Labor presses for more tax exemptions

Two big labor unions urged Malacañang yesterday to exempt workers earning less than P500 a day from paying income and withholding taxes.

Alex Aguilar, spokesman for the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP), asked the government to exempt from paying income and withholding taxes workers getting a monthly salary of not more than P15,000.

"Since it is nearly impossible for the government to grant a wage increase this year, we thought one possible means to help workers cope with the rising prices of commodities is to exempt them from paying taxes," he said.

For his part, Partido ng Manggagawa (PM) chairman Renato Magtubo said that if the Arroyo administration could afford to give foreign investors tax breaks, it could also exempt low-salaried workers from income and withholding taxes.

"It is downright insulting that the government has continuously provided tax incentives to entice the entry of foreign investors, while it has treated workers as milking cows through taxes withheld from their salaries," Magtubo said.

He said the government could help workers shoulder the cost of the purchased power adjustment (PPA) through exemptions from income and withholding taxes.

"To reduce the government deficit, the government should shift the tax burden from the indigent and low-salaried workers to the affluent," he said.

Meanwhile, Elmer Labog, secretary general of the Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU), warned yesterday of more burdensome PPA and other charges on workers once foreign workers enter the country.

"The public’s clamor for lower electricity rates would definitely be compromised with the entry of the new private companies in the power sector," he said.

More charges would be imposed on the public after the Arroyo administration allows the entry of foreign investors in the power sector, he added.

Meanwhile, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) said about 70,000 workers may be displaced because of labor disputes in 353 commercial establishments nationwide.

Records at the National Conciliation and Mediation Board (NCMB) showed that 65,794 workers could be affected if the labor disputes are not immediately resolved.

Between January and June, 353 notices of strike were filed with the DOLE, which was 24 percent higher than the 284 cases recorded during the same period last year, according to the figures.

The number of workers involved in pending cases was also slightly higher than the 65,283 workers who filed notices of strike in the first 21 weeks of last year, records showed.

The number of recorded work stoppages also went up by 10 percent as compared to last year’s figure of 21 strikes.

Preventive mediation cases also increased by 15 percent to a total of 373 as compared to 323 during the same period last year.

NCMB officer-in-charge Gilbert Pimentel said the rise in the number strikes and notices of strike was considered insignificant and can still be resolved.

"We recorded only two cases more than 21 actual strikes last year," he said.

Pimentel said the actual strikes this year were settled during a short period, averaging 24 days as compared to 36 days last year.

Pimentel said the NCMB is presently working on 113 strike notices and 85 preventive mediation cases.

During the first week of this month, possible strikes were averted at ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corp., American Standard, West Avenue Theater Group, Universal Robina Corp., and Technological Institute of the Philippines, Pimentel added.