Rosales backs WAGE HIKE, JUNK STRIKES!

[grabehbebe]

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By Rio N. Araja
http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/?...3_april28_2006

GAUDENCIO Cardinal Rosales yesterday urged the government and private companies to heed the appeal of workers for a wage increase as a means for them to be able to cope with the rising cost of living. But at the same time, the Cardinal warned the labor sector against resorting to illegal strikes to press their demand for more benefits.

“This is the moment we must urge the government and the business sector to consider the sorry state of the workers amidst skyrocketing prices of basic commodities. We cannot stop inflation and the high costs of production. But let’s not forget what the Catholic Church is asking for. Let’s look into how we can help our workers,” he said.

The Cardinal reminded the private firms to include the benefits and wage increase of their employers in the list of production cost. “We usually look into the added costs of the produce, but not of the manpower and the company’s profits.”

Employers have the responsibility to look after the welfare of their workers and the workers’ families, he said.

He, however, rejected strikes or closure of firms, saying employers must help address unemployment.
“To all Filipino workers here and abroad, the Church is greeting you on Labor Day. We know how hardworking and dedicated you are. You are industrious, patient and helpful. We give recognition to your contributions. Let’s seek God’s help,” he said.

[iloveyou4ever]

goodie! :mrgreen:

[Freeza]

CARDINAL ROsales knows what is divine what is service for the people and what is politics.

[grabehbebe]

NEWS: State workers get P125b over 5 years

PRESIDENT Gloria Macapagal Arroyo yesterday announced salary increases for 1.6 million government workers that will cost P125 billion from now until 2010.

“Our gains in the economy mark payback time for the people,” Mrs. Arroyo said during a Labor Day meeting with various workers’ groups in Malacañang.

Under the original salary standardization plan, the government was supposed to release P10 billion for 2007, P22 billion for 2008, P40 billion for 2009, and P53 billion for 2010.
But the President decided to increase the first tranche to P20 billion.

National government employees had been clamoring for an increase in wages in the wake of rising prices of basic goods, the President said. These needs could not be met with “piece-meal legislation” and interim measures that would merely raise workers’ allowances, she added.

There are now about 1.1 million national government employees, 400,000 local government workers, and almost 100,000 employees on the payroll of government corporations.

In mid-January, the President ordered the release of P13 billion to increase state workers’ allowances in lieu of a wage increase this year.

Mrs. Arroyo also ordered the Department of Budget and Management to release P1.2 billion for a nationwide network of Procurement Service stores that would sell basic consumer goods to government employees’ unions and cooperatives at prices that are 20 percent cheaper than commercial outlets. The program was launched yesterday.

The Government Service Insurance System was also set to release P60 million in scholarships and P40 million for hospitalization discounts, while the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration has earmarked P44 million for health packages for Filipinos working abroad.

President Arroyo also instructed the department to release P100 million to rehabilitate the Philippine General Hospital and another P40 million to pay for the PhilHealth premiums of fishermen and sugar farmers.

For private sector employees, the Social Security System will write off P12 billion worth of penalties and surcharges on the loans of minimum wage earners.

The President also exempted minimum wage earners from paying income tax, a benefit that translates into P1 billion in savings for those employed in the private sector.

But the President declined to give a definite answer to a labor demand for a P75 across-the-board wage increase daily.

“I support a reasonable wage hike hammered out by the tripartite regional wage boards. We acknowledge the need to alleviate the burdens of our workers amid the rising cost of living while we also share the concerns of the business sector over the impact of an increase on business and employment,” Mrs. Arroyo said.

Also at the Palace meeting yesterday, the president of the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines rejected a statement by Trade Secretary Peter Favila that there were enough jobs in the country today but Filipino workers were choosy.

In a speech read for him by Alejandro Villaviza, vice president of the 1.2 million-strong TUCP, the country’s biggest labor organization, Mendoza said three million Filipinos were jobless while a fourth of those with jobs were underemployed or working less than eight hours a day.
The situation was made even more difficult by the entry of 600,000 new college graduates every year, he said.

“It’s really difficult to look for jobs. That’s the truth. Employers are the ones who are choosy, not us,” Mendoza said.

But he acknowledged that a large number of technical jobs remained unfilled because of a mismatch between available jobs and the applicants' skills.

Mendoza called on the President and other political leaders, especially the opposition, and business owners to get together to double if not triple efforts to generate jobs.

“We call on Congress to help the Executive department create the right business environment that will attract investments in the same manner that our neighbors in the Asia-Pacific region are attracting investments,” he said.

The President replied that job creation had been the focus of her economic reforms from Day 1.

She recalled that when she assumed the presidency in 2001, there were four million unemployed Filipinos as opposed to three million today. The drop in unemployment, she said, was no mean feat.

Mrs. Arroyo said there were only 2,000 workers in call centers at the start of her term, but now there were 125,000. She said the industry was expected to hire 100,000 more over the next 12 months.

Labor Secretary Patricia Sto. Tomas said about 100,000 students and workers stood to benefit from scholarship grants to pursue careers in business process outsourcing.
Sto. Tomas distributed the first of 100,000 scholarship certificates under the “PGMA Training for Work Scholarships” to the first group of beneficiaries yesterday.

In the House, administration allies challenged their colleagues in the opposition to work on the wage demands of labor groups to reach a compromise that was also acceptable to business owners. With Rio N. Araja, Joel M. Sy Egco


--By Joyce Pangco Pañares and Fel V. Maragay
http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/?...s01_may02_2006

[potterboy]

apil private ani? wehehehe.

[M@rv|n]

ka nice sa wali ni Cardinal Rosales :mrgreen:

[baron]

It is but normal that the workers would want to ask for wage hike. Who would want to have a low salary anyway? The government is now working on a win-win solution wherein the current state of the workers as well as the side of the employers are all given due respect. With this, the government has been trying to introduce non- wage benefits to employees such as tax exemption, pension plans, subsidized price of basic commodities offered to government employees and the like.

It is a must that the employers should understand the state of the workers as much as the workers should understand the situation of the employers. As such, strikes should really be out of the picture since these will not bring any advantage to the workers, to the employers, to the economy and to the country.

[getitright3]

And to be sure, this will be addressed by the President, and she has in fact lauded the workers and the PNP and the AFP for a good labor day. According to Press Secretary Bunye, the President has cited the need for a continuing effort to empower the Filipino worker in recognition of labor’s role in strengthening the economy. The Labor Day package of benefits is not the culmination, but the start of an active search for ways to empower the Filipino worker and his or her family. This ties in with the President’s vision of a "Strong Filipino Family" with access to all the keys needed to open the door of progress. To continue this active search, the President has instructed Labor Secretary Patricia Sto. Tomas to strictly monitor the implementation of Labor Day benefits. Secretary Sto. Tomas will make sure that every word of the President’s speech is felt across all sectors through concrete action undertaken along a firm, immovable timeline. And let's not forget that President Arroyo is pretty good at delivering on her promises!

[PissKhanXXX]

whatever their reasons are, i really hate it when religious people dip their feet into something beyond their jurisdiction.

[filipinoako2000200]

mag rally rally nalang jud ta kay wala may mga klaro ang mga naa sa gobyerno. Even ang naa sa church murag way klaro gihapon.