LEFTIST SOLONS' FIRST BILL: P125 WAGE HIKE:
The three representatives of the
leftist party-list group Bayan Muna proposed yesterday that the minimum
daily wage be increased by P125.
The proposal is contained in the first bill filed by Representatives Satur
Ocampo, Crispin Beltran and Liza Maza, the first batch of party-list
winners proclaimed by the Commission on Elections.
The three, who took their oath as Congresss members before Comelec Chairman
Alfredo Benipayo last week, are also batting for a P3,000 across-the-board
salary increase for workers receiving more than the minimum wage.
The three told a news conference that the pay adjustment would enable
employees to cope with the rising cost of living.
They also vowed to convince their colleagues to cut the P204.5 billion debt
service allocation in the proposed P781 billion 2002 budget.
They said if the government can afford to, it should declare a debt payment
moratorium and instead use the money for expenses that could stimulate
economic growth. Phil. Star, 08/22/2001
WORKERS IN REGIONS PRESS FOR PAY HIKE: The country's largest federation of
labor unions is seeking wage hikes ranging from P50 to P93 for workers in
eight regions nationwide.
Meanwhile, Labor and Employment Secretary Patricia Sto. Tomas told
reporters yesterday the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board
may grant on Wednesday a wage hike for Metro Manila workers.
Earlier, the Labor Solidarity Movement (LSM) asked the wage board for a P77
hike in the daily minimum wage in the metropolis.
Alex Aguilar, LSM spokesman, told reporters yesterday they have filed wage
hike petitions before the wage boards in Central Visayas, Central Luzon,
Southern Tagalog and Western Visayas.
Aguilar said workers in Central Visayas want a P93 adjustment to the P208
daily minimum wage, while those in Central Luzon are asking for an
additional P69.50 to their take home pay of P208.50.
Workers in Southern Tagalog are seeking a P71.50 hike in the P217 minimum
wage rate and P50 for those in Western Visayas, he added.
Aguilar said LSM will also file today wage hike petitions for workers in
Ilocos Region, Cagayan Valley, and Central and Southern Mindanao.
Meanwhile, Labor and Employment Assistant Secretary Reydeluz Conferido said
yesterday the employment rate could go up from a low 2.64 percent to a high
3.02 percent or between 726,000 and 830,000 new jobs. Phil. Star,
08/13/2001
WAGE BILL A SELLOUT, SAYS MILITANT GROUP: "A sellout."
This was how the militant Kilusang Mayo Uno described Albay Rep. Krisel
Lagman-Luistro's proposed daily living wage bill in Congress.
"Lagman-Luistro's bill is not a wage bill at all, but an unprincipled
compromise favoring employers and big capitalists. She's begging for alms
on the workers' behalf and this we do not want," said KMU chair and Bayan
Muna representative-elect Crispin Beltran.
"While it is true that reducing the various tax deductions from the basic
pay will help, it's still not enough. Workers need hard currency in their
hands. Lagman-Luistro, even as she professes to help the workers, is
treading on the wrong path," Beltran said.
Lagman-Luistro yesterday clarified that the actual wage increase for
workers under her bill could go as high as P462.98, with a wage component
of P62.98.
Earlier, she said her bill would give workers at least P400 in cash and
non-cash benefits and all that was needed was to look for a source for the
remaining P100 to bring the wage to P500, the daily cost of living in Metro
Manila for a family of six.
The labor sector has been clamoring for a P125-across-the-board minimum
wage increase. The current daily minimum wage is P250 in Metro Manila.
Beltran said Lagman-Luistro's House Bill 1377 "reflected more the position
of employers and business groups against wage hikes than the demand of
workers for an actual increase in their basic pay."
Inquirer, 08/10/2001
WAGE BILL A SELLOUT, SAYS MILITANT GROUP: "A sellout."
This was how the militant Kilusang Mayo Uno described Albay Rep. Krisel
Lagman-Luistro's proposed daily living wage bill in Congress.
"Lagman-Luistro's bill is not a wage bill at all, but an unprincipled
compromise favoring employers and big capitalists. She's begging for alms
on the workers' behalf and this we do not want," said KMU chair and Bayan
Muna representative-elect Crispin Beltran.
"While it is true that reducing the various tax deductions from the basic
pay will help, it's still not enough. Workers need hard currency in their
hands. Lagman-Luistro, even as she professes to help the workers, is
treading on the wrong path," Beltran said.
