News
SM and Rustan's workers strike
Thousands of SM workers firmly announced on April 9 that they would push through with their strike despite a "return to work order" issued by the Department of Labor and Employment on April 2. The workers also condemned the violent dispersal of their picket line at SM North Edsa.
Led by the Sandigan ng mga Manggagawa sa Shoemart (SMS), workers at SM North Edsa set up their picket line on March 25 after management refused to continue negotiating for a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA).
The workers are demanding, among others, a P40 hike in their daily wage and additional benefits. They also demanded the regularization of contractual workers who are deprived of the right to have job security, receive benefits and join unions. Each year, SM hires up to 80,000 workers, most of them young women, and fires them after they finish their six-month contracts.
In addition, the workers protested the two-fold oppression suffered by women workers who comprise 85% of SM's workforce. They are obliged to wear very short uniforms and high-heeled shoes while standing at work for practically the whole day. They even need passes to use the toilet and are allowed to do so for only three to five minutes. Also, even pregnant workers are not provided chairs where they could rest.
The workers condemned management's repeated attempts to bust their union.
MEANWHILE, workers at Rustan's Commercial Corporation (RCC) also struck on April 4. It was the peak of a struggle that the Rustan's workers had been waging since December 2002.
In response, the Rustan's management connived with the police to disperse the workers' picket line. Eight workers were arrested and four were injured and detained at the Mandaluyong City Hall.
Rustan's has deprived its workers of a CBA for 52 years. Wage and labor issues are settled at the Rustan's Employees Council (REC) which was formed by management. Management strictly forbids unionizing and still refuses to recognize the Rustan's Democratic Employees Union (RDEU).
The workers are paid measly wages. Sales associates, store clerks and cashiers receive a mere P270-280 daily wage even after nine years of service.
�Kalbaryo ng Bayan�. Progressive organizations from Southern Tagalog staged a "Kalbaryo ng Bayan" (People's Calvary) during Holy Week. They began the cultural caravan at the Lucena City public market and brought it to the Southern Luzon Command headquarters where they held a rally. They showed the pitiful plight of the people in the region under the puppet-fascist Macapagal-Arroyo regime. The following day, they went to the US Embassy and Malaca�ang were they staged a rally to oppose US military intervention in the Philippines.
1,500 US soldiers arrive. Despite protests, 1,500 American soldiers quietly slipped into the country on April 17 to participate in the scheduled "Balikatan 2003" to be held in Batangas, Pampanga, Nueva Ecija and Cavite from April 25 to May 9.
Meanwhile, Macapagal-Arroyo declared on April 9 that Sulu will definitely be the site of another "Balikatan" that will feature joint combat operations of Filipino and American soldiers. This is in spite of opposition from the majority of the people in Sulu.
$557 million BOP deficit. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas reported a $557 million balance of payments (BOP) deficit in March resulting from debt servicing, importations and dollar repatriations due to the US war against Iraq. It was the biggest BOP deficit since December 2001. It has wiped out the vaunted $141 million surplus in January as well as the $55 million surplus for February. The BOP is the sum total of the Philippines' trade and financial transactions with other countries.
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