Workers infuriated over JFC’s gross distortion of unemployment sit, call for further contractualization

KMU demands DOLE action on recent cases of lay-offs

Recent pronouncements of the Joint Foreign Chambers (JFC) rejecting the need to regulate massive contractualization, saying it will ‘discourage investment and businesses and result in the loss of jobs,’ and that ‘existing laws and jurisprudence already have a pronounced bias in favor of labor,’ earned the rage of the workers once more.

“Who the hell are they fooling? Since then, those business elites have only given us the choice of losing our jobs or stay in it shortly as a low-earning contractual. They have used the laws and the courts to abuse or terminate workers. We cannot let them push us further to the threshholds of job insecurity,” said KMU Chairperson Elmer “Bong” Labog.

“The security of tenure bill proposing some measures to minimize contractualization, which the JFC strongly rejects, is actually insufficient. With the gravity of contractualization, reduction of work loads and wages, lay-offs and all that they’ve done to us, legislation of security of tenure is below the least we deserve.”

In a rally at the Department of Labor today, KMU urged immediate action of the agency over the continuing wave of retrenchments and contractualizations.

“DOLE and Mrs. Arroyo cannot look the other way and brag that the country is not being affected by the crisis. The jobs crisis is staring the Filipino people in the face,” Labog said.

KMU mentioned some cases of massive retrenchment threats reported to it. At least 7,000 North Harbor port workers and vendors fear destruction of livelihood due to the port’s privatization. More than 3,000 local workers of Pfizer and Wyeth face retrenchment woes amid the buyout. Goodyear tire workersare set to lay-off 500 workers. KFC crews are being terminated using lie-detector test as basis.

“Filipino workers are not taking this sitting down. We are standing up for our right to job security and union recognition.”

He said Wyeth workers are holding picket-protests to demand that their gains in their CBA negotiations as well as their union be recognized. KFC workers have been picketing various branches of the fast food chain. North Harbor workers have mobilized in the thousands to oppose the privatization of the port and the threat of massive layoffs.

Meanwhile, in the coming G20 Summit on Sept. 24-25, KMU said the global business elites will plan to aggravate the massive destruction of jobs and livelihood. “It is expected that they will further push governments of underdeveloped economies such as the Philippines to further liberalize, deregulate and privatize the economy.

“The massive layoffs, threats of massive layoffs and the people’s protest over these should force the government to create decent jobs that will meet the people’s social needs. There is so much that we need to do as a country and as a people – put up more schools, make houses for the homeless, make food for the hungry – yet there are no decent jobs to meet these social needs,” Labog said. #