'Daddy O' brings parenting into politics

By: Andie Coller
The Politico, December 27, 2008 07:37 PM EST

Just call him Daddy O.

Most leaders’ playbooks take at least a page or two from “The Art of War,” but President-elect Obama’s rhetoric seems to be torn from very different kind of text: the modern parenting manual.

The “change we can believe in,” it turns out, shares a lot with the revolution in thinking about child-rearing sprung from the work of Austrian psychologist Alfred Adler, which centers on principles such as mutual respect — or what the president-elect has called “the presumption of good faith” — fostering independence (“Team of Rivals,” anyone?), and encouragement (“Yes we can!”).

This passage from Obama’s victory speech, for example, is a family meeting waiting to happen, complete with attempts to acknowledge his own limits, make room for dissent, make sure the listeners feel heard, and stress the importance of everyone’s contribution:

“There are many who won’t agree with every decision or policy I make as president, and we know that government can’t solve every problem. But I will always be honest with you about the challenges we face. I will listen to you, especially when we disagree. And above all, I will ask you join in the work of remaking this nation the only way it’s been done in America for two-hundred and twenty-one years — block by block, brick by brick, calloused hand by calloused hand.”

These and other progressive parenting principles are reflected not only in Obama’s rhetoric, but also in his approach to leadership — an approach that already seems to be rubbing off.

Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), for instance, recently called Senate Democrats’ decision not to strip Sen. Joe Lieberman of his chairmanship a “direct result of the tone [Obama] set.”

“The old school was that you reward your friends and punish your enemies,” she said. “But it’s a new day, and there is no reward and punishment going on.”

No rewards or punishments? Alfie Kohn, whose book “Unconditional Parenting” is subtitled “Moving from Rewards and Punishments to Love and Reason” approves:

“The most respectful — and effective — approach to parenting consists of working WITH children rather than doing things TO them,” he says. ‘Working with’ parents talk less and listen more. They regularly try to imagine how the world looks from the child's point of view. They bring kids into the process of decision-making whenever possible. ‘Doing to’ parents, on the other hand, impose their will and use some combination of rewards and punishments in an attempt to elicit obedience.”

Kohn says a “working with” approach in the political realm is “essentially more democratic” — particularly if it offers real choices, and not just the illusion of them.

A progressive parenting approach also means taking responsibility for your own role in a conflict, says Jane Nelsen, author of the classic child-rearing handbook “Positive Discipline.” She compares Obama’s vow to end the “partisan bickering” in Washington or his determination to use diplomacy as a primary tool in international relations to the efforts of parents who want to break out of power struggles or revenge cycles with their kids: “In order to stop them, someone has to recognize what it is, and say, ‘I can even see what my part has been in the power struggle,’ and find solutions that work for everyone.”

It would be easy to bash Obama’s enlightened-father philosophy as an insulting new extension of the nanny state, but the truth is that the exercise of power in any form shares a lot in common with the parent-child relationship.

As President Bush’s former chief of staff Andy Card said of his boss during the 2004 Republican National Convention: “This president sees America as we think about a 10-year-old child.”

Bush’s rhetorical model, however, is typically more “Father Knows Best” than T. Berry Brazelton.

Consider these words from the 43rd president, back when he was keeping his secretary of defense:

"I hear the voices, and I read the front page, and I know the speculation. But I’m the decider, and I decide what is best. And what's best is for Don Rumsfeld to remain as the secretary of defense."

His choice of words suggests a more no-nonsense, SuperNanny-style approach to his job (“It’s in their nature to test the boundaries and it’s up to you to make sure they don’t cross the line”) that also has its proponents: Bush’s tough, take-no-guff rhetoric led many, including former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, to praise him as a “strong leader” during a time of war.

But progressive parenting experts argue that the “love and reason” approach to leadership is not only more respectful — it might also turn out to be more effective.

According to Kohn, children who feel listened to, respected and understood, and who are allowed to take real responsibility and develop internal motivation, tend to care more and work harder than those who are rewarded for their achievements.

On the other hand, says Nelsen, while rewards and punishments may work in the short term, in the long run children who are raised to respond to them rather become either “praise junkies” or “rebels.”

As Kohn puts it in “Unconditional Parenting”: “One reason that a heavy-handed, do-what-I-say approach tends not to work very well is that, in the final analysis, we really CAN’T control our kids — at least not in the ways that matter. ... It’s simply impossible to force a child to go to sleep, or stop crying, or listen or respect us. These are the issues that are most trying to parents precisely because it’s here that we run up against the inherent limits of what one human being can compel another human being to do.”

“Sadly, though, that doesn’t stop us from trying newer, cleverer, or more forceful strategies to get kids to comply. And when these techniques fail, that’s often taken as evidence that what’s needed is ... more of the same.”

More of the same? There’s one phrase that’s definitely not in the new top pop’s vocabulary.

© 2008 Capitol News Company, LLC

1st CNA for Academic Union and 3rd for the Workers Union Signed Today

In the 100 year history of the University of the Philippines (UP), the first ever collective negotiation agreement (CNA) between UP and the union of UP’s rank-and-file faculty and REPS (research, extension and professional staff) will be signed today, December 12, Friday at 10 to 11 am at the Lobby of Quezon Hall, University of the Philippines. The University will be represented by President Emerlinda R. Roman and the rank-and-file academic personnel will be represented by Dr. Erlinda Castro-Palaganas, National President of the All UP Academic Employees Union.

The third CNA between UP and the university’s rank-and-file administrative staff will be signed simultaneously. President Roman will sign for the university and Arnulfo Anoos, National President of the All-UP Workers Union will sign on behalf of the administrative staff.

The CNA is equivalent to the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) in the private sector.

The two CNAs will be in force for five years and include provisions recognizing the All UP Academic Employees Union and the All UP Workers Union as the sole-and-exclusive representative of the rank-and-file academic personnel and administrative staff, respectively. Provisions on union representation in university committees, union rights and privileges, leaves, incentives and gender responsiveness are among the salient provisions of the CNA.

The signing of the two CNAs is one of the remaining major activities in the state university’s observance of its centennial year, now dubbed as the Philippine's National University under its new charter (R.A. 9500) that was enacted on April 2008.

Public Education at Risk of Privatisation by Stealth

By Guntars Catlaks

A new study commissioned by Education International reveals that a growing trend towards privatisation of public education is often camouflaged by the language of "educational reform," or introduced stealthily as "modernisation. " Hence the title of the study: Hidden Privatisation In Public Education.

The research was undertaken by Prof. Stephen Ball and Dr. Deborah Youdell, both of the Institute of Education, University of London. The authors explore two key types of privatisation: one in which ideas, techniques and practices from the private sector are imported to make schools more business-like; and another in which public education is opened up to private sector participation on a for-profit basis. The former type often paves the way for the latter.

Both types of privatisation have profound impacts upon the way education is delivered, how curriculum is decided, how teachers are trained, how students are assessed, and indeed on the fundamental values underpinning public education in both industrialised and developing countries.

"A central issue, as this report so clearly shows, concerns the very ethos of education," said EI General Secretary Fred van Leeuwen. "To put it in the starkest possible way: is education about giving each child, each young man or woman, the opportunity to develop his or her full potential as a person and as a member of society? Or is education to be a service sold to clients, who are considered from a young age to be consumers and targets for marketing?"

Teachers and their unions around the world actively defend the concept of quality public education as a fundamental right of child. Therefore, this stealthy transformation of education from a public good into a commodity to be used for private profit is of deep concern.

"Education International commissioned this study to shine a spotlight on the trend towards privatisation. We need greater transparency and we need to get a better understanding of what is happening, so that we can engage in an open public debate about the future of education in our societies," van Leeuwen said.

A preliminary report was published for the World Congress in Berlin in July 2007, and was presented by the authors at a break-out session. The EI Research Institute commissioned the report, and the EI Research Network met twice to discuss issues of privatisation and to evaluate the emerging findings. The final report was launched 17 June at the Trade Union Centre in London.

John Bangs of the National Union of Teachers and a member of the board of the EI Research Institute, said: "It's the first genuine analysis of the global impact of these trends toward privatisation on public education systems." Referring to the lately deceased General Secretary of the NUT, he added: "Steve Sinnott would have been absolutely delighted to see this report."

"This is the first blast of the EI trumpet against the monstrous impact of the privatisers in education," said Jerry Bartlett, General Secretary of the NASUWT and a member of the EI Executive Board. "Privatisation is an abdication of the state's responsibility to provide a fundamental right. This will be a really useful tool to use to campaign against the loss of the public sector ethos in education."

Stephen Ball noted that the so-called education industry is enormously profitable. "Education services are the single largest export industry for the UK, valued at about 28 billion pounds a year," he said. "This is big business!"

And within this big business, the newly emerged class of "edupreneurs" are set to reap the biggest profits. Testing companies, for example, are multi-million dollar enterprises in countries that place high priority on test results as a measure of educational quality. Under George Bush's "No Child Left Behind" legislation in the United States, about 45 million tests are administered annually at a profit of up to US $517 million to the private sector, he said.

And, at a global level, the World Bank is also actively promoting private corporate involvement in public education systems. "The World Bank is placing the private sector at the centre of its policy in the developing world," Ball said.

Youdell added that in many developing nations privatisation tendencies are often more prevalent in newly-established World Bank or aid-funded educational projects. Because they are more dependent on external funding, developing nations are inevitably also more vulnerable to privatisation in all its forms, she said.

In many countries, privatisation has proceeded so far that it is seen as inevitable or simply "common sense," Ball warned. He urged educators to be sceptical of private initiatives, and to look more deeply beyond the immediately apparent benefits of, for example, "free" computers, equipment, or learning resources.

The most insidious effects of hidden privatisation, Ball found, were the ways in which relationships between teachers, students and parents are changed. When education is commodified, the results—including the accomplishments of students—become seen as products. In this way, school leaders become business managers, teachers become technicians and students—depending on their test results—become assets or liabilities in a school ranked against all its neighbours.

He emphasized that there is a strong need for "ethical audits" to evaluate the impact of private involvement in public education.

Bob Harrris, EI Senior Consultant, welcomed the report and praised its potential as a tool for teacher unions to develop their strategies and resist the most egregious forms of privatisation. Harris emphasized the need for trade unionists to gain a deep understanding of the threats posed to public education (and indeed all public services) by the pressures of privatisation, and to act energetically to implement counter-proposals.

"The debate should not be about whether education reforms are needed, but rather about the kind of reforms and the conditions for success," he said.

This article was published in Worlds of Education, Issue 27, September 2008.

Migration of Health Workers & Professionals: The Philippine Experience

Jossel I. Ebesate, RN, MAN Candidate
Secretary-General, Alliance of Health Workers (AHW), Philippines

Migration is one of the pressing issue that affects the lives of around 90 million Filipinos, 9 to 10 million of which are officially coined as Overseas Filipino Workers or OFWs. It is not a coincidence that the Philippines is hosting the 2nd Global Forum on Migration & Development (GFMD). Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is like a poster girl promoting migration of Filipinos in the name of dollar remittances, at the expense of poor Filipino OFWs, migrants and their families.

