“Kawitang palakol” and “gawat” are terms that refer to times when food is scarce, usually the weeks before harvest season when the farmers have spent all their money on fertilizers and pesticides and harvest time is still far away. The considerable increases in the prices of farm inputs and terribly low price of palay ((unmilled…
Category: Labor & Employment
Gov’t Destroys .5 M Jobs, Record 5 M Jobless
The just released April 2004 employment figures, including nearly 5 million Filipinos without work, affirm the dismal failure of government economic policy. By Sandra Nicolas Bulatlat.com When the National Statistics Office released the latest Labor Force Survey (LFS) on June 15, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Romulo Neri seemed to be talking from another planet. He said,…
Bridge Program: Added Cargo for Overworked, Underpaid Teachers
Teachers trained under Makabayan subjects, who are “not well-equipped with teaching competencies in Math, Science and English,” are being assigned to the controversial Bridge Program, a teacher leader reveals. “Paano magagawa ng Bridge Program ang pagpapahusay sa mga estudyante kung ang mga magtuturo nito ay ibang aralin naman ang itinuturo” (How can the Bridge program…
400 Children of Miners Barred from School
Nearly 400 school children failed to enroll in Tuba, Benguet when the two schools in the area funded by a mining corporation refused to admit children of former employees. By ALDWIN QUITASOL Northern Dispatch Posted by Bulatlat.com BAGUIO CITY — Philex Mining Corporation (PMC) in Padcal, Tuba, Benguet in northern Philippines has barred children of…
UP Unions Oppose Privatization of Gov’t Services: Government employees face mass lay-off
Two employees unions of the University of the Philippines in a joint statement expressed their opposition to the latest plan to accelerate the privatization of government services which, they said, makes government employees the sacrificial lambs in the government’s inability to raise sufficient revenues and to curtail public spending. By LYN V. RAMO Northern Dispatch…
The Untold Story of Hacienda Luisita Workers
Holding a multi-colored bayong (plastic market bag), Mang Pering, a retired sugar farm worker, looked half-scared and half-exited. Inside his bayong was a panti (fish net made of nylon) and some dry clothes. He is on his way to the nearby river where he hopes to get some fish so his family would have something to eat for the day. But before he left, he said he only had one wish: “Sana hindi ako mahuli ng gwardya” (I hope the guard won’t catch me).
The Economics and Politics of the World Social Forum: Lessons for the Struggle against ‘Globalisation’
Table of Contents: ‘Globalisation’ I. How and Why the World Social Forum Emerged II. WSF Mumbai 2004 and the NGO Phenomenon in India By Research Unit for Political Economy Ground floor, Sidhwa Estate, N.A. Sawant Marg, Colaba Mumbai (Bombay), India 400005. http://www.rupe-india.org/index.html Posted by Bulatlat.com Introduction ‘Globalisation’ It became fashionable in the 1990s to use…
Nestle Workers Condemn Two Years of Injustice and Violence
“Good food, good life”— thus goes the tag line of the food giant Nestlé Philippines Inc. in its advertisements. Apparently, these words are not for the company’s own workers, as more than 300 of them continue to decry making do with “bad food” and suffering a “bad life” since they went on strike two years…
Gov’t TV Union Decries Mismanagement; Wants Palace Appointees To Resign
Just like the government-sequestered media establishments, the government-owned People’s Television Network or PTV4 is seen as grossly mismanaged, its officials appointed in payment of political debts. Last Jan. 19, restive PTV4 employees demanded the resignation of the PTV4’s Board of Directors, charging that the current PTV4 board has mishandled the network, which now runs on…