Group dares gov't to turn crisis into opportunity

CEBU, Philippines - Labor group Partido ng Manggagawa said the government must transform the present economic crisis into an opportunity for reconstruction by making policy changes.

Greg Janginon, chairperson of PM-Cebu said the policies of liberalization, deregulation and privatization must be stopped and the local economy must be developed by strengthening industry and modernizing agriculture based on agrarian reform.

“Since the beginning of the global crisis it has been Black Friday for workers. It has been like Calvary for workers who have lost their jobs and have sustained pay cuts due to reduced work days and compressed workweeks,” Janginon said in a press statement sent to The Freeman.

As examples of the policy changes, the group cited the repeal of the EPIRA (Electric Power Industry Reform Act), Oil Deregulation Law and the law on Value Added Tax.

PM national chairperson Rene Magtubo said that reversals in such policies will rollback the price increases that came about because of privatization and deregulation of basic services.

Magtubo added that the tariff protection and quota restrictions must be imposed on foreign goods that compete with locally-produced products and services.

To this, Janginon added that there must be a review and revocation of unequal trade agreements such as the multilateral GATT-WTO and bilateral ones like JPEPA and the proposed EU-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement.

“These so-called trade agreements have favored multinational corporations to the detriment of workers, farmers and local business,” Janginon stressed.

The group also called on the workers to challenge the government’s promises of assistance for those who lost their jobs.

As Labor Day approaches, PM is demanding from the government a bailout package for workers.

The bailout includes subsidy for displaced workers from the SSS, GSIS and OWWA; tax refund for all wage earners; expansion and reform of the public employment program; extension of health care coverage for displaced workers; and moratorium on demolitions and evictions.

Janginon said that bailing out the workers is just the first step while reversing the policies that brought about the crisis itself will be the next.

“But the ultimate solution is to replace moribund capitalism with a new society whose organizing principle is not prioritizing corporate profit but meeting people’s needs,” he said. — Mitchelle L. Palaubsanon/WAB (THE FREEMAN)