Our own International Assembly of Migrants & Refugees is very significant not only because we are holding this at almost the same time with the GFMD. This is significant because we, migrants, refugees and concerned organizations and individuals are strengthening our unity to fight for our rights in the face of a worsening global financial crisis affecting all countries.

Extent of Brain Drain

The Philippines is the no. 1 exporter of nurses worldwide with 85% of Filipino nurses working in some 50 countries. Every month more than 2,000 nurses leave the Philippines to work abroad . More than 9,000 doctors have already left as nurses from 2002 to 2005. Other professionals like dentists, physical therapists, medical technologists, lawyers, engineers are taking up nursing courses to work as nurses abroad. An estimated 15,000 health professionals leave the country annually for employment abroad.

For the past five years, about 50% of nurses employed in specialty hospitals like Philippine Health Center, National Kidney & Transplant Institute, Lung Center of the Philippines & Philippine Children's Medical Center went abroad. They are replaced by new nurses, who are also applying for abroad but just finishing few years experience as requirements.

“Doctors becoming nurses” is a new phenomenon which result to the depletion of doctors. Ninety percent (90%) of Municipal Health Officers, these are doctors working in rural health centers, are taking up nursing and expected to leave the country. Anesthesiologists and obstetricians are rapidly depleting, followed by pediatricians and surgeons.

The demand for nurses is expected to increase, estimated at 600,000 between now and year 2010 . Developed countries want skilled labor to take care of their sick and old population. Their youth population no longer takes interest in nursing profession due to relatively difficult, long hours, and high stress, hazardous working conditions. They dislike the care of the chronically ill and afraid of exposure to HIV/AIDS.

In this era of imperialist globalization, countries like United States of America, United Kingdom and other developed countries, thrives on cheap labor of the third world countries like the Philippines. There are about 10 million Filipinos including health professionals who live and work in 197 countries.

The globalization of labor has been accepted thru the World Trade Organization's specific provisions, the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) which sets down disciplines and provides the most effective framework to pursue liberalization of trade in services. GATS encourages industrialized countries to poach the brightest and the best from poor countries while protecting their own.

Oppressive & exploitative conditions pushing health professionals to leave

Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Rosales said in July 2004, “the fact that millions of Filipinos are forced to work abroad is proof of government’s economic failure.”

Indeed, economic factor is the number one cause why Filipinos, including health professionals, leave the country. The problems of unemployment, low salaries, rising cost of basic commodities and services push many Filipinos to seek greener pasture abroad. Nurses and other health professionals suffer from unjust working conditions, low salaries, denied benefit, job insecurity and curtailment of basic rights.

Health workers suffer from unjust working conditions. To provide better patient care, a nurse should take care of 15 patients for an 8-hour shift. But nurses in the Philippines take care of up to 150 patients per shift.

Starvation wages and denied benefits. Health workers are among the most overworked workers in the world, yet, salaries remained at starvation level. Our salaries cannot afford us decent, health and humane living conditions. Nurses receive a salary of P6,000 (US$130) in private hospitals, P12,026 (US$261) in government hospitals per month. A resident physician in a government hospital earns P19, 168 (US$417)/month. This is way below the monthly cost of living of P27,100 (US $565) for a family of 6 .

Health workers are deprived of economic benefits due us, such as overtime pay, night shift differential, housing allowance and holiday pay. Meager amounts are given for subsistence, clothing and laundry allowances. Health workers have to struggle earnestly for those benefits. These are despite the fact that all these benefits are mandated by law.

Health workers suffer from job insecurity. The government implements reorganization and streamlining programs resulting to mass lay-off and job insecurities among health workers. In state hospitals, operations and maintenance are now privatized or are under contract to private companies. The security service, dietary, pharmacy, laundry, engineering and maintenance are contracted out first. Former regular employees in these services, if not removed became contractual workers. Nurses also become contractual workers.

Government agencies say that we have an “oversupply of nurses”. But aside from understaffing in the hospitals, there are so many doctorless and nurse-less barangays throughout the country, because there are no plantilla positions available or no takers if ever there are available positions. The supposed “oversupply” - which is actually “unemployment,” results to exploitation by hospitals both in the private and public sector through “volunteer” work and “trainings” in exchange for exorbitant fees. In reality however, these “volunteers” and “trainees” were in most cases made to cover for the understaffing of hospitals.

Health workers’ basic rights curtailed. To ensure more income, owners and hospital management find ways to control the workers even if their basic democratic rights are trampled upon. Freedom of expression is suppressed. Contractual health workers are prevented from joining unions or organizations while legitimate workers’ unions are being busted. Some management refuses to negotiate with duly accredited health workers union. Union leaders are harassed. Policies, regulations and strict work procedures are implemented to hinder the movement or curtail freedom of workers. Hospital management intervenes by promoting and actually establishing pro-management & yellow unions.

The Philippine government is not worried on the exodus of health professionals, even encourages it. The DOH response is not to stop the brain drain. The government agencies are not doing anything with the sprouting of substandard profit-oriented nursing schools in response to increased demands for nurses abroad. The western-oriented and commercialized curriculum is even being modified to further “prepare” nurse graduates in working broad by introducing subjects like “Nihonggo” as electives, and others.

These are the factors that force health professionals to work or migrate to developed countries. However, instead of solving the economic crisis and addressing the problems of health workers the Arroyo government choose to make money out of the migrants and overseas workers. Through the labor export policy the government trade cheap labor force in exchange for dollar remittances.

Abuses and Exploitation of Health Workers & Professionals Abroad

Growing number of health professionals going abroad end up working as nanny, health care givers in home care institutions or live-in care givers. In Canada, Filipino Nurses are recruited to work as registered nurses through the Live-in Caregiver Program that forces them to work as 24-hour domestic workers who clean, cook and care for the children, elderly of the middle & upper class Canadian families.

In the United Kingdom, foreign nurses are made to pay their employer or recruitment agency for the opportunity to work. Worse, they are put on the lowest rung of the ladder, equivalent to health care assistants, while they are in still processing their registration as professional nurses. After they receive their UK registration their salary is adjusted to a level with UK trained staff.

In the USA, some health professionals become victims of illegal recruitment. Like the case of the 27 victims of Sentosa Recruitment Agency in New York. Upon arriving in the US, the 26 nurses and 1 physical therapist were duped into working as agency nurses rather than as direct-hire staff nurses, had their wage rates lowered considerably and withheld over long periods of time, their green cards withheld, and were maltreated and abused by Sentosa affiliate hospitals and nursing homes for which they worked. When they resigned upon realizing their exploitative conditions, they were charged with criminal and administrative charges by the hospitals and nursing homes together with Sentosa. The case of illegal recruitment filed against Sentosa in the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration was dismissed after a government official intervened.

In some other countries especially in the Middle East, many nurses complained of a series of promises over salaries and accommodation that have been broken twice over by recruiters and employers. In fact, contract substitution is the norm. They claim their housing costs have been raised in spite of their contract to include electricity, gas and council tax. The nurses also report that the free airfare promised by the recruitment agency is now being deducted from their salaries. There are also reports of bullying. Nurses were not provided with job descriptions and some employers have asked to be paid if the nurse leaves before the end of three years, even though they had only agreed to work for two. They encountered problems of being asked to sign new contracts that will commit them to less pay and more work, including some domestic duties.

The Philippine government itself is pushing Filipinos in peril abroad. Yet it gives token or no assistance at all in most of these cases of abuse and exploitation. Thus, Filipino health workers become victims twice over. Their cases add up to the increasing number of abuse and exploitation of overseas Filipino workers.

Devastating effects of migration

Effects to health care. The continuing out-migration of health workers and health professionals is affecting health care provisions in the home country, negatively. Migration aggravates the already dismal health care system. Health groups have predicted an impending health crisis unless the “exodus” of health personnel is mitigated.

Even before the dramatic out-migration of health professionals, the health care system is already in dismal state. Fifty percent (50%) of the population has no access to health care. The Philippines is record holder in the incidence of tuberculosis in the past years, but only 60% of the population has access to essential drugs. Average hospitalization bill is three times the average monthly income.

The health indicators of the Philippines are worse compared to selected Asian countries like Japan, South Korea, Malaysia & Thailand.

The fast turn-over of nurses further lowers the standard of care, because they are replaced with new inexperienced nurses. Operating rooms are staffed with novice nurses, and experienced ones often work double shifts.

There is a decrease in the enrollment in medical schools of 10%-55% in the last 2 years. Likewise there is a decline in the applicants for medical residency positions to become specialists with an average of 50%.

The out-migration is aggravating the shortage of doctors and nurses in the hospital and in rural areas. In 2003 to 2005 some 200 hospitals were completely closed, 800 partially closed for lack of doctors/nurses . Many more towns will be added to the list of towns which have no doctors and nurses.

Filipino people have to suffer once more with further lack of nurses and doctors on top of inadequate and unaffordable medicines, supplies and health services. It is very ironic that in a country exporting tens of thousands of nurses, seven (7) out of 10 Filipinos are dying without being seen by health personnel. Health groups are worried that there will come a day when there are no more doctors or nurses to cure our illnesses.

Aside from the effects of brain drain to health care, social cost is equally devastating. Those who will leave the country will suffer from extreme loneliness and will be longing for home. Family members of health professionals also suffer from the separation. There are cases wherein children of OFWs became victims of drug addiction, alcoholism, early pregnancy due to lack of parental guidance. Cases of infidelity and separation among married couples are increasing.

Neoliberal policies and Labor Export Policy

The Philippine government is callous and insensitive to the plight of the Filipino people including health workers & professionals. Instead of resolving the health and economic problems of the Filipino people and the concerns of health workers, the government is implementing policies detrimental to people’s welfare.

The government is implementing budget cuts for social services, wage freeze, streamlining of bureaucracy, freeze hiring and contractualization in accordance with cost-cutting measures dictated by international lending bodies particularly the International Monetary Fund-World Bank in exchange for fresh loans. These same policies that subject health workers to unjust working conditions, starvation wages and non-payment of benefits, curtailment of rights and denial of job security that push them to go abroad.

In the framework of globalization, neoliberal policies such as liberalization, deregulation and privatization are religiously implemented by the Philippine government decades but have not uplifted the condition of Filipinos. Unemployment, underemployment, landlessness & deprivation of basic services become worse. With the current financial crisis, the majority of Filipino people will sink even deeper to poverty and lack opportunities to survive, 10 million Filipinos have migrate and many more are being forced to work abroad.

Labor export has been a flourishing industry in the Philippines due government’s Labor Export Policy. It is used to prop up the sagging economy battered by perennial crisis. Forced migration is used to deflect social revolt due the people’s discontent and it is used as deception tool employed by the government to enable daily survival of majority Filipinos.

