'Preemptive Actions' Ordered vs Workers

The Manila Times
November 7, 1996
By Dana Batnag, Raffy S. Jimenez and Aries Rufo
Reporters 

PRESIDENT Ramos yesterday ordered the labor department to promptly "take preemptive actions" against hotel workers planning to mount strikes and slowdowns during the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meetings on Nov. 19-21.

At the same time, the President directed Task Force Lily, an inter-agency task force based in Malacañang to "monitor infiltration (by) certain elements into (parallel) APEC fora."

The President instructed Labor Secretary Leonardo Quisumbing to "take preemptive actions, with their (hotel workers') cooperation of course, well before the first drove of officials of APEC come around."

"Why don't we ask the officials, get some people there, even interview the union leaders, to find out what's going on," the President said.

A real threat

Ramos issued the directives during yesterday's Cabinet meeting in Iba, Zambales, after Quisumbing discussed the reported labor unrest rocking the hotels, Philippine Airlines, Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co., and the Manila Electric Co. Notices of strikes filed by workers of the three hotels Manila Hotel, Grand Boulevard Hotel Sofitel and Hyatt Regency had already lapsed.

"It's the hotel industry that is a real threat...a substantial threat," Quisumbing said, adding that the tripartite labor and management councils are already meeting "on a
day-to-day basis."
Workers in other hotels are reportedly inclined to go on a work slowdown to demonstrate support for their fellow workers. They include those from the Westin Philippine Plaza, Century Park Sheraton, Manila Peninsula, Manila Midtown Hotel and Dusit Nikko Manila Hotel.

The hotel workers are allied with the National Union of Workers in Hotels, Restaurants and Allied Industries or NUWHRAIN.

In related developments:

• The 9,000-strong PAL Employees Association (PALEA) rejected yesterday management's proposal for a new collective bargaining agreement.

The union has asked for a salary increase of P3,500 a month for the first year of the agreement and another P1,500 during the second year, said PALEA president Alexander Barrientos.

• Opposition to the APEC meetings snowballed yesterday as labor and church joined forces anew to denounce the forthcoming summit as an "evil" that would dislocate thousands of workers.

The newly organized coalition of church and labor groups called Solidarity of Labor Movement Against (SLAM) APEC announced that it will organize a "people's caravan" from Manila to Subic, where the APEC leaders' conference will be held.

SLAM APEC organizers said about 30,000 workers are expected to participate in the caravan representing labor unions nationwide.

• Senate President Ernesto Maceda, in a statement, said labor disputes were among problems that the government "failed to anticipate in its planning for the APEC summit."

"But the experience with the Philippine Airlines should have taught Malacañang that it cannot ignore the workers' concerns," he said.

"If we can prevent another strike similar to the PAL wildcat strike, then we should do something about it. Otherwise, all the security preparations and the cosmetic face-lifting of many parts of Metro Manila would prove meaningless," Maceda said.

Economic sabotage?

During the Cabinet meeting, Budget Secretary Salvador Enriquez Jr. suggested that government study how laws on economic sabotage may be used against the strikers.


"It is possible...that there are laws that they might be violating, economic sabotage for example...so this thing perhaps can be studied and applied to those," Enriquez said.

In response, Justice Secretary Teofisto Guingona said there were already "studies under way," and that the DOJ is set to "make the alternative proposal in due time, in a few days."

Foreign Affairs Secretary Domingo Siazon Jr. pointed out during the Cabinet meeting that a sympathy strike by the PLDT union would mean no international press coverage for APEC, and that if the hotel workers go on strike, "we'll have no service in all major hotels."

During his press conference, the President said his directive to Task Force Lily meant nothing more than "monitoring, just listen, and submit reports."

Maximum tolerance

He said the government "will provide maximum tolerance so that the Filipinos can do their thing, whether it is for, against, parallel to or supportive of or in opposition to the main, official APEC summit meeting."

"The only reservation we put forth very strongly was that foreigners must not interfere in the internal affairs of the Philippines," he said, adding that he knows of at least two, "maybe...three or four" parallel APEC summits.

The President said he will also discuss the issue in next week's breakfast meeting of the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (Ledac).

"We are not trying to interfere, just trying to make sure that public utilities, public services, are not disturbed or interfered with," he said.

Management offer

The demand of the PAL union for a new CBA was not acted upon for more than a year until the union went on strike, forcing the airline last Saturday to promise a counter-offer, which it submitted to Barrientos Tuesday.

The management offered P1,000 worth of PAL stock in the first year, another P1,000 worth of shares plus a P100 a month salary increase in the second year, as well as additional increases in later years.

"That is not acceptable, but we are still open to negotiation," Barrientos said.

The privatization program for PAL launched three years ago provided for a stock sale to the employees equivalent to five percent of the firm's shares of stock.

The airline has been beleaguered by large financial losses and labor unrest. Unions representing its pilots and cabin crew also have threatened to walk out.

The airline posted a net loss of P1.75 billion in the fiscal year that ended March 31, about two percent more than the previous year.

3,000 unions

Meanwhile, Sanlakas chair Renato Constantino, one of the SLAM-APEC convenors, said about 3,000 presidents of unions, organizations of agricultural workers, urban poor and student councils and more than 100 foreign trade unionists will participate in the anti-APEC conference scheduled on Nov. 22 to 23.

One of the convenors of SLAM¬APEC is Barrientos of PALEA, who is also president of the Kapatiran ng mga Pangulo ng Unyon sa Pilipinas (KPUP).

Constantino said that shortly before the anti-APEC meeting, a labor congress will be held to be attended by more than 2,000 union presidents from all over the country. The congress' venues will the Rubber-World Adidas plant complex in Novaliches, Quezon City, which had shut down.

Aside from KPUP and Sanlakas, other groups joining SLAM-APEC include the militant Buklurang Manggagawang Pilipino (BMP), the church-based group KAIROS, the National Confederation of Labor, and Bukluran ng Progresibong Magbubukid ng Pilipinas.

The group said that APEC's push for globalization will legitimize "downsizing, contractualization, union-busting, sub-contracting" and other anti-labor practices.

`Immoral status quo'

"Like many other economic and trade arrangements in various parts of the world, APEC seeks to maintain and promote this immoral and criminal global status quo," it stated.

BMP secretary general Leody de Guzman said participants to the planned congress of labor unions will adopt a resolution amending the Labor Code. "The Labor Code is no longer effective at present. Malaki ang nagbago sa labor sector in the face of globalization and liberalization," he said.