Workers in Southern Tagalog pin hope in unionism amid an uncertain Christmas
By JUSTIN UMALI
Bulatlat.com
SAN PABLO, Laguna – Despite a challenging 2024, workers in Southern Tagalog are hopeful for the coming year.
This is the sentiment of Mario Fernandez, president of the labor federation Organized Labor Associations in Line Industries and Agriculture (OLALIA-KMU), who believes that a stronger trade union movement in the region can surmount the challenges faced by workers.
“The challenge for all workers remains the same,” he told Bulatlat in an interview. “Workers must continue to unionize and achieve greater victories for our rights and welfare.”
OLALIA-KMU, said Fernandez, is committed to organizing workers to establish more unions in the Southern Tagalog region. “Time and again, we’ve proven that the union is the strongest weapon and shield that we have against exploitation.”
Just last November, two unions under OLALIA-KMU, Technol Eight Philippines Workers’ Union (TEPWU-OLALIA-KMU) and Malayang Unyon sa Daiwa Seiko Philippines Corporation (MUDSP-OLALIA-KMU) concluded their Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) negotiations, earning victories for the workers in their respective companies.
In Technol Eight Philippines, the new CBA includes a P60 (US$1.02 annual wage increase over three years, a P30,000 (US$508.16) signing bonus, and regularization for 22 contractual workers. “This is proof that the ultimate goal of forming a union is to serve as an alternative in achieving some relief in the face of a worsening crisis in society,” TEPWU-OLALIA-KMU said in its statement.
Daiwa Seiko’s CBA also included provisions for a P50 (US$0.85) annual wage increase, benefits like free internet, security of tenure guarantees, and a signing bonus.
Achieving these victories was not easy, said Fernandez, who is also the president of TEPWU-OLALIA-KMU. He relayed how their union went through multiple rounds of negotiation before Technol Eight management and the union finally came to an agreement. “In our case, we staged protest activities to show our union’s solidarity and demand to conclude the CBA negotiations. These ranged from ribbon-wearing to daily protest actions during lunchtime.”
“We also raised the negotiations to the National Conciliation and Mediation Board and brought our calls outside the workplace during protests,” Fernandez added. “This is because as a union, we understand that workers’ issues are not just the exploitation between the worker and the capitalist, but are systemic issues within our society.”
In the case of Daiwa Seiko, MUDSPC-OLALIA-KMU passed a strike vote following a breakdown of CBA negotiations. Shortly after, management finally sat down with the union to conclude the CBA on November 13.
A challenging year
According to labor center Pagkakaisa ng Manggagawa sa Timog Katagalugan (PAMANTIK), the basic crisis faced by workers in the region “has not changed” under the Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. administration.
“Workers are still battling low wages, soaring prices, unemployment and underemployment, and the erosion of rights,” said Mia Antonio, PAMANTIK spokesperson. “Despite Bongbong [Marcos]’ claims of a vibrant job market, he has done nothing but serve the interests of monopoly capitalism and large business.”
Workers in the Southern Tagalog region earn anywhere from P404 to P560 (US$6.84-9.54) per day, which is less than P1,200 (US$20.45), the figure research think-tank IBON Foundation estimates to be the family living wage in the region. Wages in CALABARZON and MIMAROPA are determined differently; in CALABARZON, minimum wage varies per municipality while in MIMAROPA, minimum wage is different for businesses with less than 10 workers.
The Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board is responsible for determining minimum wage rates through wage orders. The last wage increase in CALABARZON was on September 10, 2024 when RTWPB Region IV-A released Wage Order IV-A 21. Wage Order RB-MIMAROPA-12 was likewise released on November 27, 2024.
Aside from low wages, workers also have to contend with unfair labor practices and the threat of dismissal. In Golden Zone Garments and Accessories, Inc., workers have to contend with a lack of safety equipment and poor ventilation, while minor infractions are punished with suspension.
“This is what happens when there is no union to protect the rights of workers,” said Fernandez. Golden Zone workers have since organized themselves in a union but failed to secure enough votes in a certification election, which the union states was the result of management’s “carrot-and-stick” tactics of using offers of benefits and wage increases with threats of dismissal and other forms of intimidation.
