Lunes, Abril 23, 2012

New labor alliance launched ahead of May 1 protest



MANILA, Philippines – The country’s trade and labor organizations and unions on Monday launched a broad alliance that will stage a 20,000-strong “historic” action in Manila on Labor Day, advancing Filipino workers’ demand for wage increase, security of tenure and fight against labor contractualization.
Dubbed “NAGKAISA,” the newly established “multi-ideological and multiform” network of labor organizations is composed of some 40 major trade unions and labor federations across the country.
In a press conference Monday, labor leaders representing these organizations said the merger would mobilize a united and massive protest march to the historic Mendiola on May 1, a first in recent history.
Joshua Mata, secretary general of the Alliance of Progressive Labor (APL), said the last time various labor organizations in the country formed one coalition to advance rights of Filipino workers was in 1989.
“May 1 promises to be a historic action because for the first time in so many years, there has become a broad coalition of labor groups that would all come together to make our demands to the government not only in Metro Manila but also in key areas in the country,” said Mata.
Simultaneous mass actions to mark Labor Day will also be staged in key cities in the country: in Baguio, Pampanga, Bataan, Cebu, General Santos City, Negros, Davao, Iloilo, Cagayan de Oro, Cotabato and Iligan.
“This will be a calibrated mass action because we will give the government an opportunity to address our appeal to improve the plight of Filipino workers,” explained Pete Pinlac, president of Manggagawa para sa Kalayaan ng Bayan (Makabayan) at a press conference in Manila yesterday.
Should the government’s response remain unfavorable to workers after the Labor Day march, the coalition would stage further mass actions to advance the laborers’ interest, which would include protest actions during the Asian Development Bank annual meeting next month.
The big ADB meeting, to be held from May 2 to May 5, is expected to draw some 4,000 banking and finance executives from 67 countries.
“The ADB has a big role in the privatization of our industries especially in the power sector…so we are also ready to show force and hold a protest during the meeting,” warned Pinlac.
As one voice of labor, NAGKAISA will primarily raise issues on oil deregulation, wage increase, the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001 and the passage of the Security of Tenure Act.
The coalition also said it would actively engage industry and all branches of government at all levels in meaningful and progressive social dialogue to improve the plight of workers.
“In the face of the prevalent anti-worker environment…our unions have continued to champion workers’ right to organize, to collectively bargain, to hold strikes and to engage government in social dialogue but with limited success,” said NAGKAISA in a statement.
“We believe that the Filipino workers can be empowered again by, first and foremost, united action among unions and workers’ organizations,” it continued.
The new coalition is composed of labor groups Associated Labor Unions-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines; Makabayan, APL, Marino, Partido ng Manggagawa, the Philippine Government Employees Association and Sentro ng Progresibong Manggagawa, among others.

Huwebes, Pebrero 9, 2012

PALEA may bagong suporta











by SAAN ANG BIYAHE MO? ni 'Tol Bren Sarasa Feb 9, 2012 7:56pm HKT
ANG demanda kay Chief Justice Renato Corona ay ang bintang na nilabag niya ang Saligang Batas nang hindi niya ibinunyag ang kanyang totoong statement of assets, liabilities and MAY sumulpot na namang kakampi ang Philippine Airlines Employees Association (PALEA) at hindi ito pipitsugin.
Ang totoo nito, mga ‘tol, ay literal na stateside (hindi dahil sa dinidiyos natin ang anomang imported o mula sa Tate).
Ang ating tinutukoy ay ang, the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, isang unyon ng  mga flight attendant na pinakamalaki sa buong mundo. May 60,000 ang mga miyembro nito na nagmula sa 23 airlines.
Noong nakaraang a-sais ng Pebrero ay nagpahatid ang AFA-CWA ng isang liham sa opisina ng Philippine Airlines o PAL sa Los Angeles International Airport sa estado ng California sa Estados Unidos.
Ayon sa unyon na nakabase sa US, nakababahala ang pagtrato ng PAL sa mga dating kawani nito na mga miyembro ng PALEA.
Sa sulat, pinagdiinan ni AFA International President Veda Shook na dapat kilalanin ng PAL ang mga sakripisyong ibinigay ng mga miyembro ng PALEA upang pakitain ang PAL.
Dagdag pa ni Shook: “We will stand in support of the public boycott of Lucio Tan-owned PAL and Air Philippines until management has heeded workers’ demands for a return to their regular jobs.” Matindi, ano, mga ‘tol?
Tulad ng inaasahan, natuwa ang mga taga-PALEA sa pagpapakita ng suporta ng AFA-CWA. ‘Ika nga ng pangulo ng una na si kasamang Gerry Rivera, isang karangalan ang mabigyan ng suporta ng “our sister and brother flight attendants from America.”
Aniya pa, ang pakikibaka ng PALEA laban sa “outsourcing” at “union-busting” may epekto sa lahat ng mga manggagawa sa buong mundo.
Maidagdag ko na rin, kasamang Gerry, ang laban ng PALEA ay laban din ng lahat ng mga manggagawang transportasyon.
Kaya’t asahan mo at ng iyong mga kasamahan na naririto lang ang TRANSPORTER upang umalalay sa inyong mga plano.
Alam nating lahat na maraming pakikibaka ang transport workers. Araw-araw.
Hindi biro-biro at pipitsugin ang mga kalaban. Naririyan na nga ang PAL, ang “Big 3,” ang ‘ika nga ay “invisible hand” ng pandaigdigang merkado sa usapin ng presyo ng petrolyo at ang gobyerno mismo.
Wala tayong panlaban kung hindi ang ating pagkakaisa, pagkakapit-bisig at pagsigaw na sabay-sabay upang mapakinggan ang ating boses.Ano ba ang mahalaga, ang katotohanan o ang technicalities upang mapagtakpan at maitago ang katotohanan?
Tungkol  naman sa  bintang  na mahinang  abogado si Tupas at mga kasamahan niya sa prosecution, dapat magtanong muna sila sa Integated Bar of the Philippines para malaman nila na kabilang sa Top 20 sa Bar exams ang kongresista mula sa Iloilo.
Pangalawa, a matter of opinion yan.
Hindi dahil sina Tupas ay hindi mahusay na abogado sa paningin ng depensa ay maaabsuwelto na si Corona.

