COURAGE PRESS RELEASE

Confederation for Unity, Recognition and Advancement of Government Employees

POSTAL EMPLOYEES PRESS FOR THE IMMEDIATE RELEASE OF UNPAID BENEFITS, TO STAGE PROTEST RALLIES NATIONWIDE

QUEZON CITY – COURAGE, the militant national center of government employees, announced today that the 13,000 employees of the Philippine Postal Corporation (Philpost) are gearing for nationwide protests to push for the immediate release of unpaid benefits.

In a statement, COURAGE said the Philpost employees sought their assistance to make public the growing restiveness of the country’s letter carriers. “The list of unpaid benefits is proof of the injustice being inflicted on the employees. This include the 25% of the half of the 13^th month pay they are supposed to receive this May; P4,500 of the P10,000 Christmas bonus given in December last year; Unpaid overtime pay for December 2008; the Productivity Incentive bonus; P4,000 Clothing allowance; Letter carriers gasoline allowance and the Letter carriers walking allowance. Majority of the employees here are receiving Salary Grade 1 or Minimum pay of P6,149 a month sans deductions”, Santi Dasmarinas Jr., COURAGE Secretary General said.

The leader stated that a Congressional investigation may be necessary too because while the employees were being deprived of their legitimate benefits, charges of corruption, anomalies and mismanagement also hound the state’s Postal agency.

Based on the information provided to COURAGE by a movement of Postal employees for better courier services for the people, the management under the helm of Postmaster General Hector RR.Villanueva is reportedly involved in the imbroglio, including the Philpost-USA anomaly involving $2 million.

“The Postmaster General, Assistant Postmaster General and Corporate Secretary has afforded themselves a salary/compensation increase of P30,000 per month in March 2008, excessive travels abroad, the hiring of  consultants with P40,000/mo. each salary and anomalous projects supposedly meant to improve and upgrade the mailing services. These and other mismanagement practices apparently has been bleeding the Philpost some P500 million in 2 years alone”.

Dasmarinas added that the management’s insensitivity towards the plight of the employees is appalling considering that it is also poised to expropriate the funds of the employees’ Provident Fund.

“In a bid to replenish the already drained coffers of the agency and appease the employees, the Postmaster General issued a memo to use the Provident Fund to pay some of its obligations. It’s like frying the employees on their own lard. It’s illegal and immoral because the employees’ Provident Fund was primarily established to augment their meager pay”, the leader pointed out.

COURAGE said they will support the Postal employees and their campaign to improve the Postal services. #

Mahigit Dalawang Dekada ng Militante, Progresibo at Makabayang