The government is earning much from remittances and exactions from Filipino migrant workers. The Philippines ranks 4th worldwide in terms of remittances earned with US $17B remittances in 2007 . The huge amount of remittances poured into the country by overseas and migrant workers constitute the bulk of dollar reserves, used not for social services, but as guarantee for foreign loans, payment for foreign debt and to cover for trade deficit.

For as long as the Philippines remain as semi-colonial & semi-feudal society, our country will be a steady source of cheap labor to exploit.

The Arroyo government is more concerned in staying in power and raking up money from the blood and sweat of the Filipino people, both here and abroad. It prioritizes debt servicing and military expenditures in the national budget. The neo-liberal policies exacerbate the economic crisis and poverty among the Filipino people. If not for the remittances of the OFWs, the Philippine economy had collapsed long ago.

In their bid to earn from the migration of Filipinos, the Arroyo Government and first world receiving countries treat the Filipino people, Filipino families and the OFWs and migrants as simply collateral damages. Labor export policy and migration will never become a tool for development for the Filipino people because it never addresses the root causes of crisis and poverty that have caused migration in the first place. Migration at such becomes a tool to further control, exploit and impoverish poor countries and peoples like the Filipino people.

Response & Proposed Actions

The migration of health professionals will not be controlled for as long as the causes why the Filipinos migrate continue to exist in the country. Primary focus should be in addressing the economic crisis and poverty affecting the majority of the Filipino people. This necessitates the concerted action of all sectors of the Philippine society.

In the immediate, concerns like unemployment, low salaries, inadequate benefits, unfavorable working conditions must be improved. Education should be reoriented to produce graduates willing to serve the Filipino people. Health and education should be affordable and accessible to all Filipinos.


At the policy level, pressures must be exerted to scrap the “labor export policy”. Policies like wage freeze, freeze hiring, streamlining, cuts in social services, contractualization, privatization being implemented in accordance with globalization policies should be exposed and opposed. Meaningful programs like genuine land reform and nationalist industrialization should be implemented.

These require political will from a truly pro-people government. Different groups and sectors must exert all efforts to push for structural changes both in economic and political spheres to carry out meaningful changes in the situation of the Filipino people.

It has been proven time and again that organized people’s action is the most effective way to confront problems. The unity and solidarity of migrants & other sectors is necessary to effectively resist anti-people policies. Let us launch sustained concerted actions at the country and global level with the involvement of more health workers and professionals.

Our Calls/On Going Campaigns

In particular and in immediate terms, we call:

• Scrap labor export policy (LEP)!
• Fight for workers rights & welfare!
• Demand for health budget increase! Fight for salary increase!
• Stop Forced migration, ensure jobs at homelands! End poverty!
• WTO out of health!

______________
Keynote Presentation for Workshop No. 9 (Health, Globalization & Migration: Issues and Struggles of Migrant Health Workers), International Assembly of Migrants and Refugees, October 30, 2008, 8:30 – 11:30 AM, Ballroom (B), 10/F, Bayview Park Hotel, Roxas Blvd corner U.N. Ave., Manila, Philippines

Update Sa Naganap Na 8th CNA Meeting

Ginanap noong Oktubre 16, 2008, mula 2:00 hanggang 5:00 ng hapon
Na ginawa sa University Hotel, U.P. Diliman


Ang mga sumusunod ang karagdagang pinag-usapan/pinagkaisahan:

1. International womens day (March 08) pumayag ang UP panel na lahat ng empleyadong lalahok sa mga aktibidad tuwing sasapit ang International Women’s day ay official time;

2. Rice subsidy - 3 sako bawat taon ang kanilang offer na may halagang P 1,500 bawat isa – hindi pa natin isinara ang usapan dito, dahil ang kahilingan natin ay 4 na sako sa bawat taon;

3. Signing bonus – P 5,000 ang kanilang offer – lalo nating hindi tinanggap dahil napakalayo naman nito sa ating demand na P20,000. Sobrang baba ito dahil P5,000 na ang ating nakuha sa nakaraang CNA. Ang sabi natin, salubungin naman nila ang ating demand na P 20,000.00;

4. Special Previleged Leave – ayaw nilang magdagdag sa special privileged leave at ang gusto nila alisin lamang ang restriction sa paggamit ng 6 days. Ang sagot natin ay papayag tayo na hindi na ito madagdagan kung papayag ang UP panel na kung hindi mo magamit ang 3 days (marami kasi tayong kasamahan na hindi ito nagagamit dahil sa sobrang dami ng trabaho – kaya’t lalabas na reward na din ito sa mga hindi gumagamit) na special leave ay maidagdag ito sa ating leave credits at maging cumulative/commutable. Ang sagot ng UP panel ay pag-aaralan nila ang ating proposal.

Natapos ang CNA negotiation dakong ika-5:00 ng hapon at itinakda ng dalawang panig ang susunod na meeting (9th meeting) sa ika-5 ng Nobyembre 2008, 2-5 PM, sa UP Diliman. Bukas ito sa mga kasapi na nais makinig at mag-obserba.

Hard Times Sugarcoated

Philippine Daily Inquirer
Inquirer Opinion/Letters To The Editor
Posted date: October 11, 2008

This refers to the news story titled “From now on, call them expats, not OFWs.” (Philippine Daily Inquirer, 10/8/08) By suggesting that we should call our overseas Filipino workers “expatriates” because “the nature of their job is increasingly more on skilled professions,” and “expatriates usually get higher pay,” Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo vainly attempts to deny the fact that the majority of OFWs are in difficult working conditions. The sugarcoated term “expatriates” tends to obscure the connotation of OFWs being overworked and lowly paid like the millions of domestic helpers.

In fact, in the face of the current financial crisis, OFWs in the United States, Europe and elsewhere are forced to look for more than two to three jobs just to sustain their support for their families back home.

Filipino migrant workers are victims of the government’s failure to ensure jobs, job security and decent wages at home. OFW remittances are keeping the country’s economy afloat thus, the Labor Export Program of the Arroyo administration is designed to keep promoting Filipino labor migration. Hosting this year’s Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) is one big opportunity for Ms Arroyo to further advertise English-speaking, highly-skilled and cheap Filipino labor.

Filipino nurses work as highly paid caregivers in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Middle East and New Zealand; ironically, there is a shortage of health workers in the Philippines. In New Zealand, almost every rest home employs one Filipino nurse or caregiver. Many of them are victims of exorbitant fees and bond agreements that confine them to work in isolated rest homes. Filipinos who work in Vodafone and Telecom Network, New Zealand’s two leading telecom companies, mostly come from PLDT, Bayantel and Sky Cable companies.

Filipinos are forced to work abroad at the expense of leaving their loved ones, facing the risks of having misguided children and broken families. No thanks to a hopelessly corrupt government that fails to generate jobs at home, steals the people’s hard-earned incomes, and neglects the OFWs who are suffering abuses and indignities abroad.

DENNIS MAGA, National Coordinator, Migrante New Zealand

Dagdag na mga Benepisyo sa CNA para sa mga Kawani, Faculty at REPS, Ibigay Na

Karapatan sa Representasyon ng All UP Academic Employees Union Huwag Yurakan! Kilalanin!

Sahod, trabaho at mga karapatan.

Ito ang mga pangunahing itinataguyod ng All UP Workers Union at All UP Academic Employees Union bilang mga unyon ng karaniwang kawani, REPS at faculty ng UP.

Napagtagumpayan natin nitong mga nakaraan ang pagkamit ng ating P20,000 centennial bonus at ang ating 10% salary increase. Hindi naging madali ang mga labang ito. Halos walong buwan nating ipinaglaban ang ating Centennial Bonus mula Oktubre hanggang matanggap natin ito noong Hunyo 18, 2008. Mahigit na ring tatlong buwan nating iginiit ang ating 10% salary increase mula Hulyo hanggang sa nirelease ng DBM ang pondo para sa UP nitong Oktubre 6, 2008.

Pero hindi nagtatapos ang laban ng ating mga unyon para maitaguyod ang kapakanan ng ating mga kawani, REPS at faculty sa UP. Mahalagang usaping nakakaharap ng ating mga unyon ngayon ang mga karapatan natin bilang “accredited” o “duly recognized organizations” bunga ng pagkapanalo ng All UP Workers Union sa Certification Election noong nakaraang Oktubre at sa pagkalap ng mayorya ng suporta ng All UP Academic Employees Union. Kapwa kinilala ng Civil Service Commission at Department of Labor and Employment ang ating mga unyon sa pagbibigay sa atin ng mga certificates of accreditation. Bilang accredited unions, tayo ang “sole-and-exclusive representative ng rank-and file” na mga empleyado ng UP.

All-UP Workers Union: Dagdag na mga benepisyo para sa mga kawani

Nasa gitna ng negosasyon para sa ikalawang CNA ang unyon ng ating mga kawani. Pangunahing ipinaglalaban natin ang mga sumusunod na mga benepisyo:

• P20,000.00 CNA incentive (signing bonus)
• 4 sacks of rice (annual)
• 2,000.00/year of service for the loyalty pay
• 10,000.00 merit award for “sagad” employees
• 5,000.00 medical assistance
• Additional retirement benefits
• P20,000.00 - compulsory retirement, and
• P15,000.00 – optional retirement
• Additional leave privileges

All-UP Academic Employees Union: Pagkilala sa karapatan ng unyon sa representasyon bilang ”sole and exclusive representative” ng rank-and-file faculty and REPS.

Mayo 26, 2008 ang huling negosasyon sa pagitan ng panel ng Acad Union at ng UP Administration. Lampas na lampas na sa isang taon ang negosasyong ito. At ang pangunahing balakid ay ang hindi pagkilala ng Administrasyon ng UP sa representasyon ng acad union sa mahalagang komite na Academic Personnel Committee. Ang APC/APFC ay may ganitong mga tungkulin ayon sa UP Diliman Faculty Manual:

“Review, evaluate and endorse to the Chancellor recommendations from academic units with regard to the following:

• Appointment, tenure and promotion of faculty and REPS (SG 18 and above)
• Award of local and foreign fellowships, study leaves, special details, professorial chairs and faculty grants
• Financial participation in training conferences, seminars, workshops and training programs
• Other related functions assigned by the Chancellor”

Hanggang ngayon hindi pa sinasagot ng Administrasyong Roman ang sulat ng unyon na humihingi ng nakasulat na paliwanag sa patuloy na pagtutol nito sa representasyon ng unyon sa naturang komite na bahagi ng nagsusuri at nagtatalakay sa “terms and conditions of work” ng mga empleyadong akademiko at kung gayon ay saklaw ng karapatan ng unyon sa representasyon. May nagbabanggit na ang UP Diliman administrasyon ang isa sa matinding tumututol sa ganitong representasyon habang ang Administrasyon ng UP Manila ay matagal nang kinilala ang representasyon ng All UP Acad Union UP Manila Chapter sa mga komiteng may kaugnayan sa kondisyon ng paggawa ng mga REPS at faculty nito.

