Privatization Means Additional Burden to the Filipino People and Mass Lay-off of Government Employees! The inter-related policies of liberalizat ion, deregulation, and privatization also known as the Philippines 2000 is a grand design of foreign dictates to remove the remaining barriers for the complete and comprehensive onslaught of imperialist exploitation of the country. As a result, Filipinos are over-burdened by worsening socio-economic crisis that make their life destitute. Privatization as a policy of government, uncovers whatever pretense of service to the Filipinos by the government. It is an acceptance of the inability of government to a ddress and provide the minimum basic needs of its people. Its cover to attain efficiency through privatization is in fact a surrender to the truth that corruption in government is systemic and systematic. On the contrary, privatization is a policy not int ended to benefit the Filipino people but a scheme to attain "efficiency" for higher super profits. The foreign and local big businesses will exact from of every Filipino up to the last centavo for their basic needs. The collusion between the monopoly capital and the politicians and high bureaucrats will render any semblance of regulation inutile as such will simply be a means to legitimize the series of price increases of social services. The private owners can then refuse the delivery of services to thos e who cannot afford to pay. Thus, social services will altogether be beyond the reach of ordinary Filipino citizen more specially the bottom poor of the Philippine population. Through privatization, the government has turned to the manipulation and contro l of the private sector the safety and welfare of its citizens. The core orientation of "profiteering" by the new owners of the privatized agencies can at will severe or reduce the quality of services. Moreover, privatization is a massive act of "swindling" by the government against its own people. The development of the infrastructures and facilities of privatized agencies came from public debts incurred by government from foreign financial institutions such as the IMF-World Bank, ADB and other bilateral agreements. The lending institutions already earned huge income from high interest rates while billions went to the pockets of politicians and high bureaucrats who closed the loan and project contracts. These amounts of loans contributed to the balloonin g of the national foreign debts now amounting to almost $40 Billions. To show how the foreign debt burdens the Filipinos, in 1981-1991, total of $43.82 Billions was paid in interests only compared to the loan of $28.23 Billions. Immediately before privatiz ation, more loans were incurred by government in order to make these facilities attractive and viable for their sale. After these agencies were sold, the data of government revealed that the government is loosing since the loans of the privatized agencies were retained in the books of government. Meanwhile, the new owners of these agencies need not put in new investments in order to start its operations. Day one of its operation means income and profits for the owners as their working capital will be finan ced by merely taking over the operations. Perhaps, the only initial cost by the capitalists is the "good will" money or kickbacks that they paid to the politicians and high bureaucrats who facilitated the sale in their favor. On the other hand, privatization as a policy pushed for the adoption of the Ramos government's globalization program to "Re-engineer the Bureaucracy"}{\f0\fs24 which intends to reorient the bureaucracy towards wider participation of the private sector in public services. Thereby allowing business initiatives to take over functions of government. A result of such massive reorganization of the bureaucracy, is the mass lay-off of government employees in addition to more than 323,000 who were dismissed already during the term of President Ramos. This number will then join the ranks of 10 million Filipinos who are unemployed or underemployed which comprise 30% of the total labor force in the Philippines. This resultant mass lay-off violates the security of tenure of public sector workers who devoted t heir productive years in public service. The offer or chance to be rehired by the new owners is tantamount to dismissal as it entirely depends on the decision of the capitalists. Besides, the terms of employment under the new ownership are definitely worse. The global policy of flexible labor by the monopoly capital in order to exact greater profits from the workers specially in underdeveloped countries like the Philippines. To keep wages/salaries at the minimum and to avoid union organizing, the capitalists employs contractualization, casualization, labor-only contracting, piece-meal and seasonal workers. Thus, rehiring in the privatized agencies would mean contractualization with minimum pay and the violation of union rights. The capitalists will definit ely weed out those from whom they cannot anymore exact the highest possible profits. Meanwhile, the Ramos administration is taking advantage of the process of re-organizing the bureaucracy to appoint his proteges in the military into critical top position s in order to make the bureaucracy more submissive to the wishes of the Ramos clique. This is a process that altogether violates the rights of the progressives in the career executive service. The militarization of the bureaucracy is also intended to subv ert the development of progressive unionism in the public sector. The Militant, Progressive, and Nationalist Unionism in the Public Sector Must Unite With the Filipinos in its Militant Struggles! The workers in the public sector are among the Filipino pe ople being victimized by the onslaught of the intensification of exploitation by monopoly capitalism worldwide. In collusion with the local big businesses and the Ramos government, the anti-people and anti-worker policies are being implemented to serve th e orientation of serving the foreign interests and those of the politicians and the high bureaucrats. The similar situation of the government employees and other sectors such as the workers, peasants, and urban poor, indicate that their problems are inter- connected. Thus, the sectoral issues in the public sector of mass lay-off, low salaries and the violation of union rights can be rooted in the basic ills of the Philippine society. Through the militant, progressive, and nationalist unionism in the public sector the government employees shall contribute to the struggle of the Filipino people to resolve the roots of poverty. It must participate in the action of other sector and multisectoral campaigns on national issues. In this framework and objectives, th e unions in the public sector must strive to develop comprehensively. This shall include expansion in organizing and massive education program to raise the consciousness of government employees in the inter-relation of their sectoral concerns with the res t of the Filipino people. Organizational structures must be put in place and operationalize and a leadership that is rooted and trusted by the membership. The day-to-day concerns of the unions need to be addressed through the militant and collective action that is based on solid strength and should serve the attainment of greater solid base. Through the collective strength of the unions, the Sectoral organization serves to lead the sectoral issues of salaries, jobs, and union rights. It also supervises the systematization of the coordinative work of member-unions and coordination with other sectors through alliances.### |
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Position Papers