Militant workers press significant offer from gov’t on Labor Day

With less than a week to go before Labor Day, militant workers on Sunday pressed for a significant offering from the government, whose job fairs they branded as insulting. Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) and Anakpawis also challenged presidential and senatorial bets to address their "major demands." "The country’s working sectors are demanding for significant wages, secure employment and better working conditions, but the Arroyo administration, through the [Labor department], opted to provide trivial, insignificant offerings for Labor Day," the groups said in an article posted on the KMU Website. Both groups made a fresh push for a legislated wage hike, job security and the reversal of anti-labor policies. KMU and its allied organizations vowed to send 50,000 workers to Liwasang Bonifacio in Manila on May 1 to commemorate Labor Day. It also belittled the government’s job fairs as "job fairy tales." The groups said they would not be appeased by the government’s package of nonwage benefits for workers on Labor Day. KMU Chairman Elmer Labog, who said the Labor department’s "mega-job fair" on May 1 was doubly insulting, said it highlights the severe problem of local job generation. "Workers are asking for what they rightfully deserve — decent jobs and economic relief, not alms and morsels from the government and employers," he said. He added that most of the job offerings at Labor department’s job fairs are "low-paying, contractual, man-pooling jobs for local and overseas employment." "Job fairs have in fact become ‘job fairy tales’ — giving a false hope and further desperation to the unemployed," Labog said, adding that the fair was a gimmick aimed to pacify the growing discontent of workers. Labog said the KMU would highlight workers’ electoral demands for national candidates as Labor Day approaches. These demands include substantial across-the-board legislated wage increase for workers in the private sector; job security, humane and gender-sensitive working conditions; local job generation and reversal of labor export policies; and intensified government labor inspections to ensure compliance with labor standards. The groups are also seeking the censure of employers who carry out unfair labor practices; repeal of a Labor order on flexible wage arrangements; justice for victims of trade union repression; repeal of regressive tax policies; and price control for basic goods. — CGL/NPA, GMANews.TV