International day of action for airline workers

In September 2011 Philippine Airlines locked out 2600 workers and then sacked them. The workers had refused to accept their jobs being outsourced leading to a 50% cut in wages, loss of benefits including health insurance, longer working hours and loss of union coverage. QANTAS grounded all of their fleet in October 2011 to pressure unions to drop their demand for secure jobs and wages for all workers. QANTAS has sacked over 500 workers in a long term plan to move its heavy maintenance bases offshore. A big part of outsourcing is the attempt to break our unions. If airline workers take industrial action, on the same day, in a co-ordinated way, all over the world, we will be stronger and more effective. The workers at Philippine Airlines, organised by their union PALEA, are calling for a Global Day of Action in the airline industry on 27 September 2012, anniversary of PALEA's protest against outsourcing. The Global Day of Action has received endorsement from the International Transport Federation at their recently held Asia Pacific meeting in Kuala Lumpur. Download leaflet.

"The harshest of times and the worst of typhoons" won't break PALEA workers

Vashti Kenway

PALEA workers rally in Manilla, 28 March.

Philippine Airline workers organised in the union PALEA (PAL Employees Association) have been staging a brave and defiant dispute for over 11 months against their employer’s attempts to outsource jobs. They have withstood physical intimidation, poverty and the threat of jail time and have stood firm.

Socialist Alternative’s Vashti Kenway interviewed PALEA president Gerry Rivera at the strike camp in Manila. Only days before much of the camp had been blown away in a typhoon. As the interview was being conducted striking workers were resurrecting tarpaulins and re-establishing electricity.

In the subsequent days Manila suffered from torrential rains and the resulting floods have disproportionately affected communities of workers and the poor. Many PALEA workers have had their difficult lives made even harder. The Partido ng Manggagawa (Labor Party) – Philippines is requesting financial assistance.

Could you give us some background to the PALEA strike and deal with some of the issues at stake?

The real issues here are the right of the workers to security of employment, the right of the workers to self organisation, the right of the workers to collective bargaining. If we want to understand the history of this struggle we have to understand the history of PAL/ PALEA relations. Sometime in 1998 PAL, because of a paralysing strike of the pilots, asked for the suspension of the collective bargaining agreement, because then PAL was considered to be losing money. It was in financial distress.

Seven unionists objected in court, but the court came back to support the PAL. So they suspended this agreement for 10 years from 1998 to 2008. Sometime in 2007, one year ahead of the schedule for ending the so-called “rehabilitation period” and reinstating the agreement, we discovered PAL was actually making money. What’s more, at this time they also revealed their long term plan to outsource several departments, because of this so-called financial crisis.

They continued to maintain that the PAL was making losses. The departments they were going to outsource included airport services – which included cargo, operations, ramp services, baggage handling, equipment services, catering, medical, accounting, legal and labour relations. So that was the plan laid down on 26 August 2007. This meant virtually everyone in the PALEA union would be outsourced. PALEA has a total membership of 3,400. It is one of the biggest, if not the biggest labour organisation existing today in the Philippines. If we allowed this, we would be allowing the extinction of the union. So we opposed the outsourcing.

This scheme being laid down by the management is in violation of the collective bargaining agreement; it is a violation of the Labor Code, which prohibits the outsourcing of jobs which are already being performed by union members.

So we fought them, we opposed them. We went to the Department of Labor on several occasions and filed notices of strike. But the Department of Labor, under the most recent administration, came up with a decision saying that PAL is actually losing money and to avoid the imminent collapse of PAL the outsourcing program should be allowed. They said outsourcing is a management prerogative. We filed many submissions but they were rejected by both the last administration and this current one. We even took it to the office of the president, who affirmed the decision of the Department of Labor.

Despite these decisions we know that their premise that PAL is losing money is wrong. For the fiscal year 2011 they made a comprehensive profit of $US72.5 million after tax. So there is really no legal or moral basis for the decisions of the management or the government. There are now two contending issues: management prerogatives and the rights of workers to job security and self organisation – collective bargaining. It is clear that despite workers rights being enshrined in the constitution that this government, which is pro-capitalist, is supported the capitalists of PAL. So on 11 August 2011, they said they wanted to terminate 2,400 workers.

