ALU-TUCP lauds Duterte for pro-women workplace health and safety standards

THE country’s largest workers’ group Associated Labor Unions-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (ALU-TUCP) commended President Rodrigo Duterte for enacting into law the country’s first-ever gender-sensitive workplace health and safety standards.

            Duterte signed into law Republic Act 11058 otherwise known as An Act Strenghthening Compliance with Occupational Safety and Health Standards (OSHS) and Providing Penalties for Violations Thereof.

            “We laud Mr. Duterte for mainstreaming the country’s first-ever gender sensitive occupational safety and health standards making the safety and health needs of working women visible and important in the constantly changing world of working conditions. These new OSH standard takes recognition of how working women are very important in building our economy and in building our nation,” said Gerard R. Seno, National Executive Vice President of ALU-TUCP.

            In the fifth paragraph of Chapter 1 says: “The State, in protecting the safety and health of the workers, shall promote strict but dynamic, inclusive, and gender-sensitive measures in the formulation and implementation of policies and programs related to occupational safety and health.”

            And in section 19 mandates all establishments, projects, sites, and all other places where work is being undertaken shall have the following welfare facilities in order to ensure humane working conditions, that “a separate sanitary, washing and sleeping facilities for men and women workers as may be applicable.”

            Seno said Filipino women are at risk of physical and psychological violence in and out of the workplace. Working women particularly those pregnant workers are vulnerable to diverse workplace hazards that affect their health and their reproductive health.

            Some of these workplace hazards are chemical, biological, and physical hazards including pesticides, metals, dyes, and solvent, noise and vibration, radiation and infectious diseases. Aside from those, pregnant women workers’ health and safety are also at risk due to heavy lifting, sitting and standing long periods, Seno said.

            On his part, ALU-TUCP spokesperson Alan Tanjusay said the provisions of RA 11058 was drawn from tragic actual experiences from the series of non-compliance and abuses to workplace safety and health standards that resulted to scores of tragic workers deaths and led to minor and incapacitating injuries, the Act explicitly mandates employers and project owners to provide employees with personal protective equipment, adequate supply of drinking water, adequate sanitary and washing facilities, and suitable living accommodation for workers.

            Aside from penalizing employers, contractors and project owners with P100,000 per day of workplace OSHS non-compliance and violation, the Act also orders employers to conduct 8-hour health and safety seminar to employees particularly to new hires. The law also takes employer, project owner, general contractor as joint and solidarily liable for workplace OSHS non-compliance and violation.

            The law requires employers to continuously pay the wages and benefits of employees covered by work stoppage order issued by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) due to imminent danger and life-threatening situation in the workplace.

            The law also gave workers the right to know about all types of hazards in the workplace and the right to refuse to unsafe work and prohibits employers to all forms of retaliation to workers who report OSHS violation and non-compliance.

            The law also calls for improving its labor inspection system and coverage include workers and business owners located inside special economic zones. ###

Reference:

Alan Tanjusay 09158519558

28 August 2018

TUCP: FEARLESS LABOR LEADER KITO MENDOZA PASSES AWAY AT 92

Statement from the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines on the passing of Democrito Mendoza

It is with profound sadness that the members, officers and staffs of the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) and the Associated Labor Unions (ALU) announce the passing of its founder and their longtime president Atty. Democrito “Kito” Tolo Mendoza.

He passed away 6:40 p.m. yesterday, Tuesday, January 12^th at the Chong Hua Hospital in Cebu City at the age of 92.

At the time of his death, Kito was Chairman of the ALU and co-founder, former long-time President of the TUCP. He was also Vice Chair Emeritus of the Philippine Veteran’s Bank and Regional Vice President of the Veteran’s Federation of the Philippines (VFP).

He is survived by his second wife Dr. Marianita, former Commissioner to the Social Security System (SSS); fourteen children & grandchildren, including his youngest sons acting TUCP President and incumbent TUCP Party-list Rep. Raymond Mendoza and Michael Mendoza, National President of the ALU.

