PESSIMISTIC. Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino president Leody De Guzman is pessimistic President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will announce any pro-worker benefits on Labor Day. Video taken by INQUIRER.net reporter Tetch Torres
MANILA, Philippines -- Militant groups denounced the 10 percent increase in the salaries of government workers and accused President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo of favoring employers instead of workers.
Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino President Leody De Guzman said they did not expect the President to announce anything that would help the workers this Labor Day.
“Hindi kami umaasa na may iaanunsya siya na makatutulong sa mga manggagawa... Tag-gutom ngayon sa mga manggagawa [We are not expecting her to announce anything that will help the workers… It’s famine time for the workers],” De Guzman said.
“Napakaliit noon [It's too small],” Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) Chairman Antonio Tinio also said.
Tinio said the P1000 increase that the public school teachers would be receiving in July would still not be enough, considering the P7000 gap between the take home pay of the teachers and the cost of living as defined by the government.
As of March 2008, the cost of living in the National Capital Region falls at P18,700 for a family of six, according to Tinio.
He said ACT was calling for a P3000 across-the-board increase for teachers and other government employees.
A similar call was made by Akbayan Representative Risa Hontiveros-Baraquel who pushed for a P3500 across-the-board wage increase for government employees.
Baraquel described the 10 percent increase as “inequitable,” saying that only those in salary grade 31-33 will substantially benefit from the raise.
She said the increase would not trickle down to those belonging in salary grades 1-30, which would include public school teachers and maintenance personnel, in terms of “actual increase.”
Baraquel added that the 10 percent increase was “panakip-butas lang, pang-pakitang tao [a band-aid solution, all for show].”
Meanwhile, Baraquel also called for the abolition of regional wage boards that determine the minimum wages for private employees.
“Parehong antas ng pamumuhay na makatao ang karapat-dapat sa bawat manggagawa, anuman ang rehiyon [na kinabibilangan] niya [Each worker deserves equal and humane standards of living regardless of region],” Baraquel said.
A nationally legislated and industry-wide wage boards should be installed that will push not only for higher wages but also for non-wage benefits like tax reliefs, Baraquel said.
Militant groups that participated in the march include Solidarity of Unions and Labor Organization for New Government (Sulong), Alliance of Progressive Labor (APL), Fortune Tobacco Labor Union and Partido ng Manggagawang Pilipino.
The group dispersed at 1:45 p.m. to give way to the second batch of protesters. Rachel Hermosura, Contributor
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