Wednesday, April 28, 2021

Reaction to DOLE’s Labor Day Bakuna

Para lang may masabi ang DOLE at Palasyo sa manggagawa sa May 1, nakiamot lang ito sa IATF ng 5,000 na bakuna, na bukod sa kulang na kulang, ay una nang nailaan para sa mga nasa priority list. Hindi kaya mas makagulo pa ito? 

Ang nararapat kasi at mas epektibo ay mabilis at tuloy-tuloy na bakuna at ayuda, hindi pang Labor Day lang na propoaganda.

This is the reason why in yesterday’s meeting with the DOLE, our representatives argued that instead of a one-day vaccine fair for show, the government should rather ramp up the vaccine information drive among workers and also ensure transparency in vaccination drive, including the details of every vaccine purchase.

We likewise urge Congress to infuse public funding for our own vaccine development, even if it may take a year or two to develop our capacities.    

And to help ease and accelerate the global production of vaccines and reduce their costs, we called on the national government to support the TRIPS Waiver, which would allow India and other countries in the Global South to ramp up their vaccine production thereby allowing us to have greater access to vaccines. In the medium term, TRIPS Waiver could also help facilitate local production.

Sadly, this ‘little thing’ Labor Day vaccination only highlights how bad and tough the situation is for workers under this incompetent regime. So, what else can we expect from Duterte’s few remaining months in office? Pawang kapalpakan na lang ba ito hanggang katapusan? 

PRESS STATEMENT
NAGKAISA 
Labor Coalition
28 April 2021
Ref: Atty. Sonny Matula
Chairperson

Tuesday, April 6, 2021

Labor Coalition Calls on Congress to Extend or Improve Healthcare Workers' Compensation, Family Survivorship Assistance

The NAGKAISA Labor Coalition  recognizes that the Healthcare workers directly experience the staggering  death toll and the on-going impact on the physical and mental health at the frontlines of the fight against the CoVID 19 pandemic.

Despite the many risks, lack of resources, long hours of work, and government inefficiencies, our real-life heroes continue to do their jobs, diligently and selflessly providing healthcare assistance to the Filipino people who need it most.

"We call on the house and the senate to continue or extent after June 30 the grant to public and private healthcare worker who contracts severe CoVID-19 infection while in the line of duty to a P100,000 compensation; and, in case of his or her death,  to one million pesos (P1,000,000)  for his or her family as survivorship benefit," said Alliance of Filipino Workers (AFW-SENTRO) President Willy Pulia, who is a nursing aid working at the Makati Medical Center.

"The continuing outburst and unchained spread of CoVID 19 requires the continuing inclusion of the 100,000 pesos compensation and 1million pesos safety net for the family of a healthcare worker who would not survive in battling this dreaded virus," added Trade Federation  Chairperson  Manuel Payao of the Hospital and educational institutions unions of the Federation of Free Workers (FFW).

"Though we are not wishing anyone to sacrifice one's life,  thousands of us contracted severe illness and hundreds  succumbed to death in the line of duty, we need  to recognize these sacrifices and extend assistance to the family survivors in case of their untimely demise, a supreme sacrifice for their families," added Payao, who is also a registered nurse and union president of the UERM Employees Union-FFW in Quezon City.

NAGKAISA also urges government to grant hazard pay to all frontline workers and quarantine leave to all suspected, infected or in anyway affected  by CoVID 19.

"While these kinds of benefit and assistance may not be equal to the weight of their care and concerned with the needs of their patients, neither  enough to recognize all their sacrifices  at this time of pandemic; we hold that, as a grateful nation, we need to profusely  manifest our gratefulness to their heroic deeds by continuing or improving benefits given to them under Bayanihan 1," opined Union President Phoebe Acuril of FFW and who is a nursing aid at the Capiz Emmanuel Hospital in Capiz City.