In a House of Representatives Resolution 1051, Kito was given congressional recognition by the House of Representatives on June 2015 for his lifelong and invaluable contribution in shaping and advancing the Philippine labor movement and for tirelessly working to defend and uphold the interest of the Filipino working class.

Born on July 31, 1923 in Liloan, Cebu, Kito is one of the founding pillars of the modern labor movement in the country, devoting seventy (70) years of his life in pursuit of his dream of ensuring the Filipino workers and their families live decent lives.

Guided by his vision of building and establishing a national trade union movement to place workers on an equal footing with employers and government, Mendoza first organized the port workers in Cebu, which in return would become the largest labor federation – the Associated Labor Unions (ALU). He struggled against vested interest groups and cartels.

Kito became a respected voice in the field of labor relations and social security serving as Commissioner of the Social Security System (SSS), and a promoter of technical and vocational training and labor education.  

His unwavering advocacy to the national and international labor movement has been demonstrated through his unflinching promotion of the core labor standards: the right to organize, the right of workers to bargain collectively and the right to strike; and the prohibition of the worse forms of child labor.

Mendoza rose to the call of the time as President of TUCP in 1978 by pushing for the reduction of decent work deficits as a key to improving work and life not only in the trade union movement in the Philippines, but also in the international arena.

Mendoza is not only known for his exemplary acts in the labor sector, but also for his inspiring courage when he went to war at a young age as a guerrilla fighter and became a be-medalled Filipino war veteran.

He has consistently promoted the interests and welfare of the workers in all forums and conferences, not only at the national, but also at regional and international levels: He advanced the freedom of association of workers and social justice in South East Asia that led to the founding of the ASEAN Trade Union Council (ATUC) in 1983 wherein many Filipino labor leaders and advocates were at the forefront and called the attention of the highly industrialized countries and the oil rich nations to apply a rational approach to the escalating oil prices in the spirit of universal brotherhood during the 63^rd Session of the International Labour Conference (ILC) in 1977.

During the 80^th Session of the ILC in 1993, when the liberalization of tariffs, ridiculous exchange rates and massive privatization were wreaking havoc in the Philippines resulting either to massive contractualization or displacement of disadvantaged workers,  Mendoza called on the restructuring of the Philippine economy to spur its competitiveness in the Asia-Pacific region. He also battled for technical support from the International Labour Organization (ILO) to encourage workers’ enterprises and develop skills for promoting sustainable development.

Throughout the years, Mendoza has not ceased in working towards the upliftment of the lives of people especially of workers and of war veterans as evidenced by the leadership positions and responsibilities he holds in major organizations to date such as the ASEAN Trade Union Congress (ATUC), the Associated Labor Unions-TUCP (ALU-TUCP) – the biggest labor federation in the Philippines – and the Veterans Federation of the Philippines (VFP). Further, he also held high positions in the past in both labor unions as well as government bodies such as the Visayas-Mindanao Confederation of Trade Unions, Philippine Seafarers Union-ALU-TUCP-ITF, Associated Workers Foundation, Inc., National Union of Portworkers in the Philippines, Oriental Port Allied Services, Corporation (OPASCOR), the Social Security Commission (SSC) through 1968 to 1986; in the Asian Advisory Council as well as in the International Center for Advanced Technical and Vocational Training of the International Labor Organization (ILO); he was Vice President of the 94^th Session of the ILC in Geneva in 1994; and he also served as the Member of the 2005 Consultative Commission during the Arroyo Administration.

With his historic and significant contributions to development of the labor movement in the Philippines, Mendoza was voted “Labor Leader of the Year” by the Cebu News Correspondence Club in 1961; by the Cebu Press Club in 1964; and by the School of Labor and Industrial Relations of the University of the Philippines in Diliman, Quezon City (UP SOLAIR) with the Iglesia Filipina Independiente in 1998 in celebration of the centennial year of the labor movement in the Philippines;

Equally notable are the three (3) Presidential Awards given to Mendoza: “Labor Leader of the Year” by President Fidel V. Ramos on 01 May 1998 in celebration of the centennial year of the labor movement; the “Order of the Golden Heart”, the highest Presidential award, given by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on 01 May 2002 and the Presidential Merit Award in 2005.