Patuloy na niyuyurakan ng Administrasyong Roman ang accreditation ng All UP Academic Employees Union sa di pagkakaroon ng representasyon ng acad union sa Ad Hoc Committee na binuo ni Vice President for Academic Affairs Amelia Guevarra para pag-usapan ang “career path” ng mga REPS.

Hindi mauunawaan ng All UP Academic Employees Union at ng All UP Workers Union ang ganitong asta ng administrasyong Roman sa isang karapatang ibinigay sa All UP Workers Union sa unang CNA nito sa UP Administrasyon sa panahon ni Presidente Nemenzo noong 2002 na walang kaproble problema. At hindi rin maiintindihan ng ating mga unyon bakit patuloy na binibimbin ng Administrasyong Roman ang sagot sa ating mga sulat kaugnay ng ganitong usapin.

Katulad ng napagtagumpayan natin sa laban para sa centennial bonus at para sa ating 10% salary increase, nakasalalay sa determinadong pagkakaisa at sama-samang pagkilos ng mga karaniwang kawani, REPS, at faculty ng UP ang susi para sa laban para sa dagdag na benepisyo at para sa karapatan sa representasyon ng ating mga unyon bilang mga accredited at duly-recognized organizations ng rank-and file na empleyado ng UP.

Nursing Now an Ailing Profession

By Jerry E. Esplanada
Philippine Daily Inquirer
Features / Features
Posted date: October 10, 2008

"PAANO na kami?" (What’s will happen to us?)” asks an anxious Genevieve “Bing” Lorenzo in serious concern over published reports that the once burgeoning overseas demand for Filipino nurses has begun to wane.

This part-time private pre-school teacher is currently enrolled in a Metro Manila hospital cum nursing school with “high hopes” that she would be able to work abroad in four or five years, preferably in the United States, where one of her siblings is based. This 24-year old Nueva Ecija native is now having second thoughts about finishing her course.

Sometime in July, Dr. Leah Paquiz, president of the Philippine Nursing Association (PNA), said in a news conference that Filipinos aspiring to jump on the nursing bandwagon should think twice. “Many licensed nurses are now underemployed or unemployed as a result of changes of policy in destination-countries, the current situation of oversupply and quality problems, among other things,” Paquiz explained.

A slowdown in overseas postings for nurses, particularly in the US and the United Kingdom, has resulted in a glut of nurses in the local market, PNA officials said. Nursing is no longer a lucrative profession and students who think they can use it as a passport to greener pastures abroad are seriously mistaken, they added.

Josefina Tuazon, dean of the University of the Philippines College of Nursing, advises prospective nurses to “go into nursing for the right reasons. If you are thinking of going into nursing to be able to go abroad or because your family is pressuring (you), then it is not the time.”

Higher Education Commissioner Nona S. Ricafort agrees. “At this point, we’re not encouraging Pinoys to join the nursing bandwagon,” she says. “Sad to say, the foreign demand for our nurses has hit a plateau (due to US and UK government policy issues). Most of the hospitals there have put a freeze on hiring nurses.”

Big hospitals like Philippine General Hospital in Manila and St. Luke’s in Quezon City have a backlog of nursing applications and a waiting time of six to 12 months. But Ricafort strongly believes that “the slowdown will only be temporary. Nursing jobs will be available again soon. We’re very confident about that.”

Reports from the US, Japan and some European countries describe a crisis in hospitals there, notes this CHed official. “With these countries’ aging populations, there’s a need for nurses. Who will take care of their old folk?”

With a projected enrollment of 497,214 students during the current school year, nursing tops the list of college courses here, according to records of the Commission on Higher Education’s Office of Policy, Planning, Research and Information.

Health Group Slams Senate Ratification of JPEPA

Health Alliance for Democracy (HEAD)
2/F Doña Anita Bldg, 284 E. Rodriguez Ave., Quezon City
Telefax: (02) 725 4760 Email: headphil@gmail.com


Media Release
10 October 2008

The health group Health Alliance for Democracy (HEAD) is calling on all nurses, doctors, caregivers, and other health personnel to denounce all of the sixteen senators who voted in favor of the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA).

According to HEAD, the senators who ratified the patently onerous trade agreement have placed health personnel everywhere, even those not seeking work in Japan, in a very disadvantageous and vulnerable position.

“Pro-JPEPA senators have institutionalized the commodification of health workers and professionals in a trade deal,” declared Dr. Geneve E. Rivera, HEAD Secretary-General. “They should be made accountable for this betrayal.”

Through JPEPA, the employment of nurses and caregivers in Japan was bundled with negotiated trade concessions sought by the Arroyo government. Thus, labor standards, job security, migrant and labor rights, benefits and wages, and other protection for Filipino nurses and caregivers have all been compromised in exchange for so-called trade investments.

“Parang ‘Bagsak-presyo’ ng mga nurses (like a rummage sale of nurses),” Dr. Rivera said. “This is the message that the Arroyo government and pro-JPEPA senators is sending to the world.”

In its submitted position paper, HEAD earlier warned the Senate that JPEPA would set a dangerous precedent for its anti-migrant worker provisions, which may be used by other countries who need Filipino health personnel.

In terms of nurses alone, around 85% are working abroad and an estimated 15,000 more leave the country annually. “All of the health personnel working across the globe should make these pro-JPEPA senators feel their wrath by denouncing them in public and in the coming elections.” added Dr. Rivera.

HEAD also reacted strongly to Senator Mar Roxas’ assertion that ratifying JPEPA is both “timely and necessary” to keep the country “globally competitive”.

“If this was a race to the bottom, if this was an auction of Filipino nurses to the lowest bidder, then Sen. Roxas is right. Is this what he wants?” said Dr. Rivera. “Sen. Roxas has shown an utter incapacity to sympathize with the plight of Filipino health workers, especially nurses and caregivers.”

HEAD will join other sectoral groups in a picket at the Japanese Embassy in Roxas Boulevard later today.

“This is labor export policy at its worst. Senators are conniving with the Arroyo government in allowing the unbridled exploitation of Filipino health workers and professionals.” Dr. Rivera concluded, “This policy must end. The struggle against JPEPA will continue until it is thoroughly rejected.”####

References:
Dr. Geneve E. Rivera
Secretary-General, 0920 460 3712

Dr. Gene Alzona Nisperos
Vice-Chairperson, 0916 214 5724

UP Employees to Get Salary Hike

By Julie M. Aurelio
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 04:51:00 10/08/2008

MANILA, Philippines – After waiting for more than three months, employees of the University of the Philippines will finally enjoy the 10 percent salary increase for all government workers that was supposed to take effect on July 1.

Dr. Judy Taguiwalo, national vice president of the All UP Academic Employees Union, said they welcome the pay hike as mandated by Executive Order 719.

“We were planning to appeal personally to the Department of Budget and Management earlier, but this is good news,” she told the Inquirer in a phone interview.

UP President Emerlinda Roman said the much awaited salary increase for the university’s employees – both permanent and temporary – was approved by President Macapagal-Arroyo only last week.

“We received the DBM memorandum on Oct. 3, and the budget for the pay hike was released on Monday,” she said.

The DBM earlier declined to approve the budget for the university workers’ pay hike, saying that with the signing of the new UP charter in April, the university was no longer covered by the salary standardization law.

Roman said the UP accounting office was already preparing the new pay roll. “Everybody understands that they have to wait for the process. It cannot be released immediately,” she added.

Taguiwalo said they hope to receive the extra pay in the coming weeks.

“The 2009 National Health Budget: Investing in Medical Tourism” - HEAD

Health Alliance for Democracy (HEAD
2/F Doña Anita Bldg, 284 E. Rodriguez Ave., Quezon City
Telefax: (02) 725 4760 Email: headphil@gmail.com

Media Release
08 October 2008

The Arroyo government is investing in health care – but for foreign medical tourists, not for Filipino patients.

The much-ballyhooed increase in the Department of Health (DOH) budget for 2009 is actually a continuing and growing investment in government-sponsored medical tourism, based on a study by Health Alliance for Democracy (HEAD) of past and current national health budgets. HEAD led members of the health sector that trooped to the House of Representatives earlier today to underscore their criticism of the 2009 health budget.

“The DOH budget for Health Facilities Enhancement Program of P180 million in 2007 suddenly became P1.66 billion in 2008, a whooping 822% increase! For 2009, this amount increases even further by 22.29% to P2.03 billion,” according to Dr. Geneve E. Rivera, HEAD secretary-general. “Yet public hospitals and government-run health facilities continue to wallow in a state of disrepair and lack of adequate facilities.”

HEAD notes that among the items highlighted by budget secretary Rolando Andaya in the 2009 national budget, allocation for the Health Facilities Enhancement Program was the highest, even more than the allocation for the provision of potable water (P1.5 billion) and the Tuberculosis Control Program (P1.3 billion).

Even among public hospitals, the more substantial budget increases are for specialty hospitals like the Lung Center of the Philippines (an additional P157.6 million), National Kidney and Transplant Institute (an additional P185 million), Philippine Children’s Medical Center (an additional P236 million), and Philippine Heart Center (an additional P185 million).

“These are the same hospitals earmarked for integration as the Philippine Center for Specialized Healthcare in line with the government’s medical tourism program.” Added Dr. Rivera, “In fact, NKTI and PHC are already participants in this medical tourism program.”

HEAD insists that if the Arroyo gov’t can allocate such an amount to specialty hospitals, it should also give an equal if not higher increase to medical centers that cater to the general public and indigent Filipinos.

In contrast to specialty hospitals, the Jose Reyes Memorial Medical Center, the flagship hospital of the DOH, is only getting P359 million for its 2009 budget, without any substantial increase. This is the case for other public hospitals under the DOH.

“The Arroyo gov’t and the DOH should explain their skewed priorities in terms of health.” concluded Dr. Rivera. “They should explain why healthcare is being transformed into a business venture and why there is money for foreign medical tourists but none for the health and lives of ordinary Filipinos.”###

References:
Dr. Geneve E. Rivera
Secretary-General, 0920 460 3712

Dr. Gene Alzona Nisperos
Vice-Chairperson, 0916 214 5724

Sugurin na Ang DBM, Malacañang Para Maipatupad ang 10% Salary Increase

Sa meeting ng Manila Chapter Council ngayong araw, Huwebes, ika-2 ng Oktubre 2008, nagkaisa ang lahat na pagod na ang mga kawani sa paghihintay sa kaukulang aksyon ng UP Administration sa Department of Budget and Management (DBM) para maipatupad ang matagal nang inaasahang 10% salary increase, kaya panahon na upang kumilos ang Unyon upang singilin ang DBM at Malacañang. Anumang pagbali-baligtad ng mga argumento walang nakikitang dahilan ang Unyon para sabihin o ideklara ng DBM na hindi tayo kasali sa nasabing 10% across the board salary increase; na naibigay na sa lahat na mga kawani ng iba't-ibang sangay ng Pambansang Pamahalaan, maliban na lang sa U.P.

