Philippine unionist speaks

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14 SOCIALIST ACTION JUNE 1989 On June 1, workers in the Philippines began a general strike. For background on this strike, Socialist Action reporter Shirley Pasholk interviewed Roberto T. Ortaliz, secretary general of the Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) trade-union federation. The interview was conducted in Detroit on May 21.

Ortaliz is on a speaking tour in this country. Tour dates and phone numbers for more information include Seattle, June 1-4, (206) 722-7631; San Francisco, June 4-8 Il one year for $8.

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Socialist Action: Could you briefly describe what led to the formation of the KMU?

Roberto Ortaliz: Together with the formation of the Trade Union Congress of the State Tel. 8-9 (808) Philippines, the Marcos government started a scheme to restructure the labor movement in the country—meaning one union, one industry.

Eighteen progressive federations opposed this move of the government. They are not against restructuring per se, but it must come from labor itself, not from an imposition by the government.

So out of these 18 federations, which formed a very loose alliance, the KMU was organized on May 1, 1980. (So the name is Kilusang Mayo 1 Uno or May First Movement.) It started with about 50,000 members. It was then sort of a movement and eventually became a political and economic center for the workers in my country.

S.A.: What has the situation been since Aquino took power?

Ortaliz: When Aquino ascended into power by way of the people's overthrow of Marcos, we thought that injustices and repression were over. But with recent events, I can now say the new government is worse than Marcos.

The media hype created during the uprising was that this new government is a liberal and democratic government, but the many human rights and trade-union rights violations surpass the last five years of Marcos. And, of course, the economic policies being followed now by the Aquino government are just a recycling of the economic policies of Marcos.

S.A.: What is the situation facing Filipino workers today?

Ortaliz: There are still very low wages because one of the impositions of the IMF and World Bank is the wage freezing policy. So, the minimum wage is very low. The industrial workers are receiving about $3.37 a day and the agricultural workers are receiving about $2.57 a day—if implemented. So the minimum wage is just a starvation wage because the poverty threshold is about $8 a day for a family of six.

S.A.: What has been the role of the U.S. government?

Ortaliz: The Philippines was supposed to be given political independence by the United States in 1946, but with lopsided treaties and agreements, we have been dominated by them economically, politically, culturally, socially, and even militarily. We consider ourselves now as a neo-colony of the United States.

S.A.: Could you also go into the problem with right-wing vigilantes?

Ortaliz: There is now a proliferation of various vigilante groups or death squads. Basically, this came when the big landlords opposed the land-reform program of the government. Now many of these vigilante groups are being sanctioned by the military. They are now "retrained" and have become the civilian armed forces geographical units.

S.A.: What about some of the recent crackdowns on democratic rights?

Ortaliz: There is no banning of people's organizations at present, but many of their leaders and members were either illegally arrested, tortured, or just disappeared—and many were summarily executed.

S.A.: What are your union's plans to combar these problems?

Ortaliz: Well, we have been educating, organizing, and mobilizing workers to face these problems—meaning the parliament of the streets is now again back in our country.

As a result of these low wages and the new impositions of the IMF and the World Bank resulting from the new loans contracted by the government, the workers are demanding an increase of about $1.50 a day. The government is more or less hesitant in giving in to this demand because there is too much pressure from business.

Now the conservative Trade Union Congress of the Philippines and the KMU are united on having a general strike on June 1. So, it's impending and we think there might be some sort of crackdown either before, during, or after the general strike.

S.A.: You said that originally you were hopeful Aquino would be better than Marcos. What do you think is necessary now?

Ortaliz: The solution to the nation's problem depends on the people. So people must be organized. They must be educated and they must be mobilized.

S.A.: What type of political action are you looking toward?

Ortaliz: Well, during Marcos's regime we had been engaging in the so-called parliament of the streets—meaning marches, rallies, and demonstrations—and we will continue this open mass movement to counter the repressive action of this government.

S.A.: Have the recent upsurges in other Asian countries like Korea, Burma, and China had an impact on workers in the Philippines?

Ortaliz: I would say yes and, in fact, I would say that these people in other countries may have been influenced by the so-called People's Power during the 1986 uprising in the Philippines.

S.A.: How can people in the United States help?

Ortaliz: We need all kinds of solidarity support in our struggle, especially during the strike. We need an immediate response network, condemnations, and protests. Of course, I could say generally, we need all your moral, political, and material support.

Our address is Jopson Building, 3rd Floor, 510 M. Earnshaw Street, Sampaloc, Metro Manila, Philippines.

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