As a courageous and an enduring defender of democracy and a war hero, he was conferred the “Gold Cross” for his conspicuous gallantry in action against enemy forces in Cebu during the Philippine liberation campaign from 26 March to 19 April 1945 by the United States Army’s America Division; and several other medals and decorations during the World War II as an officer of the United States Army Forces in the Far East (USAFFE) and as a guerilla fighter against the Japanese occupation from 1941 to 1946.

His unwavering work, advocacy, inspiration and his love for the workingmen has challenged not only the Philippine government but also governments around the world to build societies capable of respecting the rights of the majority of the people who are the workingmen. ###

13 JANUARY 2016

ALAN TANJUSAY 09158519558

TUCP SPOKESPERSON

TUCP Urges DOH to Declare National Emergency Over Growing HIV Epidemic

The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) today is calling on the Department of Health (DOH) to declare a national emergency over human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) epidemic amid an epic increase of cases among key vulnerable populations in the country.

“We are calling on the Department of Health to declare a national epidemic on the spread of HIV that leads to AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome). Let us come out from our complacency and face this battle head on by fully implementing stand-by strategies in order to stop this growing burden. Let’s us fight the spread of disease before it gets to our children,” said Gerard Seno, executive vice president of the Associated Labor Unions-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (ALU-TUCP).

TUCP spokesman Alan Tanjusay explained that the labor center hopes that by such declaration government carry out an aggressive and surefire intervention by mobilizing its massive political and economic resources in coping with the growing problem on the spread of the virus.

 In the 2014 Global AIDS Response Progress Report to be submitted by Philippine government to the United Nations, Tanjusay said the country has failed this early to meet the 2015 target of reducing HIV spread.

The report prepared by DOH’s National Epidemiology Center (NEC) about HIV monitoring and survey they conducted on key affected populations, it was learned that out of the 1,115 sex workers (SW) tested within the first four months of 2014 alone, there are already 20 or 1.8% of them found to have HIV infection compared with only 26 or .275% out of 9,797 tested for the whole year in 2012.

The report also shows that out 4,804 men having sex with men (MSM), 160 or 3.3% of them are found to have infected within the first quarter of the year compared with only 90 or 1.68% with HIV out of 5,353 for the whole year in 2012.

Among the people who inject drugs (PWID), meanwhile, 401 or 46.1% out of 869 were infected with HIV during the first quarter of the year while only 13.56% or 174 of them have HIV out of 1,283 tested for the whole year two years ago.

The other most-at-risk and vulnerable populations are the people living with HIV, overseas Filipino workers, and partners of PLHIV, SW, MSM, PWID, and OFWs.

Based on this trend, without concrete strategy and an effective massive information campaign on HIV and AIDS from government and civil society organizations in place, Tanjusay said the rate of infection will improve from the current 16 to 32 infections per day.

“With all these indications, it looks like our government health probers sort of struck one HIV nerve after another. From our point of view, it is very obvious now that HIV threat poses a clear and present danger to our people especially on key affected populations and most vulnerable sectors. Government must now aggressively intervene before it creeps out of control,” Tanjusay added.

He said the TUCP also received reports that there is a daily long queues of patients in popular treatment hubs and testing centers located at the Philippine General Hospital, the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM), and the Bahay-Lingap in San Lazaro hospital in Metro Manila and in various government clinics in Cebu and in Davao City seeking free access to testing and anti-retroviral drugs.

From 1984 to March 2014, there were 17,948 HIV/AIDS cases as recorded by the NEC. The NEC also estimates there are at least 1.794 million cases within the same period if HIV/AIDS testing is made mandatory. If mandatory HIV testing is implemented, the reality could be worse. However, mandatory testing is deemed unlawful by the Republic Act 8504 or the Philippine AIDS Prevention and Control Act.
The number puts the government unable to comply with parameters set by the UN to reduce the number of HIV and AIDS cases to less than 1 percent of the country’s general population by 2015.

The status also ranks the Philippines seventh among countries in the world with increasing incidence of HIV cases. The top six countries with increasing HIV cases are Armenia, Bangladesh, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.