Sa tingin ng Unyon, kaya tayo pinapahihirapan ng DBM ay dahil maraming bilang ng mga kawani at mga Professor ng U.P. ang kritikal sa Pamahalaang GMA bunsod na rin ng malawakang korupsiyon at pagpapatupad ng mga kontra mamamayang polisiya kabilang na ang patuloy na pagbaba ng budget pangkalusugan at edukasyon.

At upang gulantangin ang mga nagdidiyos-diyosan sa DBM at Malacañang ay sismulan natin ito sa isang picket-prayer rally sa harapan mismo ng DBM sa ika-14 ng Oktubre 2008, simula ika-9 ng umaga. Inatasan ang mga kumite ng Public Affairs, at Special Projects para sa kaukulang mga public statements, press releases, posters at placards para sa gaganaping pagkilos ng Unyon. Muling binuo ang mga Campaign Groups na unang binuo noong kampanya sa Certification Election noong 2007 upang mangasiwa sa pag-ikot sa lahat na mga opisina at clinical areas ng U.P. Manila at Philippine General Hospital. Inaasahan natin na sasama sa nasabing pagkilos ang hindi bababa sa 300 mga kawani.

Dahil na rin sa patuloy na pagtaas ng mga presyo ng bilihin at serbisyo, patuloy na dumadausdos ang kalidad ng ating kabuhayan kung kaya't matagal nang inaasahan ng mga kawani ang nasabing pagtaas ng sahod. Maliit man ito sa ating ipinaglalabang P3,000 buwanang pagtaas ng sahod ay malaking tulong na rin upang maibsan ang kahirapan.

Singilin and DBM at si GMA sa ating kaukulang pagtaas ng sahod! Ipaglaban ang ating karapatan sa nakakabuhay na sahod!

Update Sa Naganap Na CNA Negotiation

Ika-6 na Miting ng CNA/UMCB
Noong Setyembre 22, 2008 na Ginawa sa UP SOLAIR
Mula ika-2:00 Hanggang ika-5:00 ng Hapon

Matapos maideklara ng Bureau of Labor Relations-DOLE ang All UP Workers Union noong ika-14 ng Pebrero 2008 bilang panalo sa naganap na CE noong Oktubre 24, 2007 ay naganap ang ika-6 na negotiation meeting sa pagitan ng UP at All UP Workers Union kahapon ika-22 ng Setyembre sa UP SOLAIR. Si Vice-President Theodore Te (abogado ito) at Vice-President Arlene Samaniego (Doctor of Medicine) ang nanguna sa UP Panel, samantalang ang All UP Workers Union panel naman ay binubuo nina: Arnulfo Anoos ang ating kasalukuyang National President, Jossel Ebesate (National Executive Vice President), Benjamin Santos (President ng Manila Chapter), Francisca vera Cruz (Vice-Pres. ng Diliman Chapter) Fredie Sambrano (President ng Los Baños Chapter) Jesusa Besido (National Chairperson, Grievance and Negotiation Committee), Jonathan Beldia (Member, CNA Secretariat) at Clodualdo Cabrera (National Treasurer).

Sa panimula ay inihapag natin ang mga ilang isyu katulad ng update sa ating 10% dagdag sahod, pangalawang P5,000 incentive at pagpapaalala sa ground rules para sa negotiation, partikular na ang tagal ng negotiation (dapat kasi sa loob ng 4 na buwan ay tapos na ito), dahil nga sa lampas na ito sa 4 na buwan.

Sa isyu ng 10 %, ipinahayag ni VP Te na hiningan sila ng MOA ng DBM at ito naman ay naisubmit na nila sa DBM noon pang Agosto 26, 2008, subalit wala pang katugunan ang DBM hinggil dito. Sa usapin naman ng 2nd P 5,000 hiniling ng unyon na maibigay na ito sa Nobyembre 2008, bagay na sinabi naman ni VP Samaniego na pinag-uusapan na ito ng UP Admn at kasama na din ang malaking posibilidad na makakuha pa tayo ng 3rd rice subsidy ngayong taon.

Sa pag-uusap sa laman ng CNA, binalikan muna ang mga deklarasyon ng mga prinsipyo, sa puntong ito hinihiling natin na mapalitan ang katagang consultation ng involvement upang mas lalo tayong magkaroon ng direktang partisipasyon sa mga polisiya at patakaran na pinaiiral ng UP sa usapin ng may kinalaman sa ating trabaho, promosyon atpb., subalit matindi ang pagtanggi dito ng UP panel, maraming sinabing dahilan dito si VP Te, tulad ng wala daw ganitong probisyon sa ibang CNA, at kahit daw sa ruling ng Supreme Court sa kaso ng PAL, ay hindi pinayagan ng korte ang paglalagay ng salitang involvement, dahil ito daw ay para lamang sa management at ito daw ang pag-iiba natin sa management.

Bagama’t matindi ang kanilang pagtutol dito, hindi natin inatras ang ating laban na dapat mula sa consultation ay maitaas ang ating participation na tayo ay direktang maging kabahagi sa mga pagdedesisyon sa mga patakaran at polisiyang ipapairal ng UP na may kaugnayan sa ating pagiging empleyado, kasi kung titingnan natin kala mo ang ilan sa ating mga opisyal ay mga hari o naghahariharian dito sa UP. Dapat nating tandaan na tayo sa UP ay pare-pareho lamang na pinasusuweldo sa pera ng mamamayan at dapat ibalik ang paglilingkod sa mamamayan.

Ipinaliban na lang ng dalawang panig ang pagresolba sa isyung ito sa susunod na mga pagpupulong.

Subalit, kahit medyo matindi ang naging balitaktakan sa simula ng ika-6 Meeting ng CNA Negotiation, marami pa din naming napagka-isahan ang UP at All UP Workers Panel. Ito ang mga sumusunod:

1. 2 days nursing leave for nursing mothers (wala ito sa dating CNA natin)

2. 3 days additional job related sickness leave,non-cumulative at non-commutative – bagama’t ito’y nakapaloob na sa dating CNA natin, mas magiging maluwag ang implementasyon nito, sa dating probisyon kasi kailangan ng medical certificate na pinili ng dalawang panig, kaya halos bihira ang nakakapag-avail nito. Ngayon kailangan mo lamang mag-submit ng medical certificate kung 3 days consecutive mo itong gagamitin, pero kung dalawa o paisa-isa ang gamit hindi na kailangan na mag-attached ka ng medical certificate

3. Rice Subsidy - bukas sila na maging 3 ang ating rice subsidy na may halagang P1500.00 bawat isang sakong bigas, subalit ang proposal natin ay quarterly rice subsidy na minimum 50kg bawat sako ng bigas na mahusay ang kalidad.

4. Hazard Pay para sa mga hazardous ang trabaho – bukas silang tukuyin ang mga empleyadong hazardous talaga ang trabaho, kaya napagkasunduan na magbuo ng komite para dito.

5. Comprehensive Medical Insurance – bukas silang pag-usapan ito, kaya napagkasunduan na magbuo ng komite upang masusing pag-aralan ito at ibigay ang rekomendasyon kay Pangulong Roman.

Natapos ang Meeting dakong ika-5 ng hapon at itinakda ng dalawang panig ang susunod na CNA Negotiation (7th Meeting) sa ika-16 ng Oktubre 2008, ika-2:00 din ng hapon.

The U.S. Financial Crisis and the Philippines’ Economic Debacle

Having produced only disastrous results, economic management can no longer be left in the hands of an elite corps of bureaucrats and technocrats who ape lock, stock and barrel models purposely to make corporate profits bigger at the expense of workers, farmers, and other marginal sectors.

By the Policy Study, Publication and Advocacy
Center for People Empowerment in Governance (CenPEG)
ISSUE ANALYSIS No. 14 Series of 2008
September 29, 2008

The opposing views proliferating in the media on whether the U.S. financial meltdown will have an extensive impact on the Philippine economy are expected and time may help settle this debate. By zeroing on the element of “impact”, however, these divergent views – voiced largely by economic authorities, bankers, and financial analysts – only miss the truth about the country’s economic anchors, a core issue that is hardly touched every time a financial crisis in the U.S. happens. They forget that neo-liberalism, enforced in most parts of the world by U.S.-led global capitalism, has left billions of people more marginalized and their lives more miserable by the day.

The Philippine economy has been fettered by prolonged unequal ties with its former colonial master – the U.S. - and by being made an appendage to global capitalism. This imbalanced relationship takes its roots, among others, in post-war onerous impositions, one-sided trade agreements, bitter debt payment programs, and unilaterally-enforced credit arrangements.

At the heart of this historical imposition is the Philippine presidency and its economic generals who have perpetuated this unequal relationship for decades, keeping the Philippines always at the receiving end of global capitalism’s periodic crisis. The current U.S. financial crisis - a result of the unregulated speculative financial sector leading to a housing mortgage mess and credit crunch - should compel everyone to reject this inherently disastrous economic model and work toward an independent, people-oriented economic policy.

“Dark age”

To begin with, the Arroyo government is lying through its teeth when it assures the business community not to fear as the country will ride out America’s financial meltdown even if this has all the makings of a second Great Depression or what European groups call a modern “dark age.” However, as early as January this year, even the International Monetary Fund (IMF) foresaw the Philippines and the rest of Southeast Asia – and other developing regions - as bearing the brunt of the global impact from a major economic slowdown in the U.S. The recession, the Fund said, will trigger a stiffer export competition from China at the expense of the Philippines and other export-driven countries in the region such as Thailand, Indonesia, and Vietnam.

Making a similar forecast, the economic intelligence center Euromonitor projected that the Philippines and other countries in Southeast Asia heavily dependent on exports to the U.S. will be hit by the economic slowdown as the export demand by the world’s biggest economy declines.

Indeed, the U.S. remains a major destination for Philippine exports. About 20 percent of the country’s exports go directly to the U.S. Another 50 percent of the exports go to Japan, China, Hong Kong, South Korea, Taiwan, and Malaysia but these are actually components assembled into products that end up in the U.S. market. All these mean that cuts on the U.S. export demand could be potentially devastating to 70 percent of the country’s exports.

Aside from export manufacturing, highly dependent on the U.S. market are the information technology-enabled industry and the business process outsourcing (BPO) sector. In 2005 these accounted for 90 percent of BPO export revenues and over two-thirds of foreign equity.

At the receiving end

Each time the U.S. economy tumbles, the Philippines and the rest of the world are bumped aside. Being in the clutches of the U.S. economic hegemony since colonial times, however, the Philippines is at the receiving end of the crisis of capitalism that America passes on to small, developing countries and emerging economies.

