Bacolod, Negros Occidental. INQUIRER FILES
BACOLOD CITY – Striking members of two transport groups here joined a Labor Day rally to call on the government to junk the public utility vehicle modernization program (PUVMP).
The United Negros Drivers and Operators Center-Pagkakaisa ng mga Samahan ng Tsuper at Operetor Nationwide and Kabacod Negros Transport Coalition joined a Labor Day rally in front of the Bacolod City Government Center.
Lilian Sembrano of Kabacod Negros Transport Coalition said they will continue to ply Bacolod’s streets on Thursday despite the consolidation deadline on April 20 to protest the unjust PUVMP.
While many traditional jeepneys kept off the streets of Bacolod on Wednesday, public transportation was not paralyzed since modern jeepneys continued to operate.
READ: Piston to hold another transport strike from April 29 to May 1
Meanwhile, Wennie Sancho, General Alliance of Workers Association (Gawa) secretary-general, at a separate gathering in Bacolod slammed government for failure to grant the P100 legislated wage hike approved by the Senate.
“It was passed on to the Lower House and disappeared. It will be difficult for the legislated wage hike to be approved in the Lower House because the majority of its members are capitalists and businessmen,” Sancho said.
He said the workers are suffering from the effects of inflation with the unabated increases in the prices of goods and services.
“The minimum wage can no longer cope with the basic needs of the family with the deterioration of the workers purchasing power and the erosion of the value of the pesos,” Sancho said.