In reaction to the death of Arnel Tolentino in a demolition last April [...]]]> The Center for Trade Union and Human Rights criticized the Aquino government for “grossly violating the poor’s right to life and right to adequate housing” as a result of violent demolition of homes of urban poor communities to favor “so-called development projects.”

In reaction to the death of Arnel Tolentino in a demolition last April 23 in Bgy. Silverio, Paranaque City, Arman Hernando, CTUHR documentation coordinator said, “demolition of urban poor communities purportedly to implement so-called development projects by the Aquino administration and local government units have resulted to gross violations of the poor’s right to life and adequate housing.”

“In our documentation and monitoring, Tolentino is already the fifth urban poor resident killed as a result of violent demolition or ongoing dispute over urban poor communities since Aquino took office in 2010. At the same time, more than 12, 000 of families have been affected and displaced to give way to ‘development’ projects which more often than not favor private interests.”

In 2011, four urban poor residents were killed in three separate incidents related to the demolition of urban poor communities. On July 23, Soliman Gomez and Rommel Fortade were killed in a violent demolition of homes in Pangarap Village in Caloocan City. Antonio Homo, a resident of Kadiwa Navotas City and Simeon Bayogbog of San Isidro Rodriguez, Rizal were also killed in March and October last year at the height of dispute over the planned demolitions of their respective communities.

The demolition in Bgy. Silverio resulting in the death of Tolentino, injury and arrest of many other residents was executed by the local government of Paranaque together with the Philippine National Police (PNP). According to reports, at around 8-9am on April 23, tension between the police and the residents who are barricading their homes to stop the demolition increased when the police reportedly started throwing teargas towards the human barricade of the residents. The residents retaliated by throwing stones at the policemen. A few moments later, gunshots were heard and Tolentino was later found drenched in blood and unconscious while some other residents found themselves also injured by gunshots. Thirty-three (33) residents were also arrested and later charged with various criminal charges.

“We mourn with the family of Arnel and we are one with them in their fight for justice. No development or government project can ever justify loss of lives and violation of rights. We call on President Aquino to conduct a speedy, thorough and impartial investigation of the incident. Police investigating their own ranks might result to whitewash and coverup. Police and government officials accountable for the violent turnout of the demolition should be penalized and brought to justice,” Hernando added.

“We also reiterate our call on the Aquino government to uphold the poor’s right to adequate housing and stop all demolitions of communities until a comprehensive housing policy that will truly bring development to the lives of the urban poor is put in place,” Hernando added.###

CTUHR Executive Director Daisy Arago said “Malacañang is misleading the public by multiplying the proposed wage hike to 38 million. The total Php 1.6 T is [...]]]> The Center for Trade Union and Human Rights strongly criticized Malacañang’s recent statement rejecting the P125 wage hike pointing out that the Palace’s computation is flawed and misleading.

CTUHR Executive Director Daisy Arago said “Malacañang is misleading the public by multiplying the proposed wage hike to 38 million. The total Php 1.6 T is definitely flawed because not all employed Filipinos are wage and salary workers. In fact, nearly 50 percent of the employed population are own account and unpaid family workers who do not get wages for their work and are therefore not covered by the proposed wage hike.”

Arago also criticized President Aquino for contradicting his earlier speech saying that workers’ needs and welfare should be considered by employers, “It is utterly contradictory, if not mere lip service to the workers, to say on the one hand that workers’ welfare is paramount but on the other hand reject their call for substantial wage hike.”

Arago was referring to a speech delivered by President Aquino last March 16 in an Anvil event where he “virtually lectured” employers about the value of keeping the workers’ morale high by considering their needs and welfare. A few days later, Malacanang made a statement saying that the proposed P125 wage hike which is now being heard in Congress for legislation, is “too high” and “not practicable.”

“President Aquino should listen to his own words and see how big companies in the country have greatly profited at the expense of the working poor,” Arago avers. She further explained that a P125 wage increase is possible if only companies would be willing to slash their profits. She cited a study of Ibon Foundation that showed that a P125 across the board wage hike is only 17 percent share of the companies’ overall profits in 2010.

Very much needed increase

“Needless to say, a substantial wage hike is very much needed by the Filipino workers especially now that oil prices have gone up 9 times already since January 2012. The daily cost of living in the National Capital Region is already Php 1008 and the minimum wage of P426 does not even cover half of it.”

Arago also shared that most of the workers they have interviewed complain that their meager income can no longer afford a nutritious meal for their family. Most of the families have also converted to using coal for cooking instead of LPG because LPG prices are now as much as P1000 per tank.

“Poverty alleviation programs of the administration,” Arago said “did not significantly improve the lives of the poor. Proof to this is the continuous increase of hunger incidence in the last quarter of 2011 from 21.5 percent to 22.5 percent. Definitely, 4Ps is not the alternative to the workers call to higher wages. Some of the CCT beneficiaries we have talked to, especially those residing in remote areas, said that the amount they receive is only enough to buy rice for a few days.”

