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Philippines: Job fairs but no pay hike on Labor Day
Philippine Daily Inquirer - May 1, 2009
Manila, Philippines – There will be no wage increase for workers to mark Labor Day on Friday. There will, however, be job fairs nationwide set up by the Department of Labor and Employment offering more than 200,000 jobs, Malacaqang said Thursday.
"There will be a job fair in all the regions," Cabinet Secretary Silvestre Bello III said on the phone. "Labor Day is an occasion to look back on the welfare of Filipino workers, and a time to reflect on their needs in terms of pay and job opportunities." But don't expect President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo at any of the job fairs or other Labor Day activities.
Asked if Ms Arroyo had any such activity scheduled, Bello said: "None that I know of."
Speaking at the 19th annual conference of the Inter-Pacific Bar Association Thursday, the President made no mention of Labor Day and focused on the "good news" about the global economic downturn.
She said the US Federal Reserve had observed that the sharp decline in the US economy was slowing, while Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso had talked of "a few glimmers of hope."
She added that the pickup in China's economy would strongly support growth in the rest of Asia by raising demand for commodities and products.
"It will probably have much more to go before these bits of good news we are hearing really becomes a positive trend, but just as bad news should not take us by surprise, recovery should also be prepared for," the President said in a speech at the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay City.
"We should be ready to take full advantage of a rebound if it happens," she said.
Labor Day marches
True to form, various workers' groups will hold Labor Day marches in Metro Manila and other urban centers, focusing on job losses and job security amid the economic downturn caused by the global financial crisis.
The militant Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) will begin its May Day activities with a torch run at 5:30 a.m. from the Trabajo market in Sampaloc, Manila, to the Welcome Rotunda.
In the afternoon, members of KMU and its affiliates in the National Federation of Labor Union will hold simultaneous programs in Plaza Moriones, Tondo; the corner of Blumentritt and Dimasalang Streets and in front of the University of Santo Tomas campus, both in Sampaloc; Kalaw corner Taft Avenue in Ermita; and Quirino corner Taft Avenue in San Andres.
At 3 p.m., the gathered workers will march to Liwasang Bonifacio for a program scheduled at 4-6:30 p.m. A march on the US Embassy on Roxas Boulevard is scheduled after the program.
The Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino (BMP) said it would mobilize 10,000 workers in a separate march from UST to Liwasan beginning at 9:30 a.m.
The BMP members will be joined by their allies from Sanlakas, Kongreso ng Pagkakaisa ng mga Maralita sa Lungsod, Partido Lakas ng Masa, Pagkakaisa ng Manggagawa sa Transportasyon, Samahang Demokratiko ng Kabataan and others.
The Partido ng Manggagawa (PM) is holding a caravan-march (Lakbayan) to air what it sees as the answer to the crisis – a bailout for workers and a reversal of economic policies.
The march is composed of two contingents – one from displaced workers and urban poor from Cavite, Laguna and southern Metro Manila cities, and another from Rizal, Bulacan and northern Metro Manila.
The PM also has rallies and marches scheduled Friday in the cities of Cebu, Davao, Bacolod, Iloilo, General Santos, Dipolog and Iligan.
On full alert
The Philippine National Police is upping its deployment for the Labor Day activities. Chief Supt. Nicanor Bartolome, the PNP spokesperson, said the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) would deploy 5,000 cops in the metropolis.
Around 300 troops each from Regions 1, 2, 3, 4-A and 5, and the Cordillera Administrative Region, will be sent to augment the NCRPO's antiriot police force. A contingent from the elite Special Action Force will also be deployed for good measure.
Bartolome said the deployment would be concentrated on the city of Manila, where labor groups were expected to hold large protest actions.
He said the 125,000-strong PNP would go on full alert starting at 6 a.m. Friday. This means all PNP personnel are supposed to report to and stay at their post at all times.
On Thursday, the PNP was only on heightened alert, he said. "Rest assured that the PNP will remain vigilant throughout the celebration of Labor Day. The public's safety will be our main priority at this point," Bartolome said.
In a statement, PNP Director General Jesus Verzosa said the "no permit, no rally" policy would be strictly implemented in all regions to maintain peace and order.
"The PNP will respect the workers' right to peacefully assemble and express their grievances. Maximum tolerance will be exercised during the Labor Day celebrations," Verzosa said.
Rain or shine
Some 25,000 workers are prepared to join Labor Day demonstrations in the National Capital Region alone despite inclement weather, according to Representatives Rafael Mariano and Joel Maglunsod of the militant party-list group Anakpawis.
"Rain or shine, the Filipino working class will flood the streets to demand a just and living wage, jobs, a stop to corruption and political repression," Mariano and Maglunsod said in a joint statement.
They said protest actions would also be held in other major urban centers and provinces nationwide.
But historic Mendiola (now Chino Roces) Bridge will remain off-limits to demonstrators, according to Chief Supt. Rodolfo Magtibay, officer in charge of the Manila Police District (MPD).
Magtibay said that should demonstrators reach Mendiola, they would be allowed to stay only as far as the bridge where the statue of press freedom fighter Chino Roces stands.
He said that should demonstrators head to the vicinity of the MPD headquarters on UN Avenue, where whistle-blower Rodolfo "Jun" Lozada is detained, his men would remain on alert for any eventuality.
[With reports from Alcuin Papa and Jeannette I. Andrade.]
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