On 27 September we had no choice but to stage a protest at around 7am. Right after we staged this protest PAL made an announcement cancelling the flights on that particular day till 6pm. At midday they announced that all the workers in airport services, catering and the reservation centre are considered off duty until 30 September without pay. After that we were no longer to be employed by PAL. So they were able to illegally lock us out. Workers were barred from continuing their jobs, their functions. On that afternoon thousands of policeman and security guards physically evicted our members from the airport. From that time on we have set up and maintained this camp. We have maintained this camp in the midst of a big typhoon, including the most recent 2 weeks ago.

Tell us a little bit about the history of the camp itself

During the first days it was more of a rag tag centre with plastic sheets. We were initially more than a thousand here but PAL did not stop from outsourcing us or terminating us. We have been attacked twice by the goons of the company. The first time was on 19 October. The second on 29 October was more violent and resulted in the dismantling of our camp and serious physical injuries to some of our members.

One of the attackers was apprehended by the roving airport police and he admitted that the thugs were paid by the management, but ironically it was PAL who filed criminal cases against us. They filed a case against 41 people on that particular day because they said they were obstructing the entrances. They even launched a media campaign against us by saying in the press that we were tyrannical thugs. We didn’t have the tens of thousands of dollars to pay for advertisements in the media so we came up with some banners showing where the real tyranny comes from. This banner has pictures of the thugs attacking our camp.

PAL has also filed another case against 265 (downgraded to 243) of us, saying that we have been disrupting the operating services of the airport. But that is a farce. Why? Because PAL is the one disrupting operating services. Outside of the legal technicalities, to allow PAL and this government to prosecute these 243 influential members of PALEA would be a gross violation of the rights of the workers… the right to self organisation, the right to peaceful actions and assembly.

If we allow them to successfully prosecute us, they are not only disallowing PALEA members from staging protest actions within the bounds of the airport, they would be barring all workers in the aviation industry from strikes and protests. If we allow them to get away with this, nothing will stop this government and the capitalist-controlled system from creating new anti-worker laws. They could just declare any industry “vital” to the country and then bar them from their constitutional rights.

It is not just an issue of legal technicalities; it is a question of the rights of the workers to express themselves by way of particular actions. This is how this system of government treats its workers. This is how oppressive this system is against the workers and the great majority of the population. So we think this struggle of PALEA is not the struggle of PALEA alone. It is the struggle of the workers as a whole. This is what is at stake.

So we decided that we will not go along with this legal case. It was decided that each one of these 243 PALEA workers shall post a 6,000 peso bail. If we do that then we need at least 1.5 million pesos [$A34,000]. But we have resolved we will not pay one peso. If we do that it is like saying “You are right.” Then we would have to prove our innocence before the courts. But we want the whole world and other workers to understand this is not just a fight between PAL and PALEA – this is a bigger fight. This is a fight against the capitalist system. So we have resolved that we will go in there and voluntarily place ourselves into the custody of the courts if the warrant of arrests goes out.

So you are posing both a legal and a political challenge?

Yes we have the legal side, but we are trying to escalate the political side of this for the benefit of the workers. We are going to the Department of Justice, presenting our opposition and protesting. We will have PALEA and other supporting organisations to show that many people are supporting us. This is important. The struggle of PALEA is not just against PAL, it is not just against one of the richest people in the Philippines (the owner of PAL), it is not just a struggle against the courts or the media – it is a struggle against the system. It is a struggle globally. While this is not to lift ourselves from our seats, PALEA is the one that has frontally opposed the oppressive scheme of outsourcing and we hope we can show the way to fight.

What kinds of international solidarity have you had so far, and what more could people do?

Australia has done a lot. When first we were able to meet you guys in Australia, we were able to share our struggle. That was important to us. Now when given the opportunity to talk to our brothers and sisters in the labour movement as well as organisations like Socialist Alternative and Australia Asia Worker Links. This opportunity allowed us to share what is really happening in the Philippines. As such, the solidarity support from letters, to a picket we held in Melbourne, to other campaigns, as well as the logistical support and money has really helped us in this long struggle.

