By JANESS ANN J. ELLAO Bulatlat.com MANILA — Nine years of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has changed the face of labor migration in the country. From being a temporary measure in the 1970s, it has become a regular fixture in the ’80s, a means to prop up the economy in the ’90s, and a measure to...

By MARYA SALAMAT Bulatlat.com MANILA — The year 2009 began, ended and paved the way to 2010 with the festering problem of joblessness for millions of Filipinos. The global financial crisis only revealed the stark reality of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s inherently flawed job-generation strategies....

Arroyo: Core of RP problems by Patricio P. Diaz/MindaNews GENERAL SANTOS CITY (MindaNews / June 26)� �The President herself should not become so inutile as a controversial and unfocused leader to the extent of being seen as the core of our problems,� former President Fidel V. Ramos remarked while...

By Media Mindanao News Service (August 15, 1987 News Digest Volume 1, August 1987-July 1988 Posted by Davao Today) SURIGAO SUR (MMNS) — As thousands of workers trekked to the nearby Paper Industries Corporation of the Philippines (PICOP) to collect their pay they could not help but pause locked up...

DAVAO CITY — Kilusang Mayo Uno – Southern Mindanao expressed disgust over insinuations of lawyer Karlo Nograles, son and chief of staff of House speaker Prospero, that his father is being persecuted due to his sponsorship of House Resolution (HR) 1109. “Who is being persecuted? As far as...

DAVAO CITY – House Bill (HB) 6342 or Alternative Mining Bill (AMB) continues to draw support even among grassroots organizations and church formations in Southern and Central Mindanao. Leaders of the Columbio Multi-Sectoral Ecology Movement (CMEM), an alliance of grassroots organizations in the...

DAVAO CITY — Around 50 workers picketed in front of Filipinas Port Services Inc. (Filport) to condemn the management of Filport Inc., which has many times violated workers’ rights. Alex Tuazon, President of Namafil said, �the management of Filport and Nagkahiusang Mamumuo sa Filport (Namafil)...

COTABATO CITY — The opening of the first call center in this city is indicative of a new phase in the development of the business process outsourcing (BPO) sector in Mindanao. Calcent Link Solutions is now operating the first combined training and outbound call center in Cotabato City, in partnership...

By Marilou Aguirre-Tuburan Davao Today DAVAO CITY — Unlike most of the overseas Filipino workers who lost their jobs in Taiwan, Isabelita Atis, 29, felt relieved when her plane finally touched down at the Davao International Airport in December last year. She was among the 6,468 thousand overseas...

By CJ KUIZON Davao Today DAVAO CITY � The Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) in Southern Mindanao is wary of the proposal to amend the Constitution to open up the country�s resources to foreign companies, saying such proposal will only result to unfair working conditions for workers. Arman Blas�, KMU-Southern Mindanao...

“It’s about time lawmakers manifest their nationalist character before their term ends by casting their votes to approve the 9,000-peso salary increase of public school teachers,” said Gabriela solon Luzviminda Ilagan, author of House Bill 4734, providing for additional compensation for...

DAVAO CITY — Union leaders under the Kilusang Mayo Uno, together with other leaders of militant organizations, have filed complaints at the Commission on Human Rights. “The US-Arroyo regime is slowly killing the workers through its anti-worker policies and laws. Unfair labor practice,...

The Ecumenical Institute for Labor Education and Research, Inc. (Eiler) has expressed alarm over the recent survey showing companies have resorted to reducing workers’ benefits and working hours to cut costs in the light of the global financial crisis. Eiler deputy executive director Anna Leah...

“President Arroyo is enticing more and more Filipinos to work abroad despite the deplorable situation of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Dubai who have found themselves jobless and scrounging around scrap garbage to sell for survival,” said Gabriela solon Luzviminda Ilagan, citing reports ...

MANILA — Press Secretary Cerge Remonde cautioned applicants to only apply with recruiters licensed by the Philippine Overseas Employers Administration (POEA) with 200,000 jobs opened for Filipino skilled workers in the Middle East,. Remonde said: “Whether you like it or not, marami pa rin tayong...

DAVAO CITY — The Social Security law lacks provisions for unemployment benefits, as contributions of workers were intended mainly to cover maternity, sickness, disability, retirement, death, and funeral benefits, a top official said. Social Security System (SSS) president and chief executive officer...

DAVAO CITY — The Social Security System (SSS) has collected a total of 796.77 million pesos in overdue contributions from delinquent employers last year after the agency took legal action against then, a top official said today. SSS president and chief executive officer Romulo Neri said the SSS has...

By IBON Media Unemployment data from the January 2009 Labor Force Survey confirms the country’s descent into greater joblessness due to the global crisis and accumulated domestic economic weaknesses. The figures however are a gross underestimation of joblessness in the country, which is likely to have...

Occupational health risks likely to rise in the outsourcing industry Occupational health dangers in the outsourcing industry is likely to increase as the Business Processing Association of the Philippines (BPA/P) announced that companies may cut growth rates for next year because of the economic slowdown....

Kilusang Mayo Uno – southern Mindanao region (KMU-SMR) condemns in strongest terms the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) for its statement that KMU-SMR vice president Omar Bantayan and Bagong Alyansang Makabayan-Southern Mindanao secretary general Jeppie Ramada have been seen in the company of the...

Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan or the New Patriotic Alliance)-Socsksargen warns of more military intervention, particularly by the 27th infantry battallion, as the negotiations for addendum to the present collective bargaining agreement (CBA) between the workers under the Amado Kadena-Naflu-KMU union and...

By MARILOU AGUIRRE-TUBURAN | Davao Today DAVAO CITY � A jeepney driver for about thirty years, Leony Trinidal, 59, said drivers are having a hard time with the unabated increase of oil prices. He said that because of this, prices of jeepney spare parts and basic commodities, such as foods, also increase,...

The Ecumenical Institute for Labor Education and Research, Inc. (EILER,Inc.) expressed apprehension that the global financial crisis will ultimately affect ordinary workers. EILER executive director Paul Quintos said, “Unfortunately, massive credit losses and asset write downs don’t just affect...

Filipinos are more likely to take on multiple jobs these days to offset low income and high prices, said the Ecumenical Institute for Labor Education and Research (Eiler). About 81 percent of multiple job holders in 2007 were permanently employed while 47% were self-employed in their primary occupation...

The National Democratic Front (NDF) in southern Mindanao has received the complaints filed by the Revolutionary Council of Trade Unions (RCTU) in southern Mindanao against the Stanfilco-Dole Philippines, Lapanday, Fraklin Baker and the Davao City Water District (DCWD) for acts tantamount to economic sabotage...