"It sounds
disgustingly familiar."
This was labor center Kilusang Mayo Uno's reaction to a recruitment and migration consultant's warning to the Philippine government that asserting a wage hike for Filipino household workers in Saudi Arabia could lead to job losses, saying this is the usual employers' rhetoric against calls for a substantial wage hike.
Emmanuel Geslani, a so-called migration "expert" has earlier warned the government against asserting a $400 monthly salary for Filipinas working as maids in Saudi Arabia for this may lead to retrenchments and job losses.
"Such a statement from a so-called migration expert sounds disgustingly similar to the rhetoric employed by big local and foreign capitalists in the country in opposing calls for a significant wage hike. We refuse employers' attempts to blackmail workers into accepting starvation wages through threats that there will be job losses should a wage hike is implemented," said Roger Soluta, KMU secretary-general.
KMU said the Philippine government's demand of $400 monthly salary amounts to sending OFW families only with the existing minimum wage in the country.
"With the current exchange rate of $1.00 = P43.14, the minimum $400 monthly salary being asked by the Philippine government is only equivalent to P663.70 a day – only slightly higher than the P404 minimum wage plus P22 Cost of Living Allowance for every worker in Metro Manila," Soluta said.
"Because Filipina maids in other countries also have to buy personal stuff in other countries and pay for sending their remittances, many end up sending their families the equivalent of the minimum wage in the country. Many Filipina maids abroad have become minimum-wage earners working far from their families," he added.
Calling the wage tiff another "wake-up call," KMU called on the government to abandon its labor-export policy and create decent jobs at home.
"The salary dispute between the Philippine and Saudi governments is another wake-up call that highlights the need for the Aquino regime to end its labor-export policy and implement strategic economic policies that address the basic problems of poverty, low wages and unemployment. This is also the message of the execution of the three drug mules in China and the plight of OFWs who were caught in the crossfire in Libya." Soluta said.
"What we need are long-term economic policies that would address these problems and not the 'pa-pogi' and dole-out measures being undertaken by this regime. What we are seeing however is that the Aquino regime is using the lack of employment opportunities in the country to further press down workers' wages," Soluta added. (from: www.kilusangmayouno.org)