"Further, NAGKAISA calls on the Employees  Compensation Commission (ECC) to consider CoVID 19 as an occupational disease, particularly so if the employee works in the hospital, medical institution and other healthcare sector as well  as other frontline activities during the time of pandemic," added Rudy Ladiao, NAGKAISA Convenor and General Secretary  of the the Unified Filipino service Workers (UFSW), the bargaining agent of the employees  at the Philippine Chinese General Hospital and Medical  Center in Manila.

Thursday, April 1, 2021

NAGKAISA! Nanawagan sa Gobyerno na Ipagtanggol ang Mga Karapatan ng Unyunista at Itigil ang Patayan at ang Red-Tagging

Ang Nagkaisa!  Labor Coalition ay kaisa sa mga biktima ng pagpatay at ng panunupil sa unyon

Hinihimok namin ang gobyerno na i-konkreto ang probisyon ng konstitusyon sa proteksyon sa paggawa. 

Nananawagan kami sa mga opisyal ng gobyerno na huwag maging kasabwat sa mga pagpatay na ito na mga produkto ng mga baliw na pag-iisip.

Wag po nating ipagkanulo ang mga manggagawa para sa pabor ng makapangyarihang sa lupa. Wag po tayong maghugas kamay katulad ng ginawa ni Pilato.

Kinokondena namin ang pagpatay kay Dandy Miguel ng KMU, Manny Asuncion ng WAC, Leonardo Ecala ng NAFLU at iba pang mga lider ng unyon na pinaslang sa limang taon ng administrasyong Duterte.

Malugod naming tinatanggap ang pahayag ni DOJ Secretary Guevarra na isang espesyal na pangkat ng pagsisiyasat itinalaga ng DOJ upang titingnan ang pagpatay kay Dandy Miguel sa Laguna noong Linggo. Sinabi niya isama niya din ang NBI upang maging bahagi ng AO 35 Task force upang siyasatin ang extra-judicial killing.

Nanawagan ang NAGKAISA! Labor Coalition sa gobyerno hindi lamang upang mag-imbestiga at mag-usig ngunit kondenahin din ang laganap na pagpatay sa mga unyonista, abugado at aktibista. Ang pagpatay sa isang tao ay para na ring pinapatay tayong lahat, pinapatay nito ang bahagi ng ating pagkatao.

Sa ilalim ng administrasyong Duterte, napansin namin na ang gobyerno ay maligamgam kung di baga parang walang malasakit. Wala ka naririnig na pagkondena mula sa gobyerno sa mga walang kabuluhang pagpatay na ito. Ang kulturang "kill, kill, kill them all " ay para bagang hinihimok pa ng pangulo. Ito ay pagkabaliw at dapat itigil ng mga mamamayan ng isang sibilisadong lipunan.

Ang NAGKAISA kasama ang FFW at SENTRO ay iniharap sa Committee of Application of Standards sa 2019 International Labor Conference (ILC), ang mga kaso ng 43 na mga unyonista na pinatay sa panahon ng administrasyong Duterte.

Napagpasyahan ng ILC na magpadala ng isang ILO High Level Mission at ang mga union sa Pilipinas ay gumawa ng maraming mga follow-up sa DOLE ngunit hanggang ngayon ang gobyerno ng Pilipinas ay hindi handa, kung hindi man tumanggi, na tanggapin ang nasabing HLM. Sa gayon, hindi tayo magsasawa ngunit patuloy na hinihimok ang gobyerno na tanggapin ang high level mission.

Natutuwa kami na sa wakas ay binasag ni Sec Bello ang kanyang katahimikan sa bagay na ito, at hinihimok namin siya na agad na gumawa imbistigasyon at:

1. Ipatawag ang NTIPC upang talakayin ang resolusyon sa pagsasama ng paggawa sa AO35

2. Ipatawag ang High Level Monitoring Body at makipag-dayalogo sa AFP, PNP, DND at DILG

Panghuli, sinusuportahan din naming ang pagsasabatas ng Senate Bill 2121 na gagawing kriminal sa "red-tagging" sa mga unyunista, abogado at iba pang mga aktibista.

Various labor centers condemn the attacks against workers, unionists, and organizations