TUCP Press Release
Released: Tuesday, 27 May 2014
Contact: Alan Tanjusay 0906.410.2134

Philippine Information Agency (PIA)-Mimaropa had a recent interview with Dr. FERCHITO AVELINO, Executive Director, Philippine National AIDS Council Secretariat, when he conducted an re-orientation at the PIA Central Office.
The interview, conducted in Filipino, discussed basic information on HIV and AIDS as well as its prevention and treatment.
Watch them all at these links: http://bit.ly/1vP2cKA, http://bit.ly/1hey55H and http://bit.ly/1gV7ujB.
Although there were technologies reported to have shown potentials to treat HIV and AIDS, there is still no cure (as of this writing) and prevention remains the best way to arrest the spread of disease.

Workers' brown bag sessions seen to boost HIV and AIDS prevention campaigns in factories

In a tough environment to sustain workers’ awareness about the growing number of HIV and AIDS incidence in the country, a labor federation has found brown bag session during union break meetings an effective way of helping curb the spread of the disease in their workplace and community.

More than a hundred officers and members of Mondelez (formerly Kraft Philippines) workers’ union were taught that it’s okay to share spoons, forks even shirts with or kiss people living with HIV and AIDS during their union break held last Saturday in Sucat, Paranaque factory.

The one-hour learning session was organized by the Associated Labor Unions-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (ALU-TUCP) and designed by the Shell Foundation as their shared commitment in battling the spread of HIV and AIDS. The activity coincided with the universal commemoration of 2014 International AIDS Candlelight Memorial and Mobilization held the same day.

“At the end of the session, we learned that HIV and AIDS can be acquired through contaminated blood transfusion, drinking of contaminated breast milk and unprotected anal sex. But we also discovered that it’s okay sharing a spoon or a fork, drinking glass, and wearing shirts worn by people living with HIV or with AIDS. Timely and factual information like these enables us with an informed choice when we are confronted by a situation in either the community or in the workplace. The information shared with us also freed ourselves from the myths and falsehoods surrounding the disease,” said Allan Abena, president of the Mondelez employees union.

He added that union members also learned that it is unlawful for companies or employers to discriminate workers with HIV and AIDS from employment or promotion serve as a basis for firing employees as he urged other unions and companies to do the same.

The ALU, with the help of Shell Foundation, is planning to hold more brown-bag sessions or union breaks discussion about HIV and AIDS issues inside factories, offices and other workplaces to help curb the spread of HIV and AIDS.

“In sustaining the focus on HIV, we are re-introducing this very basic but concise, factual information about HIV and AIDS to our union members and try to create a significant series of break in the cycle of stigma and discrimination about the disease. In order for the information to stick in their minds, we try to connect the issue with their simple everyday objects, experience or personal habits,” said Alan Tanjusay, ALU policy advocacy officer and spokesman for the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP).

The ALU is the biggest affiliate of labor center TUCP and the largest labor federation in the country today. While it manages the most number of Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBAs) of unions in various public and private industry unions, it also represents workers’ voice in various tripartite policy discussions on many important national issues. ###

FOR MORE INFORMATION OR INTERVIEWS, CONTACT:

 
Alan A. Tanjusay,  spokesman & OIC-Media and Public Information Department, TUCP& Policy Advocacy Officer, ALU
Mobile Phone: +63.906.410.2134  / Landline: (63-2) 922.5575 local 122 / Email: associatedlaborunions@gmail.com
Office Address: TUCP-PGEA Compound  Maharlika corner Masaya Streets, UP Village Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines

Philippine Information Agency (PIA)-Mimaropa had a recent interview with Dr. FERCHITO AVELINO, Executive Director, Philippine National AIDS Council Secretariat, when he conducted an re-orientation at the PIA Central Office.

The interview, conducted in Filipino, discussed basic information on HIV and AIDS as well as its prevention and treatment. 

Watch them all at these links: http://bit.ly/1vP2cKA, http://bit.ly/1hey55H and http://bit.ly/1gV7ujB.

Although there were technologies reported to have shown potentials to treat HIV and AIDS, there is still no cure (as of this writing) and prevention remains the best way to arrest the spread of disease.