Labor Watch

Commentary

Labor Moderates Prefer Cell Cards To Workers’ Empty Stomachs

If you can’t have wage hikes, better settle for cell cards. Moderate and conservative labor groups made this call recently, eliciting reactions from labor militants that the proposal is the high point of class betrayal and collaboration.

By Gerry Albert-Corpuz
Bulatlat.com

The Philippines is today considered the text capital of the world. Tomorrow, it could as well be the laughing stock of Asia if labor leaders identified with moderate and yellow unions will have their way. They believe that if Filipino workers cannot have wage hikes they might as well settle for cell card allowance as an economic alternative.

The Trade Union of the Philippines and Allied Services (Tupas), one of the moderate labor unions in the country, recently asked employers to give their workers with allowance for cell cards and have this  proposal included in the collective bargaining agreement (CBA). Its president, Vladimir Tupaz, said the CBA can cover P10 per daily allowance for cell cards.

A loose alliance of labor groups known as Labor Solidarity Movement composed of Tupas, Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP), Federation of Free Workers and Alliance of Free Workers echoed the call for a reprieve from costs of cell cards or call cards.

LSM spokesperson Alex Aguilar said that the demand was right and legitimate considering that 60 percent or about 18 million of the total labor force use cell phones and consume cell cards or call cards. The labor
leader said the LSM's concern is to cut down daily expenses instead of asking wage increase because the present situation does not merit or is not conducive for wage increments.

The alliance's spokesperson even proposed the inclusion of cell cards in the computation of Consumer Price Index (CPI) since their group considered cell cards as a basic necessity of every worker in a vain attempt to water down the call of militant labor alliance, Kilusang Mayo Uno, for P125 wage increase now pending for deliberation before both chambers of Congress.

As expected, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo commended the decision of labor leaders to downplay wage hikes. In return, the president's immediate circle announced it was considering former Senator and Labor Secretary Ernesto Herrera for a cabinet post.

The LSM's knee-jerk reaction to any pay increase as opposed to job tenure merited Arroyo's attention to the extent of bringing back the moribund political career of Herrera, seen as one of the most opportunist politicians and leaders in the labor movement.

Malacañang, perhaps, is just waiting for Globe and Smart, the biggest beneficiares of Tupas and LSM's brainless proposal to issue their congratulatory messages to Tupaz and Aguilar. That would seal the
appointment of Herrera, the TUCP's ideological guru to the Macapagal-Arroyo cabinet.

But these labor federations will not bat for this proposal without getting something in return. Millions of pesos could accrue to these groups under a deal with the cell phone giants where their thousands of member-workers would become their captive cell phone and cell card consumers.

Betrayal and deception

This recent development in the labor front courtesy of yellow unions is one of the most shocking events in the history of trade unionism in the Philippines. Politically speaking, it fell to one of the highest forms of
class betrayal and avant-garde deception of workers' right to wage increases.

The common act shown by leaders of Tupas and LSM is a classic example of class collaborationism in the labor movement. It was meant to divide Filipino workers on the issue of wage hike and deviate working class attention from this legitimate cause and economic necessity. In essence, the yellow unions' campaign was aimed to weaken the workers' fight for higher wages and political power.

It was a direct hit to the workers' legitimate fight wage hike, particularly the P125 across-the-board pay increase advanced by the militant labor group KMU (May First Movement).

Workers need pay hike and not allowance for text messages and cell calls. To say that the present economic condition does not permit wage hikes and may imperil job tenure is one big political understatement that fully serves the class interest of corporate biggies and transnational clients of the Macapagal-Arroyo government.

The betrayal and deception shown by leaders of yellow labor groups was meant to spoil the battle for P125 pay increase. When KMU and other progressive trade unions brought back the issue, yellow unions took an aggressive stand against any pay hike at this time and they were obviously in cahoots with the employers' associations in denouncing wage hike among public and state workers.

Apologists and saboteurs

The ringleaders of Tupas and the LSM gamely played their old-time role as apologists and saboteurs in the service of big business groups and the anti-labor government of President Macapagal-Arroyo.

The likes of Tupaz and Aguilar are perennial traitors to Filipino workers. Their rallying slogan "cellcards over empty stomachs" underscore their bias for corporate owners and employers' groups while attacking from within the labor movement the legitimate demands for wage increase, jobs and trade union rights.

There's no truth to this claim by the motley group of self-proclaimed labor leaders that wage increase at this point in time would be detrimental to the economy. In fact, the economy is expected to splash a buoyant turn in the event of wage hike contrary to Tupas and LSM's views that any wage increase will imperil the economy and kill jobs.

Even in times of crisis, super monopolies are extracting large surplus from labor's hard work because of their economic advantage and monopoly position. It is politically correct to underscore transnational empires and monopolies’ immense capacity to realize huge profits from corporate exploitation, downsizing of labor and keeping labor costs six feet below ground even in days of economic chaos.

The doomsday scenario whipped up by employers' groups and their agents and mercenaries in the labor movement like Tupaz and Aguilar has no logical and sound basis. These nursery tall tales about economic fiascos, absurd horror stories and nonsense literatures had been abused right from the start to keep workers' daily wages always at depressed levels.

Persist in the fight

Militant labor groups like KMU and its member unions and federations should persist in their fight for P125 across-the-board wage hike, as well as the struggle for job security and trade union rights and class emancipation.

In the service of Filipino workers and the people in general, the public expects militant and progressive labor unions to uphold the battle for higher wages in all venues of struggles, including but not limited to
street actions, congressional campaign and public opinion.

This is in the light of the recent development where transnational lords and corporate baggers have sent marching orders to their paid agents in the labor movement to downplay the legitimate and just call for P125 pay increase. Bulatlat.com

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