IN A bid to campaign for the rights of Filipino workers, the Alliance of Laborers and the Youth (ALAY) gathered members of various laborer unions in a forum held at the ISO Conference Room 3 on March 2.

ALAY is a national student-led movement that promotes awareness on the dignity of labor in the face of globalization.

The ALAY Campaign was held in partnership with the Christian Union for Socialist and Democratic Advancement (Crusada).

Crusada is an accredited political party based and founded in the Ateneo.

Speakers present during the forum were Political Science Department Instructor Carmel Abao, President of Yanching Province Trade Organization Marlon Gomez, co-founder of Crusada Miguel Rivera and union members Joseph Aplicador, Delma Constantino, Gemme Del Prado, Fermin Galicia and Galil Garcia.

The union as necessity

Gomez said that forming workers’ unions is a necessity because it is difficult to make a difference without the support of other people.

“Pag ikaw, indibidwal ka, wala, walang silbi ang boses mo. Kaya naisip namin talaga na magtayo ng isang [unyon] sa kompanya (If you stand as an individual alone, your voice has no use. That is why we thought about forming a union in the company),” Gomez said.

Aplicador shared the same sentiment, saying that “the ordinary laborer is deprived of his voice and will just accept what is given to him.”

Aplicador added that unions are important in companies because it secures them with rights and workers’ benefits as well as a just salary in whatever contract they enter into.

The bigger picture

Abao discussed the two factors affecting the state of the union in her speech, namely, precarious work and union decline.

Union decline is the decrease in corporate union power brought about by dwindling membership and lack of recognition and influence.

Abao defined precarious work as work that is not secure, safe or definite.

She further explained that precarious work is the cause behind the growing number of laborers who are not paid sufficiently.

“Precarious workers ang mga nasa harap natin ngayon. Ang turing sa kanila ay hindi regular na manggagawa kaya mababa ang sahod nila[at] wala silang security of tenure. Mapanganib ang social situation nila at wala silang benefits tulad ng [Social Security System] at PhilHealth [insurance] (What we have here in front of us are precarious workers. They are not treated as regular workers and that is why they receive a low pay and they do not have a security of tenure. Their social situation is at risk because they are not entitled to benefits such as those from Social Security System and PhilHealth insurance),” Abao said.

Furthermore, Abao presented figures showing that 2.8 million Filipinos remain unemployed and 7.3 million are underemployed.

“Kahit ang mga may union ay hindi nagkakanegosyo. Bukod pa rito, wala na ang strike o work stoppage. Malinaw na ang [workers’] union ay mahalagang instrumento para matulungan ang mga precarious workers (Even those who are a part of workers’ unions are not capable of putting up businesses. Aside from this, there is no longer any strike or work stoppage. It is clear that workers’ unions serve as an important instrument in helping out precarious workers),” she said.

Abao added that the struggle for the security of workers and of unions is a struggle for life and a better future.

“Dahil mapanganib ang pagtratrabaho, mapanganib ang buhay. At dahil mapanganib ang buhay, nasa panganib din ang lipunan at ating kinabukasan (Because working is perilous, life becomes perilous. And because life is perilous, our society and the future are also at risk).”

Rivera stated that Crusada has already partnered with three sectors in the past to help alleviate the plight of the union members and to raise awareness on the corresponding issues each sector campaigns for.

The said sectors are the Ateneo Task Force, Anti-Asia Pacific Economic Zone, Ateneans for Agrarian Reform Movement and the Philippine Airlines Employees Association Freeport.

“Ang importante na nangyari ngayon ay nagkita na nang harap-harapan ang mga estudyante at manggagawa. At iyon ang mahalaga. Basta’t nanunumbalik tayo sa isa’t isa at nagbabahagi tayo ng mga kwento natin, wala tayong hindi makakaya (What is important is that today, students and workers were able to meet face-to-face. That in itself is important. As long as we turn to each other and we let our own stories be heard, there is nothing that we cannot achieve),” Rivera said.

With reports from Katrina M. Bonillo