Arago insisted that a substantial wage hike is just and timely and that aside from this, the government should also lift or at least cut the EVAT on oil products and other basic commodities, “These are just and doable demands of the people. If the Aquino administration will remain obstinately against these demands, then it is true that the straight path he promised do not lead to the betterment of the majority of the Filipinos.”

Pre-empting legislation

Arago also expressed worry that Malacanang’s statement in opposition to the P125 wage hike is pre-empting the legislation of Anakpawis sponsored House Bill 375, a bill that proposes to increase minimum wages by P125 across the board. “After many years, the 125 wage hike bill is finally gaining ground in Congress and we are pleased that the [HOR] Committee on Labor is seriously considering its passage into law. It worries us though that the executive, by expressing their opposition—however crude their argument has been—is seemingly signaling its allies in Congress that the bill should not pass legislation.”

Arago thus appealed to the members of Congress to continue supporting the bill despite Malacanang’s categorical opposition to a legislated wage hike, “We call on the members of the Congress to be one with the workers and immediately pass this bill. The Filipino workers have long demanded for a substantial wage hike. It is a legitimate call and it is the most effective relief our Filipino workers can get amidst increasingly difficult times.”###

Arman Hernando, CTUHR documentation head said, “We condemn the violence the local government of San Juan enforced on [...]]]>

from pinoyweekly.org

The Center for Trade Union and Human Rights condemned the violent demolition of homes in Corazon de Jesus, saying that the brute force and displacement of families from their homes are “never justifications for so-called development projects.”

Arman Hernando, CTUHR documentation head said, “We condemn the violence the local government of San Juan enforced on its very constituents leaving tens of families homeless. Utter disregard for basic rights are never justifications for so-called development projects.”

“When 121 families lose their homes and their source of income, and when the government uses absolute force and violence on its people to pave the way for a new city hall, can we actually say that their programs are developmental?”

On January 11, homes of 121 families in Bgy. Corazon de Jesus were demolished under the order of the local government of San Juan. Around 23 individuals were injured when the policemen and demolition team forced their way to the community breaking the barricade built by the residents. Aside from using a bulldozer and a firetruck, the police also threw teargas, beat the residents with their clubs and fired guns aimlessly to threaten the resisting residents.

Twenty-four other residents and supporters were illegally arrested during and after the confrontation. Around 100 homes were demolished despite the strong resistance of the residents.  Most of them vowed to stay even with their homes already dismantled as they continue to refuse to be relocated in far areas.

Right to housing is right to life

In an urgent appeal sent by Demolition Watch to the UN Rapporteur to Right to Adequate Housing Raquel Rolnik, the group reiterated their belief that the right to adequate housing is not only the people’s right to have a shelter, but also the people’s right to life, to decent work and adequate standard of living.

Like other cases of urban demolitions, residents of Corazon de Jesus are offered relocation sites in far places such as Rodriguez, Rizal away from the residents’ workplaces and lacks access to basic services such as hospitals and education. Instead, the residents insist that the land should be distributed amongst them by the local government as it was already awarded to them by former President Corazon Aquino and former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

“Resistance [of the residents] is justified. To them, Corazon de Jesus is way more habitable than the proposed relocation site. They are merely fighting for survival. The government for the longest time have neglected them and yet it is first to suppress their resistance. Indeed, they have no one else to turn to but to themselves to defend their rights and interests.They are willing to sacrifice their lives for their right to housing and their right to life,” Hernando added.

Demolitions and PPP

“The right to adequate housing is a legitimate call of the people. It is enshrined in the UN Convention on the Economic Social and Cultural Rights which the Philippine Government ratified. And we will continue to push the government to fulfill this obligation.”

“But with the rate of one demolition every month under the Aquino admistration, this basic right is being widely-violated. And with government’s brainchild policy, public-private-partnership, more ‘development projects’ would lead to more displacement of the poor in both urban and rural communities. The people are thus challenged time and again to be more resolute in defending their rights,” Hernando avers.###

“We are enraged that DOLE has no mention of any penalty for Keppel despite their report confirming the company’s non-compliance and gross [...]]]> The Center for Trade Union and Human Rights told the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) that Keppel Shipyard should be penalized following DOLE’s report confirming the Singaporean company’s non-compliance with safety standards.

“We are enraged that DOLE has no mention of any penalty for Keppel despite their report confirming the company’s non-compliance and gross violations of safety standards. We are challenging the DOLE to penalize Keppel and not just ‘sit down’ with Keppel executives and talk why the violations were committed,” Daisy Arago CTUHR executive director said.

