KMU 'dedicates' Labor Day protest to Lozada

MANILA, Philippines — When they hold their Labor Day protests Friday, militant workers will "dedicate" their efforts to detained ZTE witness Rodolfo Noel Lozada Jr. and his fight against corruption. The Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) said it will "advance his cause" in the Labor Day celebrations, even as it urged "truth-loving" citizens to bring the fight to the streets. “The workers’ fight against injustices in the work place are caused by the same government which sows injustice to everyone who do not deserve it. The Labor Day demonstration is also great platform to call for the liberty and freedom of all those repressed and oppressed by the Arroyo government, like JLO (Lozada)," KMU chairman Elmer Labog said on the KMU website (www.kilusangmayouno.org). KMU said it expects thousands of workers and "oppressed and exploited" sectors to march to Mendiola Bridge near Malacañang and the US Embassy in Manila. “All truth-loving and freedom-fighting citizens should bring the fight to the streets, the Arroyo regime should be confronted firmly for its grave sins to the people," he added. Lozada was arrested Wednesday over a perjury charge lodged against him by former presidential chief of staff and defeated senatorial candidate Michael Defensor. In "dedicating" their protests to Lozada and his cause, Labog said it is time the billions that went to corruption be redirected to giving workers their due. “Billions that are spent in corruption should be channeled to direct benefits for retrenched workers instead," he said. Jobs Meanwhile, the KMU belittled the Labor Department's "Jobapalooza" job fair for Labor Day, saying the local economy at present is not capable of absorbing the 30-million-strong work force. It said massive lay-offs and increasing unemployment rate should be resolved by addressing the root cause of the problem. “This government job fair is meaningless unless genuine agrarian reform and national industrialization are implemented. These two reforms will resolve the issue as these will surely provide sufficient job opportunities to the people," said Labog. He pushed anew for a P10,000 economic relief to retrenched workers and a P125 across-the-board wage increase. “Almost every month, government and private sector-sponsored job fairs are being organized. Yet, unemployment rate is constantly increasing. This is a clear indication that organizing a job fair is far from being the solution to the problem of massive lay-offs and unemployment," he said. He said the job fair is unfair to ordinary workers, extracting the cheapest possible yet most efficient labor that will ensure increasing profits for monopoly corporations. “If indeed the government aspires to 'recognize and appreciate' the country’s work force, they should implement economic reforms that can generate jobs and provide sufficient wage, benefits and better working conditions for Filipino workers," said Labog. - GMANews.TV