Because of the failure of President Rodrigo Duterte to sign an executive order to stop contractualization, the country’s biggest labor groups plan to hold a massive protest on Labor Day, May 1.
This even after Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III announced that instead of signing an executive order on contractualization, Duterte will certify as priority a pending bill in the Senate on the security of tenure for workers.
In a forum held Saturday, Sentro ng mga Nagkakaisa at Progresibong Manggagawa (SENTRO) secretary-general Josua Mata said their group and the Kilusang Mayo Uno are looking to gather 150,000 people for the nationwide Labor Day protest.
According to Mata, these people are members of trade unions in the country.
“Historic march ito dahil ngayon lang ulit na ang mga manggagawa na may iba’t-ibang organisasyon, may ibat ibang ideological perspectives ay magsasama sama dahil nagkakaisa kami na talagang pumapatay sa manggagawa ngayon ay kontraktwalisasyon,” Mata said.
Partido Manggagawa chairman Rene Magtubo, for his part, said that in Metro Manila alone, more than 50,000 workers are expected to join the Labor Day protest.
“Magma-martsa kami mula sa Welcome Rotunda hanggang Mendiola at doon magpo-program from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.,” Magtubo said.
“May kasabay na pagkilos sa Cebu, Davao, Iloilo, Bacolod, at Gen. Santos City. Meron din mga pagkilos sa Luzon, sa Calamba at sa Bataan… Ang commemoration ng Labor Day will be transformed into an indignation protest dahil sa pagtalikod ni Digong sa kaniyang pangako na pirmahan ang executive order,” Magtubo added.
Magtubo said the President did not sign the executive order due to the lobbying of employers and foreign chambers.
But at the same time, Magtubo still believes that Duterte may still change his mind and eventually sign an order against contractualization.
He added that they will continue to call on the President to fulfill his campaign promise.
“Mahaba pa ang panahon niya. May panahon pa naman para naman na magabago siya ng isip,” Magtubo said.
Magtubo group also said that Duterte’s trust rating will continue to dip if his promise to end contractualization remains unfulfilled.
“Sigurado kami na babagsak ‘yang rating na ‘yan kasi reflection ‘yung pag-dip ng rating sa unfulfilled promises,” he said.
Duterte’s net trust rating went down by 10 points in March compared to three months ago, based on the first quarter survey results from the Social Weather Stations.
The President got a net trust rating of +65, which was still considered “very good.”
Magtubo said Duterte may no longer enjoy a favorable rating in the future if an executive order to end contractualization will remain unsigned as this will further anger workers who saw hope when he promised to end the unfair labor practice during his campaign.
“Sinabi namin kanina na ang contractualization ay marami ang contribution niyan sa kahirapan at sa buhay ng mangagawa, sa pagdusdos ng suweldo at benepisyo na hindi nararanasan sa mga agency kaya ‘pag hindi ‘yan na-address, contributory ‘yan sa pag-dip ng kaniyang ratings,” the labor leader said.
Labor groups have long sought dialogues and sent drafts to the President of their request for him to execute an order that will ban contractualization.
SENTRO’s Mata added that other pressing and unresolved labor issues may further bring down Duterte’s trust rating.
“Sa aming tantiya, ‘pag patuloy siyang na hindi pumirma sa EO, kapag hindi niya sinulusyunan ang yung sangkatutak na problema na kinreate niya sa pagsasara ng Boracay , pag hindi niya inayos ang problema ng migrant workers sa Kuwait at iba pang bansa ay talagang dadausdos nang husto ang kaniyang rating,” Mata said.
“Kaya tingin namin panahon na para i-rethink niya ang kaniyang posisyon. He has to sign an EO now,”
Meanwhile, the president will fly to Cebu on Tuesday to grace the 116th Labor Day celebration at the IC3 Convention Center here.
This was confirmed by Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Undersecretary Joel Manglungsod in a press conference for the 2018 Labor Day celebrations at the DOLE 7 (Central Visayas) office here Saturday.
Maglungsod said the president will have an important announcement to make during the Labor Day event, which will feature an overseas and local job fair with thousands of job openings up for grabs.
DOLE-7 Director Alvin Villamor said 41 local employers and 22 overseas employers and recruitment agencies are participating in the job fair.
The local job fair, to be spearheaded by the Cebu Provincial Public Employment Service Office, will offer 2,464 vacancies for Cebu jobseekers.
Local job openings are for customer service representatives, cashiers, sales clerks, drivers, kitchen staff, waiters, engineers, service crew, carpenters, masons, and technical support representatives, among many others.
Those who want to work overseas can apply for the 8,242 job openings being offered. Positions needed abroad include nurses, engineers, bellboys, cooks, service crew, receptionists, waiters/waitresses, room attendants, graphic designers, and restaurant workers.
Villamor said a local and international job fair will also be held simultaneously at the Negros Oriental Convention Center in Dumaguete City on May 1.
Other activities lined up for Labor Day include a “Trabaho, Negosyo at Kabuhayan” Fair in coordination with the Department of Trade and Industry, medical and dental mission, Operation “Tuli” (circumcision), free medical laboratory testing, health and wellness counseling, and free massage.
On possible protests and rallies on May 1, Villamor said, “It’s a free country. They (protesters) can rally all they want.”
Meanwhile, the Pag-Ibig Fund will also be raffling off three house-and-lot units for laborers on May 1.
Pag-Ibig Fund Visayas-Mindanao vice president, lawyer Marie Antoniette Diaz, said they have distributed 5,000 tickets among laborers nationwide for the raffle.
Diaz said one house and lot will be raffled off for Luzon in Baguio City, one for the Visayas here in Cebu, and the other for Mindanao in Zamboanga City.
She said the giving out of these house-and-lot prizes is Pag-Ibig’s way of helping not just DOLE’s program but the program of President Duterte.
Participants in the raffles need not be members of Pag-Ibig and winners will be given the option on where they want their houses built, Diaz added.
Diaz also announced that Pag-Ibig will be raffling off PHP1 million for its members on Labor Day.