SONA 2007: PGMA's 'main accomplishment of job opportunities', pure lies - KMU

THE militant Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) today countered one of the so-called main accomplishments of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo that she will deliver in her State of the Nation Address (SONA) before Congress this afternoon.

In a 2-page advertisement in leading newspapers yesterday, the Arroyo government highlighted that it increased job opportunities by having a 92.6% employment rate as of April 2007 and a 7.05 million jobs generated from 2005-2007.

KMU Chairperson Elmer ‘Ka Bong’ Labog said data from government and independent sources indicate that the Arroyo administration is lying through its teeth.

“ Aside from redefining unemployment in 2005 until today to conceal the sorry state of job creation in the country, the years 2001-2006 constitues the worst ever condition of unemployment which hit 11.3% on the average and another 18.7% underemployment rate,” Labog explained.

According to the Ecumenical Institute for Labor Education and Research (EILER Inc.), combining the unemployed and underemployed figures will show that 11.6 million Filipinos are out of work or looking for additional work.

On the other hand, Bureau of Labor and Employment Statistics (BLES) revealed recently that there are 7.6 million “overemployed” , a euphemism of “overworked” Filipinos or those who worked more than 48 hours a week in their primary job for additional earnings.

“These figures will clearly show that even if we will believe PGMA that her government generated 7.05 million jobs, this is far less compared to the 11.6 million Filipinos who are desperately hunting for jobs or looking for additional work. Actually, it is very hard for Gloria Arroyo to convince our countrymen to believe her job-creation accomplishments since an ocular check-up or a simple observation in the communities, particularly depressed areas which the country has many, will show majority of Filipinos have no jobs or even livelihood activities to make both ends meet every day,” Labog explained.

The labor leader also added that statistics will also show that daily, eight establishments are also closing down while estimated 156 workers are retrenched. Establishments that resorted to closures or retrenchments increased by more than 50% from 1995- 2005.

Meanwhile, Labog also said that if the Arroyo government will continue to boast its employment accomplishments, it must also double-check the jobs it created for Filipinos.

“Government figures shows that jobs created until April 2007 are low quality and low-paid which hit 524,000 as unpaid family work and another 147,000 for household help. On the other hand, the productive sectors continue to decline with the manufacturing sector shedding 105,000 jobs. The government must also have a heart in knowing that many Filipinos are desperately into odd jobs and that child labor and prostitution are still rampant," Labog said. ###