Yes, the money is important as there are thousands of workers affected. In fact we have already had to ask some of our members not to report to the camp daily because that would entail some expenses. We have been out of jobs for 11 months now so you can imagine how hard it is to make ends meet and sustain our families. It is now a question of weight and balance. Should we maintain our struggle or surrender? The overwhelming majority of workers say we should continue. We haven’t achieved enough yet. The only thing that would make us stop in this struggle is if we get our jobs back, our regular employment. But it is difficult. Many union resources are taken up in this camp. The resources are dwindling. We need support, not just moral and physical, but also financial.

What are some of the difficulties facing you in this struggle? How do you keep going?

It isn’t an easy struggle, it is has been very hard maintaining this camp for ten months. There is a saying in the Catholic dogma: “You cannot listen carefully to the sermon if your stomach is empty.” This is happening now and it means over a thousand of our members have had to transfer to the service providers, even though this contradicts what they feel. Some have claimed their separation benefits. We want to avert this. The main reason why our members have done this is because of their financial situation. I am not accusing them of being collaborators. Of course there were some who from the very first moment we staged this protest who attempted to collaborate with the management, but the overwhelming majority of people who have claimed their benefits have done that because they can’t withstand the pressures of finances.

So it is very hard, but if you look around you see people smiling, people who still look strong. Why? Because we think we are really people here understand the issues. People are aware and conscious of their political rights. Why? Because at the camp we have initiated programs and seminars letting people know about their political rights and conducting some sit-in seminars on the issues of socialism, the issues of capitalism, which one is better? Which one should be chosen by the workers? That is more of the political consciousness, and even if they aren’t won to socialism, the way they have been carrying out this struggle is socialism. That is what is carrying them along and to help them withstand these challenges.

We man this camp 24/7 which means that there are people who live here. People sleep here. This is where the ingenuity of these people comes in. We have made permanent structures, we have electricity, we have food. Everyone is involved. We have camp managers, we have educators, we have cooks. We also have a women’s committee. Prior to the struggle our women members were quite passive, but now look, we have volunteers and women involved and active.

Of course we don’t have the comfort of our own homes but one thing comforts us: the unity among the people. We have the support of families. Every day there are children coming to the camp. We have a basketball ring. This camp is a school. We exchange ideas from within and outside. We have a long stream of visitors. Other groups, unions and NGOs come. We hold seminars on unionism for other unions – they have asked for us to lecture them. It is ironic that we have this problem and now unorganised workers come to us and ask us to help them set up and organise their own union.

This camp becomes a school, so the exchange of ideas and experiences creates more solidarity and unity and this makes us stronger. We can withstand even the harshest of times and the worst of typhoons.

http://sa.org.au/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=7442%3Athe-harshest-of-times-and-the-worst-of-typhoons-wont-break-palea-workers&Itemid=389

Workers picket CB in protest of $1B loan to IMF

Press Release

June 27, 2012

PALEA

Members of the Philippine Airlines Employees’ Association (PALEA) and the Partido ng Manggagawa (PM) picketed this morning the Central Bank headquarters and office of the Department of Finance at 

Roxas Boulevard

in Manila in a protest against the controversial $1 billion loan to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). More than a hundred workers chanted “Help the needy not the greedy! Support Europeans thru solidarity not austerity!”

“How can Malacanang justify the loan as helping the Europeans when the supposed beneficiaries have rejected the IMF bailout and its conditionalities? By protests and through the polls, the workers and people of Greece, Spain, Portugal, Ireland, Italy and France have all rejected IMF austerity,” averred Gerry Rivera, PALEA president.

Renato Magtubo, PM national chair, insisted that “The $1B—which is the blood and sweat of our OFW’s—will harm our own migrant workers in Europe since the IMF’s austerity schemes dictate cuts in wages, reduction in social programs and liberalization of labor contractualization. By extending the loan to the IMF, our OFW’s and Europeans workers will earn less, lose public services and be easier to fire.”

The rally today also coincides with the 9^th month anniversary of PALEA’s fight against outsourcing. Last year, on September 27 PALEA launched a protest action at the airport against contractualization and up to now it maintains a picketline outside the PAL In-Flight Center. PALEA called on the new management of Philippine Airlines led by Ramon Ang to revive the flag carrier by reinstating its regular workers. “After nine months of protest, PALEA continues to labor for justice,” declared Rivera.