Biyernes, Pebrero 3, 2012

"OccuFLY" at LAX - Flight Attendants Hold Large Protest as Part of the 99%

Published: Friday, Feb. 3, 2012 - 1:32 pm
/PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Flight Attendants from over 20 airlines, represented by the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA), and concerned citizens from across the country will hold an OccuFLY protest at Los Angeles International Airport on Monday, February 6. Flight Attendants and supporters will protest the latest attack on collective bargaining rights included in the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reauthorization bill.
"The FAA reauthorization should be focused on addressing the pressing safety issues that will ensure that the U.S. aviation system remains the safest in the world. Instead, Congress has used this process to gratuitously attack American workers in order to satisfy corporate executives. This controversial labor provision is nothing less than an attack by the 1% against the 99%. We saw it in Wisconsin and Ohio, now we see it for airline and rail workers who are simply seeking the benefits of collective bargaining or fighting to hang on to collective bargaining rights," said Veda Shook, AFA International President.
Through a secret deal, House Republicans and Senate leadership have proposed drastic changes to the Railway Labor Act (RLA). The RLA, one of the nations first labor laws, was crafted cooperatively by labor and management and has not been changed in nearly eight decades without the agreement of both employer and employee representatives. By requiring the support of at least 50 percent of an employee group before a union representation election could be held, where currently there is no statutory requirement, Congress is trying to undermine a workers choice to have union representation. This will virtually ensure that employers will tie up union elections through endless litigation. Through industry consolidation current contracts could be jettisoned and union representation cancelled.
NOTE TO MEDIA: Flight Attendants will be in uniform and available for interview. To schedule an interview or check availability, please contact Corey Caldwell atccaldwell@afanet.org The Association of Flight Attendants is the world's largest Flight Attendant union. Focused 100 percent on Flight Attendant issues, AFA has been the leader in advancing the Flight Attendant profession for over 65 years. Serving as the voice for Flight Attendants in the workplace, in the aviation industry, in the media and on Capitol Hill, AFA has transformed the Flight Attendant profession by raising wages, benefits and working conditions.  Nearly 60,000 Flight Attendants at 23 airlines come together to form AFA, part of the 700,000-member strong Communications Workers of America (CWA), AFL-CIO. Visit us atwww.afacwa.org.
OccuFLY Protest Monday, February 6, 2012 Time: 12:30 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. PST Protest: LAX Tom Bradley International Terminal, Upper Level, South SideLos Angeles, CA 90045
SOURCE Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA-CWA) http://www.sacbee.com/2012/02/03/4237463/occufly-at-lax-flight-attendants.html

Biyernes, Disyembre 16, 2011

PALEA gets backing of Occupy Protesters



Photo taken in Australia


Photo taken in Japan


Video taken in Canada

Press Release
December 16, 2011
PALEA

Just as truck drivers and longshore workers got the support of Occupy rallyists in the US, the Philippine Airlines Employees’ Association (PALEA) received the solidarity of Occupy protesters in Canada. Occupy Toronto activists together with Canadian airline unions held a solidarity action at the Toronto international airport last December 10. Last Tuesday various ports along the West Coast such as Oakland, Los Angeles and Portland were shutdown by community pickets of Occupy protesters with the support of port workers who refused to cross the picketlines. As is the practice in Occupy protests, the Toronto rally was called a “general assembly” and speeches were “echoed” by the participants.

