The national leadership of a militant group of government employees and a labor group in the Cordillera, on separate occasions, assailed the anti-labor stance of the administration of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo that keeps mum on clamors for P3,000 across-the-board salary increases for government employees and P125 daily increase for workers in the private sector, and for retrenchments in government.
BY LYN V. RAMO
Northern Dispatch
Posted by Bulatlat.com
BANGUED, ABRA – The national leadership of a militant group of government employees and a labor group in the Cordillera, on separate occasions, assailed the anti-labor stance of the administration of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo that keeps mum on clamors for P3,000 ($60.41 at an exchange rate of $1=P49.66) across-the-board salary increases for government employees and P125 ($2.51) daily increase for workers in the private sector, and for retrenchments in government.
Confederation for Unity, Recognition and Advancement of Government Employees (Courage) national president Ferdinand Gaite said Arroyo is the “fiercest” president because she has kept workers’ wages at their July 2001 levels. Gaite was in town for the first death anniversary of Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) employee Albert Terredaño, on Nov. 29 here.
Gunned down last year, Terredaño was president of the Department of Agrarian Reform Employees Association (DAREA) in Bangued at the time of his death.
Meanwhile, during a workers’ forum on political repression in Baguio City, the Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU or May 1st Movement)-Cordillera also hit Arroyo for “anti-labor policies and worsening economic crisis,” saying that in her five-year reign workers have not seen any hope of alleviating their plight.
No wage increases
“Mula 2001, nanatiling walang pagtaas sa sahod ng mga kawani sa gobyerno at manggagawa sa pribadong sektor” (Since 2001, there have been no increases in wages of government employees and private sector workers), Gaite said during a forum on human rights that coincided with Terredaño’s death anniversary. He disclosed that while Arroyo raised the salaries of highly-placed government officials to as high as 200 percent, she has ignored the five-year clamor of rank-and-file employees for increased wages.
What Arroyo did was to increase the wages of the lowest paid employee by a measly P700 ($14.09) such that the lowest government pay is now P5,782 ($116.43), Gaite said. In contrast, the president’s monthly salary, according to Gaite, is now some P140,000 ($2,819.17) from P57,000 ($1,147.80) in 2001 – or a 231-percent increase.
“Walang kakonse-konsensiya niyang itinaas nang mahigit 200 porsiyento ang sahod ng mga opisyal, samantalang ni hindi sumayad sa tiyan ang pagtaas ng sahod ng ordinaryong kawani”( Without a conscience, she raised the salaries of officials by more than 200 percent, while the raise in the ordinary workers’ salaries did not even reach the gut) Gaite disclosed.
Courage-Cordillera coordinator Cez Peta said that employees paid by the local government units in the provinces receive even lower salaries than their national counterparts.
Cordillera private sector workers receive P235 ($4.73) daily but the Kilusang Mayo Uno-Cordillera said this is only equivalent to P176.77($3.55) because of the continuous hikes in oil prices and the weakening value of the peso.
In its Bonifacio Day statement, KMU-Cordillera said that some 2.93 million Filipinos are unemployed this year from 2.8 million last year. KMU-Cordillera cited some 300 retrenched miners from Philex Mining Corporation this year and 100 miners from Lepanto Consolidated Mining Company who lost their jobs last year.
KMU-Cordillera also notes that thousands are lured into labor-only-contracting (LOC) citing that 65-75 percent workers in the export processing zone are contractuals.
“Hindi na tayo magkandaugaga sa kaiisip ng paraan para mabuhay nang matiwasay at malayo sa panganib” (We are relentlessly thinking of ways to live peacefully and free from danger), KMU-Cordillera said in its statement.
Hitting government employees
Gaite also hit the government’s rationalization program saying it is actually a retrenchment scheme for some 30 percent of government employees. He said the rationalization of government offices and similar schemes as merger of government offices, and abolition of some departments only means no work for many government employees.
Gaite also criticized Arroyo for not sparing government employees from her policy of liquidating her critics. “We are not insulated from government-inflicted violence he said as he cited that aside from Terredaño, a Department of Agrarian Reform employee, and two more government employees were killed, one from Samar, and another from Leyte,” Gaite said.
Private sector workers on the other hand have lost 64 union leaders and supporters due to Arroyo’s war against her critics, according to KMU-Cordillera.
“Mismong mga empleyado ng gobyerno ay target na rin ng pamamaslang” (Even government employees are targets of killings), Gaite said during the forum as he said his highest tribute to Terredaño, who, the Courage leader said, “truly served the people.” Northern Dispatch / Posted by (Bulatlat.com)