In reply to Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda’s assertion that the loan to the IMF will be help global stability, Rivera asserted that “It will just be used to bailout the bankers even as ordinary Europeans and migrant workers suffer the pains of austerity. In opposing the loan to the IMF, we are extending the hand of solidarity to our brothers and sisters in Europe. It is amazing that PNoy readily comes to the aid of European bankers but he is blind and deaf to the cries of the Filipino workers for wage increase and regular jobs.”

Magtubo added that “Instead of stabilizing, the IMF is destabilizing the economies of Europe. Despite receiving several bailouts from the IMF, Greece is in recession for five years running with unemployment at more than 20% in general but more than 50% for the youth. This yearSpain fell into a double-dip recession with unemployment rates similar to Greece which will be aggravated by austerity measures dictated in the recent bailout scheme.”

“Just like Europe, the Philippines too is a victim to the anti-labor and anti-people policies of the IMF. Liberalization has led to the collapse of Philippine industry and agriculture resulting to job losses and rural unemployment. Privatization and deregulation has led to price hikes and worsening poverty. It is time for a paradigm shift. Uphold growth and hope instead of recession and injustice in Europe and the Philippines. Shift to a new paradigm of living wages, regular jobs, taxes on the rich, social services, national industrialization and agrarian reform,” Rivera explained.

Protesta laban sa $1B pautang sa IMF: Grupo ng manggagawa susugod sa Central Bank bukas

Press Release

June 26, 2012

Ang mga manggagawang myembro ng Partido ng Manggagawa ay susugod bukas ng umaga sa opisina ng Central Bank at Department of Finance sa Roxas Boulevard sa Maynila upang batikusin ang planong $1 bilyong pautang ng Pilipinas sa International Monetary Fund (IMF). Ang pautang ay para diumano sa Euro crisis pero nag-aaakusa ang Partido ng Manggagawa na gagamitin ito ng IMF para magpataw ng kontra-manggagawang austerity schemes sa Europa.

“VIP treatment kay PNoy ang mga bankero sa Europa na makikinabang sa $1 bilyong pinagpawisan ng ating OFW’s. Samantala deadma lang si PNoy sa hinaing ng manggagawang Pilipino noong Mayo Uno para sa dagdag sahod at trabahong regular,” giit ni Renato Magtubo, tagapangulo ng Partido ng Manggagawa.

Paliwanag ni Gerry Rivera, pangulo ng unyong Philippine Airlines Employees Association (PALEA), “Ang mismong pagtutol sa utang ang paraan para tumulong sa mga taga-Europa sapagkat magiging biktima lang sila ng mga dikta ng IMF gaya ng pagkaltas sa sweldo, pagbabaklas sa proteksyon sa paggawa, pagsasapribado ng mga kompanya at pagtitipid sa mga serbisyo publiko. Ang IMF ay manunuba di manunubos.”

Sasama sa rali bukas ang mga miyembro ng PALEA na nasa ika-10 buwan ng kanilang laban kontra kontraktwalisasyon sa PAL. Nananawagan ang PALEA sa bagong management ng PAL sa pangunguna ni Ramon Ang ng San Miguel Corp. na ibalik ang mga regular na manggagawa upang makalipad muli ng maayos ang flag carrier ng bansa.

Dagdag ni Magtubo, “Pakikiisa hindi pautang ang tamang pagtulong sa mamamayan ng Europa. Sinusuportahan namin ang sigaw ng mga manggagawa ng Europa para sa growth sa halip na austerity, ibig sabihin, umento sa sahod, regular na trabaho, serbisyong panlipunan at pagbubuwis sa mayayaman upang ibangon ang ekonomiya ng mga bansang sadlak sa krisis gaya ng Greece, Spain, Portugal, Ireland, Italy at Cyprus. Sa katunayan ganitong patakaran din ang dapat ipatupad ni PNoy sa Pilipinas.”

Workers slam PNoy’s $1B loan to IMF

Press Release

June 26, 2012

The labor party Partido ng Manggagawa (PM) today slammed the government’s decision to loan $1 billion of the country’s foreign reserves to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The fund is intended for the Eurozone crisis but PM avers that it will be used by the IMF to impose anti-workers austerity schemes in Europe.

“We call on PNoy to reconsider his decision. $1 billion is better used for social protection at home than social devastation abroad. The workers and people of Greece, Spain, Portugal,Italy and even France have rejected austerity through the polls and by protests,” insisted Renato Magtubo, PM national chair.

