Selling Goods to Survive
They used to work as
contractual or casual employees. Unable to find stable jobs, they turn to
peddling goods to survive.
By Trina Federis
Bulatlat
Danny Delfin, one
of the vendors who sold food and drinks to ralliers at the
Liwasang Bonifacio last May 1
PHOTO BY AUBREY SC
MAKILAN |
They were at the
Labor Day rally at Liwasang Bonifacio, and even marched with the workers
trying to get to Mendiola. But the street vendors were there mainly to
earn their keep.
Danny Delfin, 39, runs a
small kiosk selling candies, snacks, and cold drinks at Liwasang Bonifacio.
He has been doing this for the past year.
He used to be a
postman for the Manila Post Office. Delfin was just a casual employee so
when his contract expired and found himself without a job, he ventured
into food vending.
He used to buy his
mid-afternoon snacks from the vendors in front of the post office, which
gave him the idea of becoming a vendor too.
|
When asked how his
business is going, he said: “Minsan malakas” (Sometimes, I make a
lot of sales). “Pero di pa rin kasya sa pamilya” (But it’s still
not enough for a family to live on), referring to his four-member
household.
What’s good about
being self-employed is that there’s no salary to worry about, no income
tax to pay. The only thing that dips into his profits is a policeman’s
hand.
“Siyempre, para
hindi ka mapalayas dito. Kailangan mo maglagay. Kasi ano raw e,
illegal ito, kasi walang permit, walang tax. (Of
course, it’s so that you can keep on selling here. You have to bribe them.
They say my business is illegal, because I have no permit, I don’t pay
taxes.)”
He says life is so
hard but this is his only means to earn money. He considers himself as
part of the “lowest in society.”
He sees no hope in
his current condition, unless he works abroad. “Abroad na lang, dito sa
Pilipinas walang mangyayari” (I’d rather work abroad. Nothing will
happen if I continue working here in the Philippines), he says.
Jerome, 22, is an
ambulant buco vendor. Though he has to generate his own capital,
he’d rather work for himself than for others, he said.
Jerome used to work
for a company in Laguna that delivers tiles. He wasn’t a permanent
employee, and was frequently reprimanded because of arguments with his
superiors. He had disagreements with them because of the low salary, and
its delayed payment, he says.
He decided to leave
the company.
Now, he peddles
wherever his feet take him. He went to Liwasang Bonifacio because he knew
he would make a lot of sales during the Labor Day rally. He learned about
the rally from acquaintances, as well as from news on TV.
He will not return to
being an employee. Though he admits that this is the only thing he can do
to earn money, he’d rather have this than fulfill a lot of requirements
for a company that does not pay well.
Most vendors at
rallies may not be organized, but their issues – low wages, job insecurity
– are certainly the same ones militant workers are struggling to resolve.
Bulatlat
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