Naglatag na ng plano ang iba’t-ibang grupo ng manggagawa para sa ikakasa nilang Labor Day protest sa gitna ng ipinatutupad na malawakang community quarantine sa bansa.
Ayon sa Kilusang Mayo Uno, pasong-paso na ang panawagan nila sa gobyerno na bigyang tulong ang lahat ng manggagawa.
“We can’t emphasize enough the urgency of government to provide immediate relief to all workers. From the President’s report on the 5th week of ECQ, only about 300,000 were given financial aid out of 2million displaced workers,” ani KMU president Elmer Labog.
Dahil ipinatutupad ang physical distancing at pagbabawal sa mass gathering, ibang istilo ng protesta raw muna ang gagawin ng labor groups.
“This is the first time in history our Labor Day protest will be like this, we are ready to go online! Despite the ECQ we will make sure Duterte hears our battlecry,” ani Atty. Sonny Matula, presidente ng NAGKAISA Labor Coalition.
Ang mga miyembro ng dalawang grupo ay handa na raw sa gagawin nilang noise barrage sa kani-kanilang bahay at lugar.
Nanawagan naman ang women’s unit ng NAGKAISA na palakasin na lang ang COVID-19 Adjustment Measures Program, imbis na baguhin daw ito sa Small Business Wage Susbidy.
“We urge the government to strengthen CAMP instead of changing to SBWS. In CAMP, there is flexibility on the part of workers. All you need is an ID and payslip to avail of the financial aid, while in SBWS, your employer has to be compliant first with SSS and BIR. It’s very restrictive,” ani Judy Miranda.
May hinaing at reklamo din ang sektor ng business processing outsourcing (BPO) at formal sector workers.
“This is a manifestation that our efforts to keep the economy alive means nothing to this government. We are neglected and DOLE has admitted they are not aware of the working conditions of BPO workers,” ani Mylene Cabalona, presidente ng BPO Industry Employees Network (BIEN), kaugnay ng paglabag umano ng ilang kompanya sa protocol ng gobyerno.
“Nakakabahala, we go to work but we don’t know if we contracted the virus since we have don’t have enough medical support from our employers and the government. Kahit thermal scanner and mass testing, wala,” ayon naman kay Debie Faigmani, presidente ng Wyeth Workers’ Union.
Bukod sa karapatan ng mga manggagawa sa iba’t-ibang sektor, kakalampagin din daw ng mga grupo ang gobyerno para igiit ang pagsusulong sa solusyong medikal at hindi militar.