Tomorrow PM together with the Philippine Airlines Employees’ Association (PALEA) will stage a rally at the Central Bank headquarters and office of the Department of Finance in Manila in protest of the loan to the IMF. The rally also coincides with the 9^th month anniversary of PALEA’s fight against outsourcing. Last year, on September 27 PALEA launched a protest action at the airport against contractualization which was forcibly suppressed by airport police and security guards. PALEA is calling on the new management of Philippine Airlines led by Ramon Ang to revive the flag carrier by reinstating its regular workers.

Gerry Rivera, PALEA president, said that “PNoy readily comes to the aid of European bankers but he is blind and deaf to the cries of the Filipino workers for wage increase and regular jobs. In opposing the loan to the IMF, we are extending the hand of solidarity to our brothers and sisters in Europe. Let us help the needy not the greedy. The IMF will use our $1B—which is the blood and sweat of our OFW’s—to bail out the bankers of Europe and squeeze money from the workers through cuts in wages, pension, subsidies and social programs.”

Magtubo added that “The IMF wants the workers to pay for the crisis of the capitalists. The Eurozone crisis is a result of European governments’ bailing out their bankers which were saddled by failed speculative investments in the subprime housing market in the US that collapsed in 2008. As a result of austerity tied to loans, Greece is in recession for five years running with unemployment at more than 20% in general but more than 50% for the youth. This year Spain fell into a double-dip recession with unemployment rates similar to Greecewhich will be aggravated by austerity measures dictated in the recent bailout scheme.”

“Just like Europe, the Philippines too is a victim to the anti-labor and anti-people policies of the IMF. Liberalization has led to the collapse of Philippine industry and agriculture resulting to job losses and rural unemployment. Privatization and deregulation has led to price hikes and worsening poverty. It is time for a paradigm shift. International solidarity instead of IMF austerity. Uphold growth and hope instead of recession and injustice in Europe and thePhilippines. Shift to a new paradigm of living wages, regular jobs, taxes on the rich, social services, national industrialization and agrarian reform,” Rivera explained.

Groups say ADB harms workers in the Philippines

Press Release

May 4, 2012      

More than a hundred members of Partido ng Manggagawa (PM) and the Philippine Airlines Employees’ Association (PALEA) joined the newly-formed Nagkaisa labor coalition in a rally workers rally against the Asian Development Bank (ADB) annual meeting this morning as President Benigno Aquino II was due to give as speech.

“PNoy should not cover up the number of poor in the Philippines and the ADB should not wash its hands off the worsening poverty in the country. The ADB is an instrument of corporate greed that has aggravated the destitution of the 99% in Asia,” asserted Rene Magtubo, PM national chair. “ADB’s privatization intensifies poverty,” the workers chanted as they assembled in Harrison Plaza and then tried to make their way to the PICC, the venue of the meeting.

Magtubo explained that “The ADB meeting’s theme of inclusive growth is mere doubles-speak for its policies of privatization are tailor-fit to facilitate the fire sale of state-owned assets to giant multinationals and big capitalists. As a result of ADB-funded privatization, the costs of electricity and water in the Philippines have skyrocketed and as a result workers real wages have fallen despite yearly increase in nominal wages.”

The ADB pushed for the passage and provided loans for the implementation of the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA). In 2000, Magtubo exposed a P500,000 payola for members of the House of Representatives to ensure the legislation of the controversial EPIRA.

The Nagkaisa-led rally of several hundred workers today follows the coalition’s historic 20,000-strong May Day mobilization which brought together the country’s main labor groups for the first time since the 1980’s. “The unity of labor last May 1 has made government listen to our concerns. The rally today is part of the next step—the struggle of workers to make government grant our demands,” Magtubo insisted. Among the list of demands that Nagkaisa submitted to Malacanang last Labor Day is the repeal of EPIRA and the lowering of power costs to consumers.

Magtubo expressed fear that the ADB also has a hand in the proposed privatization of the Agus-Polangi hydroelectric plant in Mindanao as a purported solution to the power crisis in the island. The proposal has been temporarily shelved due to widespread opposition in Mindanao.

