Labor groups: Charter change not the answer to unemployment

CEBU, Philippines – Militant labor groups yesterday re-staged their public opposition to move to change the Constitution by burning a copy of the Labor Code of the Philippines and carrying placards that assailed those behind Charter change.

In a press conference, Sanlakas Sugbo, Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino- Cebu, Cebu Displaced Workers Alliance and Konpederasyon ng Pagkakaisa ng Maralita ng Lungsod- Cebu reiterated that amending the Constitution is not the answer to more important issues like the global financial crisis.

Sanlakas Sugbo spokesperson Aaron Pedrosa said the urban poor are not satisfied with how the government is responding to the global financial crisis.

He said the government should first address joblessness instead of fighting for approval of the proposed Charter change.

Pedrosa said that while Charter change is believed to draw in investors, it would reportedly only be “favorable for the capitalists, and not for the workers.”

The labor groups said it is a socialist system, not a capitalist government that would address problems on hunger, malnutrition, education, housing and unemployment and would “recognize the dignity of all.”

Aside from opposing Charter change, the groups also demanded for the creation of jobs, one-year unemployment insurance for workers that have been displaced, as well as health and education insurance for the masses.

They also called for the eradication of the 12 percent value-added tax and the trashing of the government’s neo-liberal laws and policies. They also stressed the nationalizing of strategic industries and the developing of local markets.

They said at least 1,000 would participate in the rally on Labor Day on May 1, with 50 urban poor associations already confirmed to attend. The rally would reportedly start at the Capitol, being a “symbol of power.”

Displaced employees of the Mactan Export Processing Zone will also hold a silent picket outside MEPZ 1 before joining the group at the Capitol.

They would then advance to the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry at the North Reclamation Area and end the rally at the Malacañang of the South at the Plaza Independencia. – Karen Grace H. (THE FREEMAN)