limang buwan ang mga manggagawa," ani Atienza.

"Hinahamon namin ang 210 kongresista at 10 senador na ipaliwanag sa amin kung bakit kami sumugod sa Batasan gayong dapat ay produktibo kaming gumagawa sa aming mga trabaho ngayon? Dalhin nila ang kanilang mga graph at charts, isama ang kanilang mga economic adviser mula sa mga prestihiyosong paaralan dito at sa ibayong dagat at patunayan sa amin na ang pagkawala ng trabaho ay kayang maiwasan sa ilalim ng sin tax," ayon pa kay Atienza.

Tinawag ni Atienza ang nasabing batas sa buwis na sadyang hindi makatarungan dahil sa karakter nitong “ipinapasa” at naglagay sa kanilang trabaho sa grabeng panganib. Nagpatupad ng limang buwang pagbabawas ng araw ng trabaho dahil sa paghina sa pamilihan ng kanilang mga produkto.

Sinabi pa ng unyon na sinalubong ng PMFTC management ang Bagong Taon ng pag-shutdown ng kanilang planta ng tatlong magkakasunod na araw, sumunod ay ang pwersahang pagpapagamit ng mga sick leave at vacation leave mula sa ika-anim ng Enero hanggang sa ika-sampu ng Pebrero. Matapos ito, ay babawasan na ang araw ng trabaho ng ilan libong manggagawa hanggang sa katapusan ng Mayo.

"Ang tanging ginagawa namin ay magsikap, wala kaming kasalanan para maging karapat-dapat sa sakripisyong pinapataw sa amin. Kontento na ang pamahalaan sa kanilang buwis at ang mga korporasyon sa kanilang tubo, ngunit bakit kami ang mga nagdurusa," dagdag pa nito.

“Nung masagana ang industriya, kami ang huling-huling nagbebenipisyo ngunit ngayon dahil sa sin tax, ang aming pamilya ang unang-unang pinaghihigpit ng sinturon. Ang tanging "tupa" sa senaryong ito ay ang mga manggagawang masipag na pumasok upang "palamunin" ang pamahalaan ng kanilang buwis at mga kumpanya ng kanilang tubo," protesta ni Atienza.

Sa bahagi naman ng Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino (BMP), inupakan nila ang administrasyong Aquino sa pagiging kakatwa nito at ni walang ginawa para sa kapakanan ng manggagawa habang nagtatapikan sila ng balikat para sa isang "job well done" habang lumalagim ang kinabukasan ng mga manggagawa.

"Ang pamahalaang Aquino at ang mga kumpanya ng alkohol at tabako ay parang mga unggoy na nagkakamutan sa isa't isa, habang si Aquino at ang kanyang mga opisyal sa pinansya ay umaasa sa mga kita sa buwis habang mina-maksimisa ng mga kapitalista ang patakarang murang paggawa ng pamahalaan para makapiga ng mas malaking tubo mula sa halagang nilikha ng mga manggagawa ng sigarilyo, paliwanag ng lider ng BMP na si Gie Relova.

"Ang pagwawalang-bahalang ito, ‘kainutilan at ang walang-awang pagpapatupad ng mga polisiyang anti-mamamayan ang mga perpektong sangkap upang maganap ang pagkahiwalay ni Noynoy Aquino sa mga manggagawa at sa iba pang naghihirap na sektor, dagdag pa niya.

Nanawagan ang militanteng grupo sa kapwa manggagawa at pamilya ng mga ito sa iba't ibang kumpanya sa industriya na organisahin ang kanilang sarili at itatag ang isang malakas ng kilusan na epektibong kukumbinsi sa mga mambabatas na ipawalang-bisa ang halimaw na Sin tax Law.###

 

 

With only a year into its implementation, thousands of workers bear the brunt of sin tax

Press Release
12 January 2014

Contact person:
Gie Relova
0915-2862555

 
With only a year into its implementation
Thousands of workers bear the brunt of sin tax

SLIGHTLY over a year since Republic Act No. 10351, otherwise known as the “Sin Tax Reform Law of 2012”, was signed into law, workers in a major tobacco company are complaining that they are already suffering heavily on the first year alone of its implementation.
   
The legislation’s intent was to restructure the excise tax collections of the government on alcohol and tobacco products. Presently at the second year of its gradual increment, low-priced cigarette brands are now charged a P17 excise tax from P12 last year. Meanwhile, high-priced brands bear a P27 excise tax from P25 last year. By 2017, a P30 unitary tax shall be imposed on all machine-prepared tobacco products and will increase 4 percent annually after that.

The workers’ union of Philip Morris Fortune Tobacco Corporation (PMFTC) claims that they are the ones bearing the full weight of what they called a “fundamentally unjust law”, because according to them “is a pass-on imposition and it jeopardizes jobs, livelihoods and ultimately, the entire local tobacco industry”.

“The Aquino administration is in seventh heaven for accomplishing beyond their tax revenue targets and the capitalists are also elated for their sustained takings despite of the excise tax increase, as the ordinary wage-earners are diligently bearing the cross are the ones neglected to the extent being sacrificed in the altar of profit,” said Rodelito Atienza, president of the PMFTC labor union.

Tensions grew between the company and its labor union in the last week of 2013 after plant management delayed the release of its production plan for 2014. This made workers worry that the management was planning to shut down operations after it informed the union a week earlier that the company’s market share has plunged significantly.

The management of the tobacco giant initially wanted a five-month shutdown of its operations from January up to May 2014 after the company failed to hit its expected sales in the last quarter of 2013. The union refused by citing provisions in their collective bargaining agreement, pushing the company to adjust their plans. But still, the workers claim the management’s final offer was still a “heavy price to pay for simply being diligent and productive”.

