To demand abolition of contractualization: Red Workers march from DOLE to Mendiola

PRESS RELEASE

December 15, 2016

Manggagawang Sosyalista (MASO)

Contact person: Leody de Guzman 09205200672

To demand abolition of contractualization:

Red Workers march from DOLE to Mendiola

HUNDREDS of workers from the socialist alliance Manggagawang Sosyalista (MASO), comprised of militant and anti-capitalist “Red unions” assembled today at the labor department offices in Intramuros, Manila before marching to Mendiola to press for the abolition of all forms of contractualization, not just the much-hated “endo or 5-5-5 employment scheme”.

Sec. Bello wants a Department of Labor and Employers

At the workers program in Intramuros, Lino Brin, MASO chairperson and president of the Pag-asa Steel union said, “The workers call on DOLE Secretary Silvestre Bello to take the sides of the workers rather than adopt a flimsy seemingly neutral stance on the nefarious employment scheme that has led to a cheap and docile labor force”.

“The so-called win-win solution proposed by the trade department and echoed by Secretary Bello seeks to regularize workers at their contractors rather than to the principals who utilize contracting and subcontracting arrangements to replace regular employees with cheaper contractual workers,” he added.

Brin explained, “Bello should act, not just as the alter-ego of President Duterte who has promised to stop contractualization during the electoral campaign but as the representative of labor, which is recognized by the 1987 Constitution as the “primary social economic force” and should be granted „full protection by the State‟. He should leave the DTI Secretary to be the champion of investors. From the last time we check, the DOLE is not named “department of labor and employers”.

Abolition of Contractualization: A Promise Undelivered

At around noon, the workers proceeded to march to Mendiola via Quezon and Recto Avenues. At the march, MASO vice chair Ding Villasin of Socialista asserted, “President Duterte rode on the crest of the people‟s anger towards elitist democracy that was restored after EDSA 1986. Part of his electoral rhetoric was his harsh words against abusive employers who employ contractual workers in order to cheapen their labor costs. Yet, after several months in office, no stone was unturned. The abolition of contractualization remains an undelivered campaign promise.

She furthered, “If President Duterte was able to enact „freedom of information‟ for the Executive branch. We challenge him to abolish contractualization in the same branch, to which he has full control of, as Chief Executive. After all, the Philippine government remains as the country‟s number one employer of contractual workers”.

Nasaan ang Pagbabago?

At Mendiola, Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino (BMP) chair Leody de Guzman declared, “Before the year closes, we fear that both the DTI and DOLE will railroad the passage of the so-called win-win solution at both houses of the legislative.

“To inflict another wound to the already injured working class would transform the public sentiment, from that which passively seeks the change promised during the May elections to that of a labor-led independent movement of the people that would actively pursue social change and meaningful reforms, not from above but from below,” de Guzman concluded. #

Hundreds march to Malacanang to denounce lack of change under Duterte presidency

Hundreds march to Malacanang to denounce lack of change under Duterte presidency

Hundreds of workers, urban poor, students, and other activists belonging to Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino, Sanlakas, and Partido Lakas ng Masa today marched to the gates of Malacanang to denounce President Rodrigo Duterte’s failure to fulfill his promise to end “contractualization” and other anti-worker policies as well as his insistence on burying Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani.

They later joined thousands of other people who trooped to the People Power Monument in EDSA to condemn Marcos’ burial at the LNMB and block the restoration of declarations of martial law.

“We joined thousands of workers and other Filipinos today to remind the President that we are still here, that we have been waiting, and that we still haven’t experienced the change that he said will come if he gets elected as President,” Leody de Guzman, president of the socialist labor group BMP said. “It’s been six months since Duterte won and yet it seems that only the rich are again benefiting from the change in government,” de Guzman said.

Atty. Aaron Pedrosa, secretary-general of multi-sectoral group Sanlakas, for his part said: “Militant groups were encouraged by Duterte’s initial steps, such as his appointment of leftists in Cabinet, his support for FOI, and his critical stance towards the United States. But none of these has so far translated into any concrete benefits for the majority.

“So far, the President has yet to back his words with actions,” Sonny Melencio, chairperson of Partido Lakas ng Masa. “We marched today because we find it hard to identify actual measures that could assure us that change is indeed on the way.”

According to Melencio, more and more Filipinos are starting to question whether Duterte will indeed deliver his campaign promises, in particular, his promise to end contractualization, to provide dignified housing for the urban poor, to stamp out corruption in the bureaucracy, to give tax breaks for those earning below 30k/month, and to chart an independent foreign policy.

After marching to Malacanang, the militant groups joined a Caravan for Justice that drove through several cities in Metro Manila before heading to the People Power Monument to join tens of thousands of other Filipinos protesting against Marcos’ burial at the LNMB.

“It seems that there are only two groups of people that Duterte will never betray: the police and the Marcoses,” Melencio said. “But it seems that he is all too ready to turn his back on workers, on the urban poor, and on the Filipino people.”

For real change to happen, the group urged the public to take action and use their power to achieve significant social transformations.

“As Andres Bonifacio has demonstrated, hope lies not in our so-called leaders but in the Filipino people themselves,” de Guzman stressed.