International Labor Day was protest day for migrant workers all over the world who are continuously struggling and fighting for their rights, just wages, benefits and humane treatment from employers and capitalists.
BY HANNAH FAITH DORMIDO
MIGRANT WATCH
Bulatlat
Vol. VIII, No. 13, May 4-10, 2008
International Labor Day was protest day for migrant workers all over the world who are continuously struggling and fighting for their rights, just wages, benefits and humane treatment from employers and capitalists.
The worsening food and oil crisis in the country, the global economic slowdown and the plunging power of the dollar is a “triple whammy” that hit overseas Filipino workers and their families hard, said Connie Bragas-Regalado, chairperson of Migrante International.
“We are practically in a state of calamity and urgent measures are needed in order to alleviate our situation,” said Regalado during the May 1 rally in Liwasang Bonifacio, Manila led by the Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU or May 1st Movement).
Regalado said the Arroyo government should scrap the “OFW (overseas Filipino workers) remittance tax” and the documentary stamp tax, which is collected for every OFW remittance transaction. She also stressed that it is unjust for the government to continue collecting astronomical amounts from OFWs but distressed OFWs are forced to beg for services like repatriation medical and legal assistance.
More than 2000 migrant workers in the Middle East await their repatriation, while seven OFWs were unjustly arrested for allegedly leading a migrant workers’ strike at the Al Jassim Trucking Company in Riyadh.
“Their arrest not only highlights the height of exploitation suffered by our OFWs, but is also proof that OFWs are still being sent to Iraq despite the so called deployment ban,” said Regalado.
In the United States, Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan or New Patriotic Alliance)-USA “joins over 12 million undocumented immigrants across United States in struggling for full legalization, workers rights, family reunification, and genuine comprehensive immigration reform.”
“Immigrants contribute richly to the social and economic fabric of the United States. Aside from paying taxes and not availing of social services, or taking on jobs most U.S. citizens shun, immigrants care for our children, our elderly, construct our buildings, plant our food, grow our gardens, and maintain our homes. Without them, our society would fail to function,” BAYAN-USAsaid in a statement.
The U.S. business sector thrives on cheap labor, and capitalists take advantage of the desperation of the OFWs by “driving down workers' wages and stripping them of rights and benefits. This ensures that the capitalist turns in higher profits year after year, at the cost of human dignity for immigrant workers. From this framework arises a modern-day slave class in the US.”
Bayan-USA said that the U.S. government is assisted by the puppet Arroyo government in carrying its interventionist agenda in the country. By being an export-oriented, import dependent economy, which means bringing out of the country labor and natural resources while putting aside genuine agrarian reform and national industrialization, the Philippines has become one of the top three labor exporting countries in the world. This has also made the Philippines a remittance dependent economy.
“It (Philippines) also remains a heavily-impoverished nation with no plausible prospect of reaching first world status any time in the future, despite the claims of the Arroyo government,” said Bayan-USA.
In the U.S., more Filipino immigrants are falling victim to raids, detentions, deportations, family disunity, lack of social services, and lack of civil and human rights. BAYAN-USA,together with migrant workers, demand changes in the US immigration system and an end to neoliberal globalization that perpetuates forced migration to the U.S.
“OFWs are hailed as Modern Heroes by the Arroyo administration and yet we hear nothing from her administration to ease OFWs woes in time of soaring prices of food and economic crisis,” said John Leonard Monterona, Migrante Middle East coordinator.
OFWs in the Middle East urged the Arroyo government to have “gifts” for them too. This include “lowering of OFW membership fee, removal of documentary stamp tax on OFW remittances and exemption of OFWs from service fees on their remittances,” said Monterona.
He stressed that Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) charging and collection of membership fee amounting to US$25.00 per OFW is too burdensome and unbearable for returning OFWs and aspiring alike in time of soaring prices of food and economic crisis.
Monterona added that it is in violation of Section 2 paragraph (l) of RA 8042 which states: “Government fees and other administrative costs of recruitment, introduction, placement and assistance to migrant workers shall be rendered free without prejudice to the provision of Section 36 hereof.”
“The OWWA fund now reaching to almost P10 billion ($236,183,278 at an exchange rate of $1=P42.34) held in trust by the government has been subjected to numerous misuse, as manifested by the diversion of funds such as the transfer of P4B ($94,473,311) from OWWA to Philippine Health and Insurance Corporation by virtue of a secret issuance of Executive Order 182 by Mrs. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo where Philhealth cards have been distributed during her 2004 presidential sorties, among many other misuses of OWWA fund,” Monterona said.
Monterona added that lowering of OWWA membership fee and removal of other unnecessary government fees charged and collected from OFWs and aspiring alike would surely ease the burden of OFWs and their families in time of economic crisis.
Filipino migrant workers in Canada, despite being highly-skilled and highly educated, are Canada’s lowest paid workers, said Migrante-Ontario in a statement. ”Their skills and education are not recognized, forcing them into low-paid, difficult and dangerous jobs that no Canadian wants. “
Migrante- Ontario said migrant workers in Canada suffer from lay-offs, contractualization, racism and other forms of exploitation. The rice and food crisis suffered in the Philippines adds burden to the migrant workers to abroad because they have to earn more in order to support their families back home.
“The working class becomes more oppressed than ever under the mantra of economic practices such as privatization, deregulation, trade liberalization and contractualization imposed by global corporate rulers. Using the ploy of corporate efficiency, the capitalists have been trying to reduce, if not eliminate labour rights such as collective bargaining, minimum wage, right to unionize, benefits and safe working environment,” stated Migrante-Ontario.
Migrante- Ontario added that “the U.S. "war on terror" intensifies racist attacks and discriminatory measures against migrant and immigrant workers. Migrant workers have been illegally arrested and deported, without due process, on the grounds that they are a threat to national security.”
OWWA funds (mis)used and (mis)managed
“The admission maid by Labor Sec. Marianito Roque that OWWA has incurred losses of about Php.70 million ($1,653,282) in pre-departure loans availed by OFWs if found to be true indeed validates suspicions that OWWA has been mismanaging the OWWA fund, which is a compulsory collection of US$25.0 per OFWs on a yearly basis believed to have reached Php.10-B held in trust to the government,” said John Leonard Monterona, coordinator of Migrante-Middle East.
Monterona added that this admission from Secretary Roque might be used as a justification for stopping OWWA welfare programs and services to OFWs and families.
“We challenge Sec. Roque to re-implement all the welfare programs OWWA has been removed due to the implementation of OWWA Omnibus Policies and consider the lowering of OWWA membership fee from US$25.0 (Php-1,050 if exchange rate is 1:42) to PhP500 ($11.80) per OFW,” Monterona said. Bulatlat