“When the company implemented a stock build up scheme, forcing us to go beyond the 8-hour a day work load for several months, we cooperated, toiled hard and yet, in the end, we are the ones suffering the brunt for the company’s dismal production schemes and far-out projections. We are the last to benefit and yet the first to sacrifice,” a flustered Atienza conveyed.

The union says that it will continue urging the company to soften the impacts to their already stressed budget since of the company has commenced the lessening of work days till the month of May.

Meanwhile, the Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino (BMP), the militant group which singlehandedly campaigned against the sin tax legislation in 2012 said that, “Despite of the distressing events at the PMFTC, we proudly claim that we have been vindicated. We were right all along when we said that the passing of sin tax law is collusion between the government and sin industry to squeeze more revenues at the expense of the ordinary wage-earner, tobacco farmer and takatak vendor”.

Their leader, Gie Relova likewise expressed alarm saying that, “Within only a year, the government’s tax scheme has already managed to terrorize the workers in the industry’s largest market share holder for five painful months. How much more will the government make the workers endure in the succeeding years of its implementation”. He also warned that, “An economic apocalypse will most likely occur even before it reaches the unitary rate in 2017”.

“We are indeed saddened by the turn of events, but it has only emboldened us to continue marching forward until the Aquino government’s anti-worker tax imposition is repealed, he added.

Relova also called out to fellow workers in the tobacco and alcohol industry to lock arms with the PMFTC labor union “before it is too late” and claimed that, “For as long as the unjust law is imposed, we shall struggle for we have nothing to lose but our chains”.

The PMFTC labor union has been an affiliate of BMP since its founding in 1993.###

Solidarity Statement for Cambodian Garment Workers!

Solidarity Statement for Cambodian Garment Workers!

In solidarity with the garment workers in Cambodia, Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino (BMP) - Solidarity of Filipino Workers - condemns in the highest possible terms the state terrorism and violence unleashed by the government against the workers in Cambodia.

For almost three decades the Cambodian Government in cahoots with capitalist in the garment industries used violence and suppression to cut down the struggle for better wages and the right to self organization through constant assassination and arrest of workers.

The struggle of the garment workers in Cambodia is not only about the struggle for wage hike, it is about freedom and social change!Let the actions of the garment workers inspire other workers to stand and fight against neo - liberal agenda and state impunity that undermines the right of workers for peaceful and concerted efforts towards development, the right to collective bargain and the right to freedom of association.

In spite of constant threat of imprisonment and violence, the garment workers stood firm and hold their ground. We salute the workers specially women and the people of Cambodia who resisted and continue to resist the state oppression.

Time and again, the only language that the capitalist knew in handling labour concerns has always been violence not only in Cambodia also around the world. Never again should the workers be afraid of suppression. Never again to any form of violence against the workers

We are calling all workers to unite with the garment workers in Cambodia.

Let us not let capitalist greed destroy the right of the workers. Let the struggle of Cambodian garment workers be the start for a higher form of struggle and resistance.

Let us launch solidarity actions to support the workers in Cambodia. Let us call for the boycott of all products coming from the capitalist industries who are staging this violence against the workers! Let us show the people of Cambodia that they are not alone! No to State Violence! Stop the arrest and Killings of Workers.

Workers Unite!


Leody de Guzman
National President
Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino(BMP)

Labor group wants SSS increase suspended indefinitely

Press Release
03 January 2014

Contact person:
Gie Relova
0915-2862555
 

Calls for an investigation and transparency of investments
Labor group wants SSS increase suspended indefinitely

A militant labor group demanded that the .6% employee premium increase of the Social Security System (SSS) which took effect on the first day of the year be suspended indefinitely. The group claimed that the increases are totally unjustified and grossly detrimental to the interests of the members of the state pension fund.

Two days before the end of the year, the Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino (BMP) warned the public that the Aquino government shall punish his “bosses” with more wage deductions such as the SSS and PhilhHealth contribution increases and a wide array of price hikes of basic commodities in welcoming the New Year.

The BMP argued that the government’s justification to the unpopular premium increase is devoid of any logic. “How can it go bankrupt when presently, the SSS has more than 30 million members and is increasing rapidly furthermore, it has invested billions of pesos of its members’ funds in highly profitable industries such as real estate, mining, telecommunication, banking and power,” said labor leader Gie Relova.

Officials of the SSS claim that the state pension fund has accumulated an estimated 1.1 trillion pesos in unfunded liability since 1980 and has been increasing at an 8% rate annually will be totally extinguished by 2041. To address this, President Aquino approved the employee contribution increase by .6% in September after he discussed this in his 2013 State of the nation Address last July 22.

Relova reasoned that, “Assuming that the numbers of SSS members shall increase at its constant rate and they all rightfully avail of their benefits, what is wrong with that, those funds are ours to begin with. We must remember that compulsory deductions of the employed sector outweigh voluntary payments in a 5:1 ratio or even more therefore securing its perpetuity. Logic points to the mismanagement of the social security funds and a members’ premium increase is therefore not the solution to such predicament”.

“The depletion of the SSS funds by 2041 is simply a scare tactic by the Aquino government since the premium-paying members of today shall be pensioners by then,” Relova added.

The militants called for an independent investigation composed of genuine labor leaders and respectable personalities to look into the financial management of the state pension fund and wanted additional transparency and members’ participation in the fund’s investment portfolio and its proceeds.

The labor group cited anti-people SSS investments in mining magnate, Philex Mining which has caused water systems contamination at its mining sites in Benguet last year. The group also expressed doubt in the fund’s continued exposure in a volatile Philippine Stock Exchange.

“Only after an investigation and transparency measures in place and improved services can the government justify the contribution increase. Until they do so, wave upon wave of protest actions shall be launched against the parasitic and unmistakably anti-worker policy of the Aquino government,” Relova warned. ###