Workers, transport sector unify causes
Workers and the transport sector in Western Visayas have joined hands in today's commemoration of International Labor Day.
In Iloilo City, Partido ng Manggagawa, Panay-Guimaras and the Iloilo City Alliance of Jeepney Operators and Drivers Association (ICAJODA) will stage a protest caravan in the main thoroughfares of the city before joining a mobilization by hundreds of workers and poor at the Plazoleta Gay.
In Bacolod City about 3,000 workers including those from the sugar industry are expected to march the streets of the city.
Labor Day commemoration in Negros, which is spearheaded by Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU), started last Sunday through the launching of Lakbayan -- a hundred kilometers walk from Escalante City in the North and Bago City in the South to Bacolod City.
Boyet Parcon, vice president of ICAJODA said, “the workers in the transport sector are out today to protest the excessive fines and penalties being imposed by the local government to the jeepney operators and drivers in the city. The amount of fines and penalties being charged to the drivers especially on minor violations has greatly compromised the daily income of the drivers more particularly to our members who are only renting jeepney units.”
Likewise, “we also would like to re-emphasize our long time demand addressed to the City Government that it properly implements the Perimeter Boundary Ordinance,” stressed Parcon.
Around 30 public jeepneys coming from 19 associations of jeepney operators and drivers under ICAJODA will join in the protest caravan which will converge at Plazoleta Gay.
PM-Panay secretary-general Mario Andon considers the event today “momentous” as “the Ilonggo workers and the transport sector joins hands in response to our appeal for unity in order to achieve our collective goal in these times of global crisis.”
Meanwhile, protesters in Negros Occidental urged the House of Representatives for the passing of the P125 legislated wage hike for private employees and P3,000 monthly salary increase for government workers across the board and of the Genuine Agrarian Reform Bill currently pending at Congress.
National Federation of Sugarcane Workers and Kilusang Mayo Uno will continue their camp out today at DOLE office.
The demand is for DOLE Secretary and Sugar Tripartite Council Chairman Marianito Roque to directly release the P16.7 million unclaimed benefits directly to sugar and mill workers supervised by DOLE regional office contrary to the decision of Sugar Tripartite Council to release the fund to sugar planters.
The militant farm workers’ federation also demanded DOLE to vacate the Sugar Workers Livelihood Center as their provincial office because the center aims to train farm workers to uplift the poverty driven situation.
“We call DOLE Secretary Roque to release directly unclaimed benefits to the farm and mill workers especially that the tiempos muertos came too early. Keep planters hands off to the said benefits because we doubt that they will deliver it to the workers because of the exploitative characters of hacienderos in Negros,” said Isidro Castillo NFSW Chairman.
The Sugar Tripartite Council will decide to distribute to the workers the P16.7 million unclaimed benefits from Sugar Amelioration Fund (SAF) but it will be administered by sugar planters.
Sugar Amelioration Fund is based on Sugar Amelioration Act of 1991 that imposed a lien of P10.00 per LKG per gross production of sugar. SAF allocated 80 percent of its fund for cash bonus for mill and plantation workers as share from production, while the remaining 20% is allocated for socio-economic program and related fund particularly 3% for sugar workers maternity benefits fund, 5% for sugar workers death benefits fund, 9% for socio economic project and the remaining 3% is for administrative expenses. Sugar Workers Livelihood Center (SWLC), on the other hand, was built and funded to launch trainings for farm workers to raise their socio-economic condition.
“We only not demand the distribution of unclaimed benefits to the legitimate owners but also the return of SWLC to the sugar workers as legitimate beneficiary including the accounting of its property and continuation of its services. Developmental trainings and project were denied to us since the occupation of SWLC by DOLE as its provincial office,” Castillo added.