(Last of two parts)
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo claims that growing investments in the industrial enclaves will provide employment and uplift workers’ conditions, but this is belied by union leaders.
BY FRED VILLAREAL
Gitnang Luson News Service
Posted by Bulatlat
OLONGAPO CITY(126 kms. North of Manila) – President Arroyo claims that growing investments in the industrial enclaves will provide employment and uplift workers’ conditions, but this is belied by union leaders.
The government said that the country’s special economic zones (SEZ) which form the core of the country’s development plan posted a 41.71-percent increase or P70.175 billion ($142 billion) worth of investments for the first 11 months of 2005.
It cornered a big chunk of the productions of computers and cell phone parts and other of auxiliary products over the rest of the third world.
In Central Luzon , Taiwanese and Koreans are among the biggest investors registered with the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) in Olongapo, Zambales and Clark Development Corporation (CDC) in Pampanga.
“It matters little to us workers, if billions make it to the government’s coffers, or even if billions of dollars of investments flood our SEZs (because) workers’ wages remain low and their rights are suppressed,” said Angie Ladera, chairperson of Workers Alliance of Region III (WAR III), regional chapter of the Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU or May 1st Movement), in an interview.
“No chance for workers”
Ladera says there is practically no chance for substantial wage increase for workers if the government sticks to its cheap and docile labor policy, and its no-union, no-strike policy in the enclaves.
Statistics released by the Labor Force Survey show that some 2.8 million Filipinos failed to find work in January 2006, up by 15 percent from 2.5 million in the same period last year.
The 95,000 decrease in jobs came from the industry sector, mostly from the manufacturing and construction sub-sector.
Latest figures from the National Statistics Office (NSO) show that 2.93 million Filipinos are unemployed while 8.4 million are underemployed.
These figures do not include those who have given up looking for jobs, housewives and other sectors considered by the government as not in the labor force.
“Sunshine” industries
But the President is sure of creating jobs by encouraging more investments in the country particularly on industrial enclaves such as the CSEZ and SBFEZ where many of what she boasts as significant foreign investments and “sunshine” industries are located.
The CDC (Clark Development Corporation) website www.VisitClark.com listed over 600 companies inside CSEZ. At least 32 firms are engaged in garment productions, about 66 are service-oriented companies.
Many others are restaurants, import-export outlets, hotels and other tourism related firms, companies engaged in auxiliary information technology and call centers.
The SBMA’s www.sbma.com as of August this year listed 674 firms at SBFEZ, 89 of which are into manufacturing light products such as garments and auxiliary products; while 93 are tourism related facilities like hotels, restaurants and other recreations; 72 are into motor trading; 92 are duty free shops, trading and general merchandize, the rest are small to medium service oriented firms.
“Mrs. Arroyo generously pours resources to make these facilities more attractive to foreign investors,” Ladera surmised. “But these are but service-oriented and consumer-led economic activities with no provision for genuine industry that can generate jobs for unemployed Filipinos.”
Basic needs
The daily minimum wage of P224.50 ($4.54) in Central Luzon , plus the P20 ($0.40) ECOLA (Subic Bay Apparel average) is but P244.50 ($4.95) and not enough to meet even the basic food needs of some P284 ($5.75) a day as calculated by independent socio-economic think tank IBON Foundation for the first quarter of 2006.
IBON’s recent Price Monitor conducted in wet markets in many cities in the country including San Fernando City in Pampanga showed prices of basic goods have increased by at least 11 percent after the implementation of the reformed valued added tax or RVAT from December 2005 to March 2006.
The last legislated wage increase was in 1989, followed by the creation of the Regional Tripartite Wage and Productivity Boards which militant workers find very divisive of the labor ranks, created to negate any across the board wage increase.
President Arroyo has yet to make a similar step since she ascended to the presidency in 2001.
Wage demand
Detained Anakpawis (Toiling Masses) Rep. Crispin Beltran and five other militant party-list representatives – Rafael Mariano, also of Anakpawis; Satur Ocampo, Teddy Casiño, and Joel Virador of Bayan Muna (People First) and Liza Maza of Gabriela Women’s Party (GWP) pushed for the urgent passage of House Bill No. 0345 for a P125 ($2.53) across-the-board nationwide wage hike for workers in the private sector and HB 1064 for a P3,000 ($60.77) across-the-board salary increase for government workers.
“The HB 0345 made it to third reading at Congress,” Ladera said. “But all efforts by well-meaning legislators grounded to a halt right after the Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP) protested against it and lobbied in Malacanang.”
Ladera added the WAR III and the KMU had been campaigning for the P125 wage increase in the wake of increasing prices of basic commodities.