Six workers died and seven others were injured on October 7 after a 42-ton metal tower supporting the ramp collapsed in Keppel’s worksite in Subic. The investigation report of the DOLE, released a few days later, confirmed that the company did not have a safety officer and a safety health plan at the time of the accident, both of which are violations of safety rules.

“Many workers have died because of gross violations of safety standards like for example what happened to the 10 workers of Eton construction who died early this year. If Keppel is not penalized, companies will continue ignoring safety rules and regulations.”

Arago further noted that aside from possible administrative and criminal liabilities, Keppel should also be made to pay full indemnification to the dead and injured workers.

Flawed safety policy

CTUHR also slammed the existing policy of the DOLE that allows the ‘self-assessment’ of companies employing more than 200 workers of their own compliance with safety and health standards.

“The Keppel accident among many other previous accidents that killed workers is a clear proof that Department Order 57-04 is flawed policy. We are afraid that until and unless this policy of ‘self-assessment’ is scrapped and stricter rules are put in place, deaths and serious injuries to Filipino workers will not be averted,” Arago noted.#

In the Fact Finding Mission (FFM) [...]]]> The Center for Trade Union and Human Rights (CTUHR) is mourning over the death of six (6) workers of Keppel Subic Shipyard Inc.  We extend our condolences to the families of the deceased workers and express our sympathy to the seven others who sustained injuries due to the incident.

In the Fact Finding Mission (FFM) jointly conducted by the CTUHR, Metal Workers Alliance of the Philippines, Ecumenical Institute for Labor Education and Research and Institute for Occupational Health and Safety Development, it was found out that at around 10:30am, a loud rumble was heard by the workers following the collapse of 42-ton ramp tower and 235-ton ramp. Five workers were immediately killed and seven others were injured. One of the injured workers died in the night due to a severe head injury.

The dead workers were: Ronald Lara; Mark San Juan; Jhay Lord Reyes; Ronaldo Bagay; Cris Xander Papna and; Glenn Miranda.

Injured workers were: Alvin Penaverde; Albert Recana; Belmore Dela Vega; Wendy Balaba; Berlindo Asinas; Diosdado Moteo and; Elopre Eleazar.

An unconfirmed report says that fourteen other workers died of the incident.

We strongly condemn the company’s neglect of occupational health and safety standards which led to the grueling deaths and serious injury to the abovementioned workers.

In the conducted FFM from Oct 8-9, it appears that a single 42-ton ramp tower was in place to support a 235-ton ramp. A worker shared that commonly, four towers were used to support a ramp. According to another worker, the structure was already unstable night before the incident which the safety officers did not inform the workers about.  Although a safety briefing which lasted for 20 minutes was given to the victims before the incident, it obviously did not salvage them from the collapse of the 42-ton boom because no necessary adjustments were done.

We are also aghast with the company’s withholding of information to the families to inform the families of the victims who had been waiting at the gate of the company more than an hour after the incident. The families should have been immediately informed of what happened and the whereabouts of their loved ones.

It is also with appall that we receive reports that families were already paid with Php 10 000-25 000 for the death of their family members. The company presented the money as their assistance to the workers’ burial. However, it was reported that the families signed a certain document which was not explained to the families in exchange for the measly amount.

The lives and damages inflicted on the victims of the incident is not worth 10-25 thousand. We demand full indemnification for the families of the dead workers.

The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority has also remained mum on the incident when it is within its jurisdiction and obligation to immediately conduct investigation and hold responsible the company’s who has violated the rules on safety standards.

As a result of this horrible accident, we are summoning the Aquino government to immediately and thoroughly investigate this particular accident and bring justice to the victims.

We are also calling on the government to repeal its policies on occupational health and safety (OHS). Currently, DOLE Department Order 57-04 exempts companies with 200 or more workforce from government inspection and allows them to do their self-assessment of their compliance with OHS standards. The Keppel incident, alongside other incidents in Hanjin, Eton among many others that took the lives of many workers, highlights the inadequacy if not wrongness of this self-assessment policy. The government should implement stricter health and safety standards to investors.

This incident is also a reminder to the government to review its economic policy. While foreign investments in the country are important to the economy, it is always the Filipino workers who burden the social costs because of the government’s lax policies. What is the value of the foreign investments then if Filipino workers will keep on dying because the government does not exercise authority to make companies follow safety regulations?

As we seek justice for the death of the Keppel workers, we call on the people to unite with us in our calls for immediate investigation, full indemnification for the families and victims, and repeal of the self-assessment policy on occupational health and safety. We must not allow the same incident to happen again and take more lives of Filipino workers.#

Marichie Abgao, president of the Philbless Inc. Workers Union (PBIWU) reported to the Center for Trade Union and Human [...]]]> VALENZUELA—Twenty-eight (28) striking workers (16 of which are women) of Philbless Inc. (PBI) cried foul over the demolition of their picket line by the MMDA Sidewalk Clearing Operations Group (SCOG) 9:45 am on September 20.

