THE Unyon ng mga Manggagawa sa Agrikultura (UMA) takes exception to the observation made by National Statistical Coordination Board Secretary-General Jose Ramon Albert that we can’t leave everything to the government in raising the wages and living standards of agriculture workers. Other than this we also take exception to his other opinion that “even when policy interventions are made, the effects take time.”
In fact, it is the government itself that must be blamed for the pitiful plight of said workers especially those working in the sugar industry. And it already made an intervention as early as 1952 by setting up the sugar levy.
Most agricultural sugar workers (ASW’s) who number more than half a million nationwide still earn slave like wages. In Negros where most of them are found, 95% of the ASWs are paid the pakyaw rate. In essence this is a form of contractualization. ASWs are only paid from P500 – P1000 every 15 days or only P1000 – P2000 in a month.
In Batangas, Sacadas earn only P120 – P180 a day but need to work for more than 8 hours a day as they are paid per ton of sugar cane cut and carried to trucks. In Bukidnon, the average wage of ASW’s is just P150 a day.
All these are way below what Mr. Albert reported was the average wage of P156.8 a day for agricultural workers nationwide. Given that ASWs only have work during planting and milling times. They do not earn anything in between these and this is called “Tiempos Muertos” (Dead Season). In sum they only have work from 6 to 9 months and during these times they do not have work every day.
The wages of ASW’s also are way below the minimum wage set by the Regional Wage Boards. And since many of them are considered contractual, majority also do not get any benefits that are stipulated in the law.
Other than this the government has set up the Social Amelioration Program (SAP) as early as 1952 in the whole of Negros and expanded this in all sugar producing areas in 1991. According to the government the objective of SAP is to augment the income of AFWs and sugar mill workers; implement socio-economic programs/projects in order to increase the income and opportunities of AFWs and their families in other kinds of work t; uphold their welfare and provide them social protection.
But since this was implemented only a few benefitted from this and for a very low amount. This only became a milking cow for planters, millers and the government.
So how can Mr. Albert argue that we cannot leave everything to the government when there is rampant violation of labor laws in sugar producing areas and that it has implemented the sugar levy more than 60 years ago, which is a failure.
Instead what the government must do is to increase the wages of agricultural sugar workers; implement all the benefits due to them and other workers in the sugar industry; and abolish the pakyaw rate and labor contractualization.