GMA to have coffee, lunch with workers

President Arroyo rises early to celebrate Labor Day today by having coffee and breakfast at 5 a.m. with call center employees coming off the night shift at the Client Logic Call Center on Emerald Avenue in Pasig City.

As her Labor Day gift, the President will announce a P40-billion package of non-wage benefits for government and private sector workers to help them cope with the rising prices of consumer goods and services.

Labor Secretary Patricia Sto. Tomas, who crafted the multi-agency package, refused to give details of the workers’ benefits package, saying she did not want to preempt the President, who will make the announcement in Malacañang during her traditional May 1 Mass and lunch with labor leaders.

"They’re pretty substantial," Sto. Tomas told reporters when asked what the benefits are. "If we put them all together they’re worth about P40 billion."

She would only say that the package includes educational vouchers for training in specific employment, such as call centers, worth P500 million; scholarships and other incentives.

Sto. Tomas said the non-wage package is so comprehensive that it involves numerous departments and agencies, which also have their respective amelioration programs.

She also said increases in salaries and allowances of state employees may be announced within the year.

A Palace official hinted that the benefits to be announced today by Mrs. Arroyo may include housing programs and the setting up of discount convenience stores nationwide with the inventory taken from the government’s procurement system.

The official also said some form of revenue-neutral subsidies, including subsidies for transportation, may be unveiled today.

Cabinet officials are under strict orders not to disclose details of the "surprise" announcement.

Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye said the Labor Day package is the Arroyo administration’s way of plowing back to workers the economic gains the country achieved through painful fiscal measures.

"President Arroyo has paid keen attention to the welfare of labor since day one and she is expected to unveil a strong package of amelioration measures that will not only affirm the paramount interest of our workers, but also ease the plight of the average Filipino in the face of current pressures and difficulties," Bunye said.

"Because we have made significant gains in the economy, we can now pay back the people, especially the working class," he said.

Mrs. Arroyo is also expected to announce her order for the Philippine National Police (PNP) to increase its nighttime patrols on streets and areas around call centers in Makati City, Pasig City, Quezon City, Muntinlupa City and other areas where there are 24-hour business process outsourcing (BPO) offices.

The move is meant to protect the increasing number of call center employees, now numbering over 100,000, from crimes. The BPO is a sunrise industry in the country which the Arroyo administration is encouraging to reduce unemployment, which is estimated at more than eight percent.

Mrs. Arroyo will also be riding a bus powered by compressed natural gas (CNG) to draw support from Filipinos for the search for alternative and renewable fuel sources and for energy conservation.

Bunye also said the Palace will support another reasonable wage hike that may be hammered out by the tripartite regional wage boards, if there will be a call for such pay hikes in the regions.

He said the government acknowledges the need to alleviate the burdens of workers amid the rising cost of living brought about by high oil prices and shares the concerns of the business sector over the impact of high fuel costs on business and employment.

"A middle ground can be reached if all sides are focused on common goals and principles — mainly the good of the nation," Bunye said. "A win-win solution can be found that can ease the plight of labor while at the same time preserve the investment climate and the pace of growth."

He called on labor groups and workers, as well as employers, to make today’s Labor Day celebration an occasion to promote workers’ rights — including the right to decent jobs and conducive workplaces following the conventions set forth by the International Labor Organization (ILO).

"Let us give this day the dignity and solemnity that it deserves and not make it an occasion for confrontation," he said.

He said this year’s Labor Day theme, "Ang Galing Mo, Manggagawang Pilipino!" "underscores national pride in the Filipino worker as a paragon of excellence and patriotism."