Letter to the Editor - Slave labor

Slave labor may be a very strong "description" but it does fit the pay given to traffic enforcers in Lapu-Lapu City!

Because of circumstances requiring the assistance of Lapu-Lapu City Traffic Enforcement I accidentally discovered that they are paid below minimum wage and to make matters worse, they are contract workers. Frankly, I'm surprised that anyone will work as a traffic enforcer.

Traffic Enforcers are very important to keeping our streets and highways safe for everyone. Maybe the government hasn't figured it out but the rules are quite simple: Poor pay + contract = zero incentive to perform the job well. These individuals not only take a lot of rubbish from undisciplined drivers, they must endure all weather conditions, inhale polluted air from faulty exhaust systems and run the risk of being killed by an intoxicated driver.

They do all of this for pay below minimum wage and on a contract. There is something very wrong with this picture! Why then do they take the job? Maybe they are fundamentally honest people that are trying to make a living by not stealing, selling drugs or going into politics.

Age discrimination and contract employment in the Philippines makes me want to vomit. Pay below the minimum standard makes employment in the Philippines is an insult to the people. How can people plan a future, feed their families, educate their children, etc. with employment practices such as those?

In my humble opinion the absolute minimum wage for traffic enforcers should be P275 per day for an eight-hour shift and there can be no contract relative to the length of employment. A standard workweek should be six days. It should also be the responsibility of the government to provide proper uniforms at no cost to the individual. There must be a probation period; if they perform poorly then they are history. If they perform well then they have long-term employment. Reasonable standards of performance by which to measure the individual must be established and certainly there must be proper training provided.

Regardless as to the occupation I truly believe there must be fair pay for an honest day's work. There is a very old phrase that applies: You get what you pay for!

CLIFF SHEPPARD
BF Homes Abuno, Pajac
Fifth Street, Block 5, Lot 24
Lapu-Lapu City 6015
Mactan Cebu