To recall, America bought the Philippines from Spain at the end of the 19th century in the period of U.S. capitalist expansion and its conquests for market, cheap labor, and raw materials in Asia Pacific. A strong lobby mounted by U.S. producers against Philippine exports during the Great Depression of the 1930s led to the transition that ended with the granting of independence.

But the grant of independence in 1946 was conditioned upon onerous agreements that tied the Philippines to a “free trade” allowing the unrestricted entry of U.S. exports with parity rights for American citizens to exploit the country’s natural wealth, and own properties and strategic industries. Emerging from the war in control of more than half of the global wealth and awash with trade surpluses, America had to keep the Philippines and other countries in its grip where it could dump its excess commodities, exploit their cheap raw materials, expand finance capital operations, and extend a new-found military hegemony. Accordingly, national security doctrines during the period emphasized the importance of maintaining a pro-U.S. government in the Philippines that would guarantee America’s over-arching economic and military objectives.

Over the next 60 years, the Philippines’ economic dependence on the U.S. gave birth to treaties and policies allowing the entrenchment of U.S. strategic enterprises and investments, the export of raw commodities, heavy reliance on foreign investments, and the elimination of protectionism. This neo-colonial structure maintained the system of landlordism and a bourgeoisie that depended on the plunder of natural resources and export of cheap raw commodities. As a result, the local economy became lethargic and generally backward, unable to shield itself from the rise and fall of an increasingly globalized economy where modern agriculture, a strong industrial base, and protective barriers are the keys to survival.

Bitter prescriptions

Imbalanced trade, a weak manufacturing base, and heavy borrowings further resulted in the accumulation of foreign debt that made successive and corrupt administrations accommodating to bitter economic pills prescribed by the IMF and World Bank. Under the regime of the structural adjustment program (SAP), up to 50 percent of the national budget went to automatic debt servicing, regressive taxes were increased while social services were reduced, and strategic public corporations went to private hands many of them TNCs.

The government’s commitment to globalization and World Trade Organization (WTO) led to the deregulation of the oil industry. Import liberalization displaced the country’s small producers while tens of thousands of workers lost their regular jobs due to labor-only contract system.

These economic policies took shape in the midst of the periodic crisis of contemporary capitalism battering the U.S. and other capitalist countries. Holding neo-liberalism with a sacred aura, the country’s economic strategists laughed off criticisms from progressive groups that this “new” capitalist paradigm was designed to bring relief to the leading capitalist economies at the expense of the Philippines along with other emerging economies.

Champions of neo-liberal globalization have shown no empirical evidence to support their claim of “equal playing field” and economic growth. On the contrary, neo-liberalism has lost its appeal as it has only widened the gap between rich and poor the world over. Today, nearly three billion people - half the world's population - are living on less than two dollars a day. Conversely, the richest 2 percent of adults in the world own more than half of global household wealth.

Poverty and unemployment

Here at home, claims of economic growth based on GDP cannot hide the unprecedented increase in the number of poor Filipinos by three million (2003-2006), with the total conservative number of poor now 27 million. Current increases in the prices of oil and food products aggravated by the adverse impact of the U.S. meltdown will likely increase the number of poor several times in the coming years. Meantime, about 4.1 million people are jobless with the country facing a 10.8 percent underemployment record in 2007. At least 3,000 Filipinos leave the country everyday in search of jobs abroad. There are other grim statistics about the Philippines human development rating that will make it hard to see any positive signs of success attributed to government’s neo-liberal policies.

The management of the country’s economy is a serious responsibility that should be grounded on the people’s rights and well-being, above all else. Having produced only disastrous results, economic management can no longer be left in the hands of an elite corps of bureaucrats and technocrats who ape lock, stock and barrel models purposely to make corporate profits bigger at the expense of workers, farmers, and other marginal sectors.

Clearly, the most recent financial crisis in the U.S. has dealt a mortal blow to the failed but deadly practices of neo-liberalism the world over and undoubtedly lays the groundwork for the crafting of alternative policies more responsive to the needs of the powerless and marginalized in our societies. We can start right here in our country by working for the end of the destructive and rapacious rule by the elite and building people-centered democratic governance.

Update sa Naganap na Pagkilos Kahapon sa Quezon Hall

Kahapon, Setyembre 15, 2008, 1:30 ng hapon kasabay ng meeting ng President’s Advisory Council ay nagkaroon tayo ng pagkilos upang igiit na maibigay na ang ating 10% salary increase. Ito ay dinaluhan ng halos 200 empleyado at nagkaroon ng isang maikling programa. Sa pagkilos na ito ay nagsalita si Pang. Roman, inilahad niya ang mga ginawa/ginagawang hakbang ng UP Administration para maibigay na ang ating 10%
tulad ng pagsulat, pakikipag-usap sa mga opisyal ng DBM, pag submit ng mga report na hinihingi ng DBM, subalit sa dulo ay hindi pa din siya nagbigay ng katiyakang maibibigay na talaga sa atin ito, sinabi din niyang ayos lang naman ang ginagawa nating mga pagkilos dahil nakakatulong ito sa ating hinihinging 10% salary increase.

Dahil nga sa wala pa ding katiyakan kung ito ay maibibigay, ngayong Oktubre ay nagpaplano tayo ng isang pagkilos papunta ng DBM Malacanang, pero siyempre patuloy ang ginagawa nating mga local na pagkilos upang patuloy din ang pressure sa Administrasyong Roman at ang gusto nga natin ay dapat sumama din sila (ang UP officials). Mungkahing ang mga chapter sa mga awtonomus campus ay maglunsad din ng pagkilos , kasabay ng isasagawang pagkilos mula sa Diliman (pinag-uusapan pa ang petsa ng pagtungo sa DBM) patungong DBM Malacanang.

UP Faculty, Workers Protest Wage Hike Delay

MANILA, Philippines – Around 200 faculty members and nonacademic workers of the University of the Philippines (UP) Monday marched to its main campus in Diliman, Quezon City, Monday to protest the two-month delay in the release of their 10-percent salary increase.

Bearing placards containing their demands, members of the All UP Workers Alliance held a program at the lobby of the Quezon Hall shortly before the scheduled meeting of senior university officials around 3 p.m.

The protesters assailed the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) for its alleged arbitrariness in holding funds for the increase.

Dr. Judy Taguiwalo, national vice president for faculty of the All UP Academic Employees Union, said they could not understand why DBM Secretary Rolando Andaya has yet to act on several requests made regarding the wage increase.

Citing an executive order issued by President Macapagal-Arroyo on May 1, Taguiwalo argued that all government workers, including UP personnel, should have received the increase effective July 1. “We see no logical reason why the DBM should keep what is rightfully due us,” Taguiwalo told the Inquirer.

“It’s been two months now since they delayed our salary hike. With the worsening inflation rate, the 10 percent additional salary could hardly help us keep up with the rising costs of goods and services,” she added.

UP President Emerlinda Roman earlier told Taguiwalo’s group in a letter that the DBM declined to approve the budget for the wage hike because UP was no longer included in the government Salary Standardization Law when the university’s new charter was signed last April.

Roman briefly spoke Monday with the protesters on her way to the meeting of the UP President’s Advisory Council.

She said she was optimistic that the DBM would soon approve the funds after the agency asked for documents and the draft of an agreement between the university and DBM.

Roman said she found it strange that while the national government regarded UP as the top university in the country, “our employees have the lowest salary among government workers. I think that’s inconsistent.”

“I assure you that we’re doing what is needed to give you the best of both worlds,” she told the protesters, apparently referring to their efforts to get the nod of the DBM while studying ways to improve other benefits for UP personnel.

Taguiwalo, however, said they were not contented with Roman’s speech.

She then challenged the UP executive to join them in a prayer rally to press Andaya to hasten the release of the funds.

“President Roman told the union that all we can do now is pray. If she’s really with us, then she should lead us in a prayer rally in front of the DBM office,” Taguiwalo said.

By Marlon Ramos
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 23:29:00 09/15/2008

Ating hamon sa Administrasyong Roman: Pangunahan ang “Prayer Rally” sa DBM para igiit ang ating 10% Salary Increase

Setyembre na. Dalawang buwan nang natanggap ng mga kapwa natin kawani sa pamahalaan ang 10% salary increase. UP na lang ang wala pa.

Samantala, kung ang inflation rate noong Hulyo ay 12.3%, at nitong Agosto ay umakyat pa ito sa 12.6%, ibig sabihin lalong bumaba ang halaga ng inaantay na 10% salary increase sa pagtaas ng presyo ng mga bilihin at mga serbisyo!!!

Bakit iniipit ng Malacañang at ni Andaya ang ating salary increase?

Hindi natin maiintindihan kung ano talaga ang dahilan kung bakit patuloy na iniipit ng DBM sa pamumuno ni Rolando Andaya ang ating 10% salary increase. Utos ba ito ni Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo na siyang kagyat na pinuno ni Andaya?

Kung ang dinadahilan ay ang probisyon sa bagong UP Charter na may kapangyarihan ang UP Board of Regents na magtakda ng bagong compensation scheme para sa mga empleyado ng UP, may ganito ring probisyon ang 1991 Charter ng Philippine Normal University.

Ang 1991 PNU Charter (R.A. 7168) ay may ganitong probisyon kaugnay ng kapangyarihan ng Board of Regents: "Section 7, h: To fix and adjust salaries of faculty members and administrative officials and employees." Pero ang mga faculty at kawani ng PNU ay nakatanggap na ng 10% salary increase dahil hindi naman sila nagkaroon ng hiwalay na salary scale labas sa SSL mula pa nang ipinasa ang kanilang Charter noong 1991. E ganito rin naman sa UP a. Wala naman tayong bagong salary scale; wala namang pagbabago sa ating sweldo mula nang naipasa ang RA 9500 o 2008 UP Charter.

Nitong nakaraang linggo lamang, ipinagmalaki ni Andaya na may panukala ang DBM na itaas ng 100% ang sweldo ng mga kawani at mga opisyal ng pamahalaan sa kanyang paghapag ng 2009 budget. E bakit, 10% salary increase man lang namin dito sa UP para ngayong 2008 ay ayaw niyo pa ibigay?

Ating panawagan sa Administrasyong Roman: Pangunahan ang “Prayer Rally” sa DBM para igiit ang ating 10% Salary Increase!

Sa pinakahuling dayalogo ni Pangulong Roman sa mga guro at kawani ng UP sa UP Baguio noong Agosto 30, 2008, sinabi niyang halos araw-araw nilang tinatawagan ang DBM tungkol sa ating salary increase at hininging “magdasal” tayo para mapabilis ito. Marami sa ating mga kawani at ang kanilang mga pamilya ay isinasama sa kanilang mga dasal na maibigay na nga itong 10% salary increase. Pero hindi nakasasapat na umasa na lang tayo sa “Divine Intervention” para sa ganitong problema.