He added that “The ADB’s shadow can also be seen in the scheme to sell off to private interests the provision of water services in municipalities. The ADB is Asia’s mini-IMF and mini-WB, and its public relations pitch is a result of the discrediting of the policies of privatization, deregulation and liberalization worldwide.”

Sigaw sa Mayo 1: Regular na Trabaho, Umento sa Sahod, Mababang Presyo

Noong kalagitnaan ng Marso, sa harap ng isang pulong ng mga negosyante ay nanawagan si Pangulong Benigno Aquino III na maging prayoridad ng mga kapitalista ang kagalingan ng mga manggagawa. Tinawag nating “Noy-ngaling” si PNoy dahil kabaliktaran ang kanyang salita ng kanyang gawa. Kung totoong tagapagtanggol ng karapatan at kagalingan ng manggagawa si PNoy ay dapat tinutulan sa halip na sinang-ayunan niya ang tanggalan at kontraktwalisasyon sa Philippine Airlines (PAL). Di lang Noynoying si PNoy kundi Noy-ngaling pa.

Ang darating na Mayo 1 ay ikawalang selebrasyon na ng Araw ng Manggagawa sa ilalim ni PNoy. Noong nakaraang Mayo 1 ay tinuligsa natin siya sa pagpanig sa tanggalan at kontraktwalisasyon sa PAL. Sa kasalukuyan ay dapat nating usigin ang kanyang administrasyon sa patuloy na pagsisinungaling at pagtatraydor sa interes ng manggagawa na pinangakuan niyang ituring na boss.

Ganunpaman, sa harap ng patuloy na pag-iilusyon ng maraming Pilipino sa pamumuno ni PNoy, kasabay ng matalas na propaganda ng pag-usig ay dapat mapakilos ang masang manggagawa sa kagyat na mga kahilingang dapat tugunan ng gobyerno.

Sa Mayo 1, ang ating kagyat na kahilingan ay proteksyon sa regular na trabaho, pagtaas ng sweldo, at pagbaba ng presyo ng kuryente’t langis. Ito ay mga kahilingang nakatuon sa gobyerno ni PNoy upang tugunan at aksyunan. Bukod dito, mangangalampag din tayo sa pagbabago ng patakaran ng liberalisasyon, deregulasyon at pribatisasyon. Gayundin mananawagan tayo ng pagrereporma ng labor justice system.

Ang kampanya para sa regular na trabaho ay napapanatiling buhay ng patuloy na paglaban ng PALEA sa kontraktwalisasyon anim na buwan matapos ang tanggalan. Ang pagbenta ng minority share ng PAL sa San Miguel at pagpapalit ng management ay nagbubukas ng oportunidad para sa resolusyon ng labor dispute.

Pero di pa man nagtatagumpay ang PALEA na maibalik sa trabaho ang mga tinanggal ay naobliga na ang Department of Labor na maglabas ng kautusan kaugnay ng subcontracting. Pinahigpit ang mga rekisitos sa ligal na kontraktwalisasyon at hayagang kinilala na dapat tumanggap ng mga benepisyo ang mga kontraktwal at maari pang magtayo ng unyon. Ganunpaman, pinapanatiling ligal ng DO 18-A ang karamihan ng porma ng kontraktwalisasyon na sanhi ng pagkawasak ng regular na trabaho pati pagkadurog ng mga unyon.

Kumpara sa DO 18-A, hamak na mas mahigpit ang Security of Tenure (SOT) bill na nakasampa sa Kongreso at naglalayong limitahan ang laganap na kontraktwalisasyon. Gayong wala na sa kamay ni PNoy ang kaso ng PALEA, dapat pa rin siyang itulak na gawing priority legislation ang SOT bill.

Umiinit na naman muli ang usapin ng pagtaas ng sahod bunga walang tigil na pagtaas ng presyo ng langis, at kasunod nito ang pasahe’t iba pang batayang pangangailangan. May nagsampa na ng petisyon sa regional wage boards. Sa kabilang banda, nakaamba na ipasa ng House Labor Committee ang panukalang legislated across-the-board wage hike. Malayo pa bago ito maipasang batas pero binibigyang diin nito ang kakagyatan ng umento sa sahod.