Other unions have also felt the pressure. According to Antonio, lax labor laws “allow management to skirt around workers’ rights and weaken the strength of unions.” Workers in Philfoods Fresh Baked Products Inc. have stated that despite a successful CBA negotiation earlier this year, management has yet to adhere to some clauses in the agreement, such as food allowances.
In Nexperia Philippines, workers are still engaged in CBA negotiations with management after more than 20 rounds of negotiations. Last December 10, their union passed a strike vote, indicating their intent to go on strike should negotiations continue to stall into the next year. Nexperia management has since dismissed four union members, including union president Mary Ann Castillo, which KMU described as “blatant union busting.”
The overall situation is just as bleak. Manufacturing jobs only account for 7.61 percent of the total job market, or roughly 3.8 million jobs. IBON Foundation estimates that the majority of jobs available are actually in the informal sector, where income is less stable and labor laws are more relaxed. Unlike regular jobs, pay in the informal sector is usually below minimum.
This is the case for Carlo Avila, a fresh graduate from Luisiana, Laguna. Despite graduating earlier this year with a degree in Communications, he says that he’s had a hard time looking for work in media and has had to settle with whatever’s available just to make ends meet. Most recently, Carlo started working as a baker’s assistant, making P35 per batch of pan de sal. He estimates that he makes anywhere from P350 to P500 (US$5.96-8.52) per day.
“There just aren’t any jobs hiring decent work,” said Carlo. “And all the jobs that are hiring don’t pay enough to cover expenses.”
There are at least 919,000 newly-graduated students who find themselves in situations similar to Carlo’s, according to both IBON and the Philippine Statistics Authority. IBON calls these “cracks in the Marcos administration’s facade of a vibrant labor market,” showing that the government’s focus on foreign investment does not translate to “sustainable and decent employment.”
A lack of justice
Attacks against workers also continued this year despite the administration’s supposed vow to “champion the rights of Filipino workers.”
Last October 27, labor organizers Maritess David and Gavino Panganiban were arrested in Makati while the two were coordinating relief operations for workers affected by Typhoon Kristine in Southern Tagalog. David is an organizer under OLALIA-KMU while Panganiban is the campaign director for PAMANTIK. David and Panganiban are two of the 29 labor organizers and leaders currently detained as political prisoners.
In the worst cases, labor leaders face the threat of extrajudicial killing as a direct result of their organizing work. Justice remains elusive for victims like Jude Fernandez, veteran trade union leader killed in Rizal province last October 2023; Emmanuel Asuncion, Bagong Alyansang Makabayan Cavite coordinator killed on March 7, 2021 in Cavite; and Dandy Miguel, union president for Lakas ng Nagkakaisang Manggagawa sa Fuji Electric Philippines (LMNFEP-OLALIA-KMU), killed on March 28, 2021 in Laguna.
A new challenge for workers
Kilusang Mayo Uno Secretary-General Jerome Adonis said that workers must face three major tasks. “First, workers must continue the struggle to raise the minimum wage to a livable P1,200 nationwide. Secondly, continue to struggle to abolish all forms of contractualization. We must also assert our rights to organize our unions and fight red-tagging.”
The crisis faced by workers “should push [the workers’ movement] to fight for more victories,” according to Fernandez.
“Unionized workers shouldn’t be content with small victories,” he said. “At the end of the day, the benefits we gain from CBA negotiations only solve the surface-level problems.” He pointed out that the working class is still exploited and faces an economic crisis brought about by “decades of neoliberal policies favoring foreign business.”
“These are problems that no CBA can solve,” he emphasized.
Unionists have the task of “organizing not just the workers in the company they work for but all fellow workers,” said Fernandez. TEPWU members, he said, are encouraged to “talk to other workers and encourage them to unionize as well.”
Workers like Carlo are similarly hopeful for the coming year. “What I really want to do is photojournalism,” he says. “If there are more job opportunities, then more people can actually use what they learned for decent work.”
The upcoming 2025 midterm elections are also an opportunity to raise workers’ concerns. Adonis is himself a candidate running as one of the eleven aspirant senators under the Makabayan coalition.
“We know that there are progressive candidates running for elections representing our sectors,” Adonis said. “It’s important that we get these candidates elected in party-list and senate positions.” (RVO)
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