No good news for workers as Arroyo leaves for UN

“What kind of impressive news about the Philippines will Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo be telling the members of the United Nations (UN)? That up until now, not a single person in the military and police have been convicted in the killings of 78 unionists since 2001 or that she remains in power through iron-fist rule or how about the massive corruption bleeding the public coffers dry?”

This was the reaction today by the Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) LaborCenter to Arroyo’s statement that she will be bringing “good news” when she present a country report to the UN General Assembly.

“When it comes to the ordinary workers, the much-touted increase in revenues, upswing of the stock market or the supposed growth in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) that Arroyo will underscore in her report do not actually translate into a better life for the workers. It’s much ado about nothing,” said Elmer “Ka Bong” Labog, National Chairperson of the KMU.

“We wonder how Arroyo will answer questions about the trade union and human rights situation. The 2007 Annual Survey of Violations of Trade Union Rights (ASVTUR) released by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) this month detailed a sharp increase in Trade Union Rights Violations (TURV) in the Philippines. In 2006 alone, 33 unionists and labor activists were killed,” stated Labog.

According to Labog, the shadow of the bloodbath happening in the Philippines will always tail Arroyo. “Members of the UN General Assembly will show her diplomatic protocols but such niceties cannot remove the dark cloud of human rights violations and massive corruption in government hovering over her,” ended Labog.