Tinanggihan na ni PNoy ang pagtaas ng sahod sa katwirang walang supervening event o grabeng inflation. Ang ganitong Noynoying o kawalang aksyon ni PNoy ay dapat mabatikos habang ineengganyo ang pagkakaisa ng labor groups sa pagsusulong ng pagtaas ng sahod sa anumang porma ito makakamit.

Ang patuloy na pagtaas ng presyo ng langis sa pandaigdigang pamilihan ay mangangahulugan na ibayo pang magliliyab ang usapin ng oil price hike. Pero di ibig sabihin nito na walang magagawa si PNoy kundi mag-Noynoying sa harap ng umaarangkadang global oil prices. Ang pagtatanggal ng VAT sa mga produktong petrolyo ay isang kagyat na hakbang na maaring isagawa. Ang pagrerepaso ng oil deregulation law ay isa na ring buhay na usapin at maaring igiit ang pagbabalik ng price control sa langis bukod sa pagsasabansa ng Petron.

Katulad ng mataas na presyo ng langis, ang mahal na gastusin sa kuryente ay isang ring mabigat na pasanin ng manggagawa at maralita. Ipinagkikibit-balikat lang ng gobyerno ang problemang ito habang tinitiis ng taumbayan ang pasakit na ito. Oras nang repasuhin ang EPIRA o ang deregulasyon at pribatisasyon ng power industry.

Ang deregulasyon at pribatisasyon ng langis at kuryente ay mga matingkad na halimbawa ng delubyong dala ng globalisasyon. Sa kabilang banda, ang liberalisasyon ng ekonomiya ay nagresulta sa pagsasara ng umaabot sa 3,000 empresa bawat taon sa nakalipas na isang dekada at pagkawala ng trabaho ng daan-daang libong manggagawa. Ang hatid ng globalisasyon ay pagguho ng lokal na industriya at agrikultura sa halip na progreso at pag-unlad. Malinaw na ngayon na perwisyo kaysa benepisyo ang dulot ng imperyalistang globalisasyon. Panahon nang ibandila ang panawagan ng pagbabago ng pang-ekonomiyang patakaran.

Kasabay nito dapat maibando ang pagrereporma ng labor justice system. Ang mapait na kapalaran ng flight attendants ng PAL ay nabigyang pokus ng impeachment trial ni Chief Justice Corona. Kapalit ng platinum card ay inimpluwensyahan ni Corona ang pagbawi ng paborableng desisyon sa kaso ng FASAP.

Isang matingkad na halimbawa lang ito kung paano nabibili ng mga kapitalista ang mga husgado at nababaluktot ang hustisya. Kung ang bilyunaryong gaya ni Lucio Tan ay nagagawang impluwensyahan ang Chief Justice ng Korte Suprema, ganundin namamanipula ng mga kapitalista ang arbiters ng NLRC, mediators ng DOLE/NCMB at judges ng mga RTC at Court of Appeals. Di nakakagulat na ang ordinaryong manggagawa ay napipilitang i-areglo ang mga kaso kapalit ng barya kasya mabitag sa mga pasilyo ng labor justice system.

Ang labor unity na nagkahugis sa laban ng PALEA ay maaring punla ng pagkakaisa para isulong ang mga kagyat at pangmatagalang kahilingan. Ang kampanya sa Mayo Uno ay ekstensyon at kontinwasyon ng laban kontra kontraktwalisasyon. Ang malawak na pagkakaisa ng kilusang paggawa ang magbibigay pwersa at magbabasbas ng kredibilidad sa kampanyang Mayo Uno.

Maaga nang nasimulan ang kampanyang Mayo Uno sa pamamagitan ng Kalbaryo ng Manggagawa at Maralita. Pero di dapat magtapos ang kampanya sa isang pagkilos sa Mayo Uno. Ang mga kagyat na kahilingan ay di basta maipapanalo sa Araw ng Manggagawa. At di rin dapat magkasya sa simpleng pagsisigaw ng mga islogan sa Mayo Uno. Ang susunod na yugto at lundo ng laban ay ang pagbubukas ng Kongreso sa Hulyo at SONA ni PNoy. Ang mga kahilingang nangangailangan ng executive action ni PNoy ay maaring ang pokus ng Mayo Uno samantalang ang ibang obligado ang legislative measures ay maari namang tutukan sa SONA.