Sa tagal na ng panahong pakikisuyo at pakikipag-usap ng Administrasyong Roman sa mga nasa poder sa DBM at Malacañang ay nanatili silang bingi.

Hinahamon natin si Presidente Roman at mga opisyal ng Unibersidad ng Pilipinas na pangunahan ang isang ”prayer rally” sa harap ng opisina ng DBM, malapit sa Malacañang, para igiit ang matagal nang nabimbing 10% salary increase. Baka sa ganitong paraan lamang diringgin ng nag­aastang mga bathala sa Malacañang ang dasal na ibigay na ang ating 10% salary increase.

Employees of Biggest State Hospital Pickets Over Non-Payment of Salary Increase

More than a hundred employees of the Philippine General Hospital (PGH) picketed in front of the hospital main lobby today at around 12:00 - 1:00 PM to dramatize their discontent over the continued non-payment of the 10% salary increase being trumpeted by the National Government since last year but was only given to almost all government agencies starting July 2008. Said salary increase was mandated under the 2008 National Budget but was enacted by Congress only on February 2008.

According to officials of the University of the Philippines (the mother unit of PGH) led by President Emerlinda Roman, they could not give the increase because the Department of Budget and Management have not yet released the money for the said increase, justifying that the University is no longer covered by Salary Standardization Law under its new charter (RA 9500).

However, Mr. Benjamin Santos, Manila Chapter President of the All U.P. Workers Union, the group that leads the picket contend that: "No matter how you would read and interprete the new university charter, there's nothing in the law that disenfranchise the university employees from the 10% salary increase to all national government employees. As a matter of fact, the law even mandates that all the requirements of the university for this year and the years to come, shall be included in the national budget."

The employees promised that should their call for the implementation of the 10% salary increase starting July 2008 as mandated by law remained unheeded, they will bring the matter up to the doorsteps of Malacanang (the Official Residence of the President of the Republic).

A Shortage amid the Glut in Nursing Graduates

The Philippines has an oversupply of nursing graduates especially with the visa retrogression in the US. But ironically, many government hospitals lack nurses and other health professionals. With low pay and poor working conditions in government hospitals, nursing graduates opt to work abroad even as volunteers with no pay and allowance.

BY RITCHE T. SALGADO
Contributed to Bulatlat
Volume VIII, Number 28, August 17-23, 2008

Jay-R Manzano, 21, is all set for his review. He made sure to wake up early so that he could still go through his notes and not forget the discussion his class had the day before.

Jay-R and his friends, sisters Grethel Ann and Gretchen Mae Tubo, are reviewing for the licensure examination for nurses come late November. Like most of their friends and classmates, they have started their preparation early, the usual being a month before the scheduled exam. They have enrolled at a commercial review center, but by late October they will be undergoing a more intensive review in their school, the University of Cebu.

Despite the effort that they are making, they have already accepted the fact that they may not be able to get their dream job as nurses in the United States of America as soon as they hoped. But they are willing to work as volunteers abroad or even in private hospitals here, with no pay and no allowance.

“Just so we will gain the experience that we will need once the US will start accepting Filipino nurses again,” said Jay-R.

“We know that right now the US is not accepting Filipino nurses because of the (visa) retrogression, but then I am still optimistic that after the elections (in the US) this little obstacle will be lifted, and again they will open their doors for us,” Grethel said.

In order to protect American nurses and other health professionals, the US has set a limit on the number of foreign nurses that will be given access to the US. This created a shortage of nurses and physical therapists in the States and so the US Congress passed H.R. 5924 or the Emergency Nursing Supply Relief Act. However, the Hispanic block in the US Congress sets as a condition to passing the bill, the granting of amnesty to Mexican illegal settlers in the US. This created a deadlock in the progress of the bill and in the process, the hiring of foreign-trained nurses decreased, if not stopped.

In an article in The FREEMAN (August 11, 2008), Oscar A. Tuason, administrator of the Cebu Doctors University Hospital, expressed alarm over the decrease in the demand for Filipino nurses in the US. He said that this has a direct effect on the number of enrollees in the nursing program of schools, elaborating that at present most nursing schools are losing students at the rate of five to eight percent.

Tuason cited five reasons for the decrease in demand for Filipino nurses: the worsening quality of graduates, unskilled and inexperienced nurses, attitude problems that include lack of motivation and lack of commitment, signing up with more than one agency, and poor ability in conversational English due to the decline in the standard of education.

Judy Aragones, R.N., PhD., spokesperson of the Cebu chapter of the Health Alliance for Democracy (HEAD) and a professor at the University of San Carlos, however, expressed disagreement with Tuason regarding the trend in nursing enrollees.

“It is obvious that more and more of our young people are taking up nursing,” Aragones claimed. “There are those whose heart may not be in the profession but they see it as their way out of poverty. Even if the US is closing its doors, there are alternate destinations for our nurses like the Middle East, Singapore, Japan and European countries.”

Aragones, however, maintained that going out of the country for work is not the solution to the country’s economic problems. “I strongly disagree with our government encouraging our people to work abroad. It is the responsibility of our government to take care of our graduates. We are losing skilled and hard working people,” she lamented.

Aragones admitted that the main reason for the decrease, if not stop, in the hiring of foreign-trained nurses is mainly because of the visa retrogression policy of the US. As a consequence, many graduates have found themselves unemployed or under employed; and with schools producing more nursing graduates each year, the health sector in the country is now facing a dilemma in the oversupply of nurses.

“Some of them have to make do with being volunteers, receiving no pay or allowance. Their only consolation is that they would be able to use the certification that they would get from hospitals for possible employment in other countries,” Aragones said.

She admitted that hospitals in Cebu are understaffed. Because they could not afford to hire new nurses, they are forced to accept only volunteers.

“It is the government’s responsibility to ensure that our nurses are employed. To encourage them to stay and serve the country, the government should come up with a good socio-economic package that would include non-monetary compensations,” Aragones said.

She said the government must provide good working conditions, skills development, and such other non-economic benefits, saying that salary-wise the Philippines would not be able to compete.

“The starting pay of our nurses right now, on average, is at P15, 000 ($331) per month. Compare that to the salary they will be getting in the US and other countries (an average of US$20 per hour). This is very small,” she explained.

Jay-R, Grethel and Gretchen are now making efforts to pass the local licensure exam. Soon they will start to process their papers for the US, despite the retrogression. “We know that right now it seems impossible to get a job in the US, but then again, it does not mean that we should also stop trying,” Gretchen said.

Aragones explained that unless the government would do something to encourage health workers to stay in the country, more young people like Jay-R, Grethel and Gretchen would still desire to work in foreign countries like the US. Contributed to Bulatlat

Arroyo wants lasting reign, not lasting peace in Mindanao

InPeace Mindanao
Press Release

August 14, 2008


The Initiatives for Peace in Mindanao (InPeace) questions and condemns in the strongest terms President Arroyo's proposal for charter change which is meant to extend her stay in power beyond 2010, rather than solve the Moro problem in Mindanao.

The group questions the sincerity of Mrs. Arroyo who said that charter change will solve the issue of Muslim autonomy in Mindanao. We are rather persuaded that with Arroyo's past conducts in pushing for cha-cha, that she is just exploiting this issue to justify its own interest, which is to create a federal form of government and have Arroyo elected as prime minister or as head of state.

She wants lasting reign and lasting power, not lasting peace. Arroyo has clearly used the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain (MOA-AD) as a trojan horse to subvert the Senate as a stronghold of the political opposition and open the floodgates for charter change. Arroyo's peace rhetorics have been unmasked anew. She has employed duplicity in the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP)'s negotiations with the MILF to cater to her own desire for political perpetuation.

This proposal for cha-cha would never bring peace in Mindanao. This is peddled by this same government that fails its negotiations with the MILF. This would be the same government that has been engaged in an all-out war policy against the Moro people. Ultimately, this will be the same government responsible for aggravating the country into critical level of poverty, economic and political hardship, due to corruption and repression.

It is a big shame that Arroyo and her cohorts are trampling the noble aspirations of the Mindanao peoples for just and lasting peace in order to further her self-interest. We deplore this move by Arroyo, and we call on our Mindanao legislators to hear the voice of the people in Mindanao: We want authentic peace, not charter change.

We continue to support the right to self determination of the Bangsamoro people. The political maneuverings of the Arroyo government has shown that it will not be the Bangsamoro who will benefit from the windfall of gains from the peace negotiations. Arroyo has once more trampled upon the Bangsamoro people's aspiration for genuine autonomy. She will go down in history as the President who is caught red-handed for undermining the GRP-MILF peace process to pursue her interest. #


for Reference: Atty.Beverly Selim Musnia

Public Health Providers Tired of GMA’s Promises

A meager P18.65 ($0.42) per day is the equivalent of the ten percent increase to Salary Grade I government employees, which includes health workers in public hospitals.

BY RONALYN V. OLEA
Bulatlat
Volume VIII, Number 25, July 27-August 2, 2008

Jamil Dionisio has been working as nursing attendant for 15 years at the Lung Center of the Philippines (LCP). His take home pay is only P3,000 ($67.827 at an exchange rate of $1=P44.23)a ) per month.

A big chunk of his salary is gobbled up by payments for Government Security and Insurance System (GSIS) and Pag-ibig loans, personal loans and taxes.

Even though his wife is working abroad, Dionisio still finds it hard to make both ends meet.

His three children have transferred from private to public schools due higher tuition and other fees. To cut expenses on transportation, he acquired a motorcycle and still pays for it on an installment basis.

Asked about the ten percent salary increase for government employees, he said, “Hindi namin naramdaman.” (We never felt it.)

Dionisio is one of the thousands of health workers nationwide who grapple with low salary and limited benefits.

According to the Alliance of Health Workers (AHW), the ten percent salary increase is only P18.65 ($0.42) per day for Salary Grade I workers.

Entry level for rank-and-file employees in hospitals categorized as government owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs) is Salary Grade IV with a P7,000 ($158.26) salary. Utility workers receive less, with Salary Grade III entry level receiving only a little more than P5,000 ($113.045) per month.

As of March 2008, the National Wages and Productivity Commission placed the daily cost of living for a family of six in the National Capital Region at P858 ($19.15). It means that to be able to live decently, a family needs to earn P25, 740 ($574.68) per month.

An insult

Emma Manuel, AHW chairperson warned Mrs. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo against taking pride in the ten-percent salary increase for government employees.

“Pagod na kami sa mga pangakong walang katotohanan,” (We are tired of empty promises.) Manuel said.

She said that Arroyo’s tarpaulins with the slogan “Ramdam ang Kaunlaran” (Progress is felt) is a big insult to government workers.

She described their condition, “Butas na ang bulsa, hikahos na.” (Pockets empty, struggling to survive). She added, “Our present take home pay even with the measly ten percent hike could not even take us home.”