The series of solidarity actions for PALEA continued with a picket at the Tokyo office of Philippine Airlines (PAL) by Japanese railway workers last December 12. On December 14 another rally was held at the Philippine consulate in Melbourne that was attended by PALEA vice president Alnem Pretencio, the head of the two million-strong Australian Council of Trade Unions Geraldine Kearney and leaders of the Australian Services Union which represents airline workers including Qantas, Maritime Union of Australia, Victorian Trades Hall Council and Australia Asia Worker Links.

Gerry Rivera, PALEA president and vice chair of the Partido ng Manggagawa, said that “We salute the Occupy shutdown of the West Coast ports to demand justice for truck drivers and longshore workers. The fight for better pay, job security and union rights is a common struggle of port workers, airline employees and workers around the world. PALEA stands shoulder to shoulder with Occupy protesters.”

The latest series of solidarity actions for PALEA is the second wave after earlier rallies staged in late October to early November in Washington DC, San Francisco, Chicago, Los Angeles, Tokyo and Hong Kong.

Renato Magtubo, chair of PM and co-chair of the Church-Labor Conference, declared that “The latest rallies in support of PALEA are a level up from earlier actions since the call for a boycott of Lucio Tan-owned PAL and Air Philippines are explicitly expressed. The widespread boycott campaign will hurt PAL since the regional flights to Australia and Japan, and the transpacific flights to the US are among its most profitable operations.” He added that “The fact that PAL is having a promo during the Christmas peak season belies its claims that its operations are back to normal.”

Rivera claimed that “The convergence between the youth-led Occupy protests and the workers struggles for wages, jobs and rights is a welcome development. Social change will come from the unity and action of the 99%.”

For a video of the Toronto action: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZV8lFtTCo7Q 



Linggo, Disyembre 11, 2011

Labor rights under P-Noy: Large gap between declared policy and implementation


PRESS RELEASE

10 December 2011


A large gap between declared policies and implementation characterize the conduct of the present administration in upholding the constitutional mandate of providing full protection to labor, the labor group Partido ng Manggagawa (PM) said in a statement as the country celebrates the International Human Rights Day.

PM chair Renato Magtubo find the current state of labor rights “very depressing” under the present administration as "P-Noy is all talk but zero achievement in upholding labor rights.” 

Magtubo pointed out that when P-Noy assumed office in July last year, he carried with him a 22-Point Labor & Agenda with a declared policy in promoting employment and upholding labor rights.  The agenda has an an over-arching goal of “investing in our country’s top resource, our human resource, to make us more competitive and employable while promoting industrial peace based on social justice.”  

The labor leader explained that Item No. 3 of the said Agenda aims “to promote not only the constitutionally protected rights of workers but also their right to participate in the policymaking processes”, while Item No. 7 seeks “to align  our country’s labor policies with international treaties and ILO conventions in a sound and realistic manner.” 

Asked Magtubo: “Where is P-Noy now after declaring those big words 17 months ago? Where is P-Noy now after Lucio Tan locked out the 2,600 workers of PAL who were fighting for their constitutionally guaranteed rights?  Where is industrial peace based on social justice? ”

The labor group added that even the recent Conference of the International Labor Organization (ILO) held in Kyoto reminded both businesses and governments to prioritize long-term over short term employment.  The ILO’s Decent Work Framework which promotes equal opportunity and gainful employment was adopted by the Philippine government several years ago.

“Yet P-Noy’s labor secretary Rosalinda Baldoz who was present at the conference and who decided in favour of Lucio Tan in the PAL case, defended the outsourcing and contractualization as a necessary policy,” lamented Magtubo,

The former partylist representative said the PAL issue had become a litmus test to P-Noy and this unresolved issue of social justice will continue to hound his administration whose popularity is mainly bolstered by a populist campaign on anti-corruption.


December 10, 2011 Solidarity Rally for fired PALEA members in Manila

December 10, 2011 Solidarity Rally for fired PALEA members in Manila

Sabado, Disyembre 10, 2011

Looking At The PAL-PALEA Dispute through the lens of Industrial Relations and Human Rights

UP School Of Labor And Industrial Relations & The Philippine Human Rights Information Center
Forum on PAL-PALEA Dispute
December 15, 2011 1-5pm at UP SOLAIR