Lagman-Luistro yesterday clarified that the actual wage increase for
workers under her bill could go as high as P462.98, with a wage component
of P62.98.
Earlier, she said her bill would give workers at least P400 in cash and
non-cash benefits and all that was needed was to look for a source for the
remaining P100 to bring the wage to P500, the daily cost of living in Metro
Manila for a family of six.
The labor sector has been clamoring for a P125-across-the-board minimum
wage increase. The current daily minimum wage is P250 in Metro Manila.
Beltran said Lagman-Luistro's House Bill 1377 "reflected more the position
of employers and business groups against wage hikes than the demand of
workers for an actual increase in their basic pay." Inquirer, 08/10/2001
MILITANTS WANT P500 A DAY: In yet another discordant voice in the fractious
labor movement, the Partido ng Manggagawa yesterday said it would push for
the scrapping of the wage boards and the legislation of a 500-peso "living"
wage.
The PM, an affiliate of the militant Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino,
said it was supporting the House Bill 1377 or the Living Wage Bill filed by
Albay Rep. Kristel Luistro-Lagman, which fixes the living wage as the
minimum wage.
Renato Magtubo, PM chair, nevertheless called on all labor groups, from the
moderates to the militants, to "unite in a single and unified struggle for
the living wage."
The militant Kilusang Mayo Uno, known rival of the BMP, was supporting a
bill filed by Sen. Juan Flavier seeking a 125-peso across-the-board wage
increase. KMU chair Crispin Beltran is set to file a counterpart bill in
the house as soon as he is proclaimed as party-list representative of Bayan
Muna.
The moderate Trade Union Congress of the Philippines, represented by the
Labor Solidarity Movement, on the other hand, recently filed a 77-peso wage
hike petition with the wage board of the National Capital Region. TUCP
affiliates in the provinces filed wage hike petitions of 50 pesos and 75
pesos, respectively, in Regions 6 and 7. Inquirer, 08/08/2001
METRO PAY HIKE JUST P27/DAY: Workers in Metro Manila may not get more than
a P27 increase in their daily minimum pay.
Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) records showed that for the past
10 years, increases have not gone beyond P27, or less than half of the
workers' demands.
Labor Assistant Secretary Reydeluz Conferido said that data from 1990 to
2000 indicated that past wage hikes were always less than P27 or not more
than 19 percent of the prevailing minimum wage.
The current minimum wage in the National Capital Region (NCR) is P250,
while workers outside the region receive anywhere from P110 to P217.
The rate in Metro Manila was pegged at P250 after the wage board in the
region granted last November a P26.50 adjustment from the previous P223.50
daily pay rate.
Workers actually demanded a P75.50 adjustment in wages for Metro Manila but
the NCR wage board granted only P26, not even half of their request.
Last week the Labor Solidarity Movement (LSM), the country's biggest labor
federation, filed another petition seeking a P77 across- the-board increase
in salaries of workers in Metro Manila.
Another petition for a P50 increase was filed before the Regional
Tripartite Wages and Productivity Boards (RTWPBs) by workers from Western
Visayas.
Militant labor groups, however, are pressing for a legislated P125
across-the-board increase in the daily take home pay of workers nationwide.
Labor Secretary Patricia Sto. Tomas earlier said the NCR wage board was
already deliberating on the wage petition and would likely come out with a
decision by Aug. 15.
But if the wage board will base its decision on previous increases, chances
are workers will not be getting their wish. Phil. Star, 08/06/2001
50,000 JOBLESS IN FIRST 500 MONTHS: Some 50,000 workers lost their jobs
from January to May this year due to retrenchments and closures of more
than 1,000 companies nationwide.
Of this number, 26,911 were permanently terminated while 22,484 were
temporarily laid off as a result of the financial crisis, records of the
Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) showed.
Cited as major reasons for the closure were lack of market, slump in
demand, downsizing, redundancy and financial losses.
For the five-month period, a total of 1,083 firms filed notices of closure
and retrenchments with the DOLE, up by 3.5 percent compared to the number
of firms that folded up during the same period last year.
Close to 60 percent of the affected companies were located in Metro Manila,
with most of them engaged in manufacturing.
While more companies filed notices of closure and retrenchment this year,
the number of workers who got their walking papers dropped to only 17,534
from last year's 22,206.
Temporary layoffs, however, rose to 9,377 from last year's 7,907.
Labor Secretary Patricia Sto. Tomas said the total number of job
displacements last May declined to 3,453 compared to the previous month's
6,857. Phil. Star, 08/01/2001