Marichie Abgao, president of the Philbless Inc. Workers Union (PBIWU) reported to the Center for Trade Union and Human Rights that two truckloads of MMDA-SCOG operatives headed by Richard Cruz arrived at their picket line and hastily ordered to vacate and demolish the said structures.  “They just suddenly arrived and gave us fifteen minutes to dismantle our picket line,” told Abgao.

The workers resisted the demolition citing that they are doing a lawful picket beside the company’s gate due to an unresolved labor dispute.  The workers plead to the MMDA that the demolition be stopped.

“MMDA has no right and jurisdiction to meddle with the ongoing labor dispute at PBI.  A Notice of Strike was provided to the Baranggay Officials and the MMDA prior to the demolition to prove that we are just exercising their right to strike,” Abgao added.

PBI workers have been on strike since April 15, 2010 demanding to improve their excessively poor working conditions.  For 12 hours of work, most workers earn P275 with various unexplained deductions. Workers also complained of unsafe working conditions, underpayment of SSS, Pag-Ibig and Philhealth contributions and long-term contractual status.  Cases at the DOLE Office of the Secretary and National Labor Relations Commission Labor Arbiter Lilia Savari are still pending.

Abgao also asked MMDA-SCOG head Richard Cruz for any deputization order from the DOLE or any Labor Agency but the officer failed to show any. Instead, Cruz asserted that they are just implementing a demolition order from the MMDA Headquarters upon a concerned citizen’s report of a squatting activity in the area.  The agency claimed that they have no intention to meddle with the labor dispute.  Their responsibility is to dismantle illegal structures on public lands.  He then instructed the workers to study the “Building Code.”

CTUHR documentation head, Arman Hernando affirmed that the MMDA has no right to demolish the picket line. “The picket line is not an illegal structure, it is a legitimate form of protest of the workers for their rights. Even if they say that have no intention of meddling with the labor dispute, the demolition itself is an intervention to the workers’ action and it is a violation of the workers’ constitutional rights to hold pickets.

The workers believe that this incident is another harassment scheme of the PBI management against them.  “The concerned citizen cited by the MMDA could be one of the PBI management.  Why would our picket line be targeted for demolition by the MMDA when we are occupying a industrial compound which is a private area.”

Aside from the demolition incident, PBI owner Leonardo Flores has filed an “Alarm and Scandal” complaint before the Quezon City Metropolitan Court against the 19 workers who picketed at the PBI Head office in Quezon City last November 17 and December 8, 2010.###

CWS expressed in its press release that it is [...]]]> Church people, workers organizations, and labor rights advocates that comprise the newly formed Church People-Workers Solidarity (CWS) united in the call to legislate a substantial wage hike and urged PNoy to make it a priority bill for the opening of Congress on his State of Nation Address.

CWS expressed in its press release that it is  ”apprehensive that the condition of workers and their families who are struggling to survive with their meager income, will deteriorate further with the escalating price of commodities and cost of utilities.”

CWS convenor Jaro Auxiliary Bishop Gerardo Alminaza said, “A substantial wage hike is an immediate relief for majority of our brothers and sisters suffering from hunger and misery amidst the spiraling prices of basic commodities.”

“We call on PNoy to push Congress for the legislation of a just wage hike for the workers across the country,” said Bishop Alminaza.

In a study conducted by Ibon last year, the rich continues to accumulate wealth, as manifested in the data that the total income of 25 richest Filipinos is equivalent to the total income of 55.4 million of the poorest Filipinos.

Also last year, government data showed that Philippine companies with 20 or more employees earned profits totaling P895.2 billion. Thus, Ibon study concluded that a substantial wage hike to all their 2.74 million workers is a small amount that cannot possibly seriously affect their financial status.

The government has given P22 Cost of Living Allowance for workers in Metro Manila. Bishop Alminaza, however, said that such an amount  “is obviously not enough to uplift the living conditions of our brothers and sisters to decent levels.”

Quoting the Second Plenary Council of the Philippines (PCP II), Bishop Alminaza said, “The principles of human work mandate, among  other things… just remuneration for work that is sufficient to establish or properly maintain a family and to provide security for the future… (PCP II, 319)”

For his part, Garry Martinez of Migrante, another CWS Convenor, said that P22 is not even enough to buy a kilo of rice.
Furthermore, Martinez said that the legislation of a just and living wage for the workers will help to strengthen the local economy. A living wage will enable the workers to acquire more purchasing power, thus, making them better consumers.

The Center for Trade Union and Human Rights is also one of the convenors  of CWS and is one with the workers in the call to legislate HB 375 of Anakpawis partylist that will to put into law a nationwide P125 wage hike.#