Manuel also said that the long-awaited benefits accorded by law such as the subsistence allowance, cost of living allowance (COLA) backpay, increase in hazard pay “remain only as dreams” as these are subject to the availability of funds.

She also criticized Arroyo for not allocating funds for the implementation of the Nursing Law. The law mandates the increase of entry salary grade for nurses to Salary Grade 15 or P16,000 ($361.745) per month. Most nurses are classified under Salary Grade 10.

The AHW reiterated their demand for a P3,000 ($67.827) salary increase for government employees.

Doctors

Meanwhile, Dr. Julie Caguiat, executive director of the Community Medicine Development Foundation (COMMED) decried the Arroyo government’s neglect of doctors and health workers.

Caguiat said that while there are many well-meaning doctors who would want to serve the poor in rural areas, the economic conditions and lack of support from government compel them to work abroad. Caguiat said that 80 to 90 percent of municipal health officers in the country are taking up nursing.

The HEAD said that resident doctors in public hospitals receive only P18,000 ($406.96) per month.

“The conditions are not inviting,” Caguiat said. She deplored that those who go to far-flung areas are even branded as rebels.

“We ask Arroyo, where have the doctors gone? If we are losing our doctors, who will be the ones to look into the people’s health?”

Caguiat also called on the Arroyo government to address the plight of the poor. Caguiat said, “It is frustrating for us to treat them and then send them back to their abject conditions.” Bulatlat

The 2008 UP Charter: Forging the Transition from Premier State University to Corporate Enterprise

Published on Bulatlat (http://bulatlat.com)

The first thing which would probably strike a casual reader of the "Centennial Charter" (RA 9500) is the replacement of the conventional label of "state university" by the term "national university." The current nomenclature rests on the crucial distinction between Private Higher Educational Institutions (PHEIs) and State Universities and Colleges (SUCs). Indeed, the yearly General Appropriations Act (GAA) only mentions SUCs as recipients of government subsidy. The studious elimination of all mention of the term "state university" in the Charter sends a message that this distinction no longer holds for the University of the Philippines. This suspicion is confirmed by the contents of the Charter itself.

BY CONTEND-UP*
Posted by Bulatlat
Vol. VIII, No. 20, June 22-28, 2008

The first thing which would probably strike a casual reader of the "Centennial Charter" (RA 9500) is the replacement of the conventional label of "state university" by the term "national university." The current nomenclature rests on the crucial distinction between Private Higher Educational Institutions (PHEIs) and State Universities and Colleges (SUCs). Indeed, the yearly General Appropriations Act (GAA) only mentions SUCs as recipients of government subsidy. The studious elimination of all mention of the term "state university" in the Charter sends a message that this distinction no longer holds for the University of the Philippines. This suspicion is confirmed by the contents of the Charter itself.

UP and the Rise of a New Managerial Stratum

One salient characteristic of the Charter is the creation of a managerial stratum distinct from the existing governance structures of the University. The UP President, aside from being referred to as the "chief academic officer," is also labelled in the text of the Charter as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), which means no less than that she/he shall henceforth serve as the highest ranking officer of the corporate entity which is the "national university." Since the President shall be appointed in this capacity as the head of a corporation and since good CEOs don't come cheap, she/he shall also receive a salary befitting a CEO. In 2007, CEOs in the Philippines received an average base salary of $44,496 and $51,519 in annual cash or PhP4,271,899 or PhP355,991 a month (www.mercer.com [1]). Bear in mind that this is only the average. The Charter consequently states that the Board shall deem it within its powers to "determine the compensation of the President of the University" (Sec. 14). Despite the efforts of the promoters of the Charter to allow the UP President to have an unprecedented two terms, this proposal was eventually withdrawn because of strong opposition. Quite disturbing, however, is the fact that the Chancellor of each constituent unit will not only receive an unspecified amount to be determined by the Board but will also serve an unspecified term likewise to be determined by the Board (Sec. 18: "The Board shall determine [both] the term and compensation of the Chancellor").

Combining managerial and governance roles, the President shall serve simultaneously as the co-Chairperson of the Board of Regents (with the Chairperson of the Commission on Higher Education or CHED) and as the Chairperson of an Independent Trust Committee (ITC) to be made up of representatives nominated by the following private entities explicitly specified by the Charter: Bankers Association of the Philippines (BAP), Investment Houses Association of the Philippines (IHAP), Trust Officers Association of the Philippines (TOAP) and the Financial Executive Institute of the Philippines (FINEX). Furthermore, in case of two failed biddings these same private entities shall nominate representatives who shall make up the majority of a "third-party body" tasked with making a "fairness opinion report" (Sec. 23). The individuals making up the ITC and the "third-party body" shall be "entitled to a reasonable per diem as the Board may specify" (Sec. 23 & 24). Some information about these private entities is in order. The BAP was founded in 1964 and aims to provide "a necessary avenue for member banks to raise and discuss issues that affect the commercial banking industry." It counts among its members, 40 commercial banking institutions covering 26 local banks and 14 foreign bank branches (http://www.bap.org.ph/ [2]). The IHAP was founded in 1974 and its current membership consists of "fifty-five (55) member houses, which include the top players in the investment banking industry" (http://www.ihap.org/ [3]). Established in 1964, the TOAP's aim is to unite, professionalize and promote the Philippine Trust and Investment Management Industry http://www.toap.org.ph/ [4]). Lastly, the FINEX, founded in 1968 is said to be an "organization devoted to the continuing development and improvement of financial management techniques and the promotion of efficiency in business enterprises" (http://www.finex.org.ph/ [5]).

There is no good reason why these entities should have their names inscribed in such a solemn document such as the UP Charter. These are plainly transitory private entities, which do not sit well in a national public document drawn up with claims to perenniality such as the UP Charter. They could always be hired if and when consultants are needed and paid their "reasonable compensation." As it is, they could just fold up in a couple of years and leave embarrassing blank spaces on the Charter. This is almost equivalent to putting the names of private businesses in the Philippine Constitution. Being in the UP Charter lends these private entities more prestige than they are worth.

The function of the ITC, befitting its "independent" nature, is to recommend to the Board five banks aside from providing the "Board with direction on appropriate investment objectives and permissible investments with the view to preserving the value of the funds while allowing the University to earn a reasonable return thereon" (Sec. 24). Emphasis should be placed on the words "appropriate" and "permissible" in the above sentence in order to stress the actual managerial power of the ITC. These individuals, the President, the Chancellor, and these representatives from the BAP, IHAP, TOAP and FINEX shall henceforth constitute a distinct stratum of managerial technocrats whose "compensations" and privileges shall be at a qualitatively differently level than the ordinary faculty, REPS and administrative personnel making up the university community. It seems that such gains as the Staff Regent who shall represent the administrative personnel and the research, extension and professional staff was conceded by the framers of the Charter with the foresight that the BOR itself shall eventually no longer carry much weight in the scheme of things to come.

UP as a Commercial Area with an “Academic Core Zone”

The scope of the income generating activities that these individuals shall plan and undertake shall only be limited by the size of what is termed in the Charter as the "academic core zone." According to Section 22 of the Charter, "The Board may plan, design, approve and/or cause the implementation of land leases: Provided, That such mechanisms and arrangements shall … be exclusive of the academic core zone of the campuses of the University of the Philippines." The whole territory of the University lying outside of this so-called "academic core zone," which is as of yet unspecified, is therefore declared as a commercial zone. Furthermore, lands donated to the University from hereon may simply be sold if the terms of donation allow for it.

Profiting from the Pursuit of Truth

It is hard to see, given the power enshrined in the new Charter which now gives private business interests a preponderant role in shaping the future of the University, how such half-hearted provisos in the Charter itself, such as one stating that "such mechanisms and arrangements shall not conflict with the academic mission of the national university" or that "any plan to generate revenues and other sources from land grants and other real properties entrusted to the national university shall be consistent with the academic mission and orientation of the national university as well as protect it from undue influence and control of commercial interests" (Sec. 22) can realistically be adhered to. Instead of protecting it, the Charter actually renders the University extremely vulnerable to the "undue influence and control of commercial interests" as never before. For example, Sec. 3 on the "Purpose of the University," states that the University is "a community of scholars dedicated to the search for truth and knowledge." However Sec. 13 specifies without irony "that research and other activities funded by the University shall likewise undertake research in fields of topics that have promising commercial applications." ("Likewise" here means "also" and cannot be read as meaning "optional.") The message is clear: the scholars of the University shall be dedicated to the "search for truth and knowledge" only as long as these have "promising commercial applications."

The Price of Higher Wages

The thoroughgoing commercialization of the campus, and of the research and academic mission of the University together with projected substantial tuition fee increases are being sold to the faculty with the promise of higher salaries. This is the proverbial carrot. Indeed, Sec. 13 states that "any law to the contrary notwithstanding, to fix and adjust salaries and benefits of the faculty members and other employees: Provided, That salaries and other benefits of the faculty shall be equivalent to those being received by their counterparts in the private sector." Aside from the fact that a great part of these promised higher wages shall come from rising tuition fees and rampant commercialization, it is also more than likely that these salary increases shall come at the cost of undermining existing rights to tenure in the longer term and lead to a rising percentage of part-time and full-time non-tenure track teaching staff. This is already a problem in the US where according to the American Association of University Professors (AAUP), 68 percent of all university and college level teaching personnel comprise these so-called "contingent faculty," thus seriously undermining academic freedom, academic quality and professional standards (www.aaup.org [6]).

This Charter marks the next 100 years of UP. What has been dangled to clinch faculty support—exemption from the SSL and salaries competitive with the private sector—is neither forthcoming nor will it be within the range of the compensation package of the UP President as CEO. This Charter legitimizes the neoliberal turn to greater commercialization, privatization, deregulation of UP and of higher education in general.

A Charter Against the University of the People

This blatantly neoliberal charter accepts the conventional and deadly wisdom of aspiring to be "globally competitive" at the cost of erasing all traces of the University of the People. It accepts the assumption that the government cannot and will not provide sufficient budget for UP. Its main direction is to forge the transition from being a service-oriented public entity towards being a privately run corporate enterprise with its own CEO and an independent trust committee driven primarily, if not solely, by the search for profit. This Charter is nothing but the tragedy of the UP Centennial.

As the UP administration advances its neoliberal agenda in the transformation of higher education, CONTEND calls on the various sectors of the university to be militant and continue to struggle for a UP which may be called an exemplary university of the people.

Education is not a commodity!

Continue the Fight for a genuine University of the People!

*The Congress of Teachers/Educators for Nationalism and Democracy or CONTEND is a progressive organization of academics based in the University of the Philippines-Diliman. Please email your comments to upcontend@yahoo.com [7].

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Links:
[1] http://www.mercer.com
[2] http://www.bap.org.ph/
[3] http://www.ihap.org/
[4] http://www.toap.org.ph/
[5] http://www.finex.org.ph/
[6] http://www.aaup.org
[7] mailto:upcontend@yahoo.com