Resist WTO and Anakpawis partylist this morning today held a small demonstration in Quezon City to inform the public regarding the impact of the World Trade Organization's policies on Philippine labor. They said that the acronym "WTO" actually stands for "Walang Tigil na Opresyon," and that the Philippines' membership in the WTO has resulted to worsened economic circumstances for workers. "The various vicious anti-labor department orders and policy declarations of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and its adjunct agencies can be directly traced to the WTO's trade policies and impositions," they said.

Anakpawis Rep. Crispin Beltran who will be joining the Resist WTO contingent in Hong Kong for the People's Action Week (PAW) later this month said that because of the programs and policies enforced by the WTO and implemented by the Philippine government, the exploitation of the country's workers have reached devastating levels.

Beltran said that because of liberalization as peddled by the WTO, underemployment and unemployment is extremely high in the Philippines. He said that as of 2004, 6 firms a day closed for "economic reasons," displacing some 164 workers. Of these, he said. 58 lost their jobs because of the closure of their firms, while 106 were retrenched when their companies reduced workforce. "Reasons for the closures and retrenchment are caused by tariff reduction and competition from imports and smuggled goods," he said.

Beltran said that an increasing number of workers have turned to low paying jobs abroad for employment. According to him, since the 1980s, lack of jobs in the country has forced women to apply as foreign domestic helpers. "Many have become victims of prostitution syndicates in countries like Japan. By the 1990s, medical professionals like nurses have been forced to settle for low paying jobs overseas as caregivers to sick and old people in western countries such as the US and Canada. Even doctors have joined the exodus by becoming nurses abroad," he said.

The veteran labor leader turned legislator said that labor liberalization and deregulation are also to blame for the virtual wage freeze. "Government data indicates that wages are so low that even a 100 percent wage increase will not enable the workers and their families to live a decent life," he pointed out.

Beltran also said that trade liberalization has also resulted in the surge of policy of "4 to 5 days compressed workweek" and "contractualization" which are against the law but, nevertheless, promoted by the state. There is also the policy of "forced overtime" that has made 12-hours workday the norm with forced overtimes exceeding 24 hours a norm.. Illegal terminations are also rampant.

"The worst is still to come, however, as the Macapagal-Arroyo governments pushes amend the Labor Code is obeisance to the demand of the WTO and foreign big business groups. "The proposed revision aims to negate once and for all the democratic rights of workers and legitimize the unfair labor practices of local big business and their partners in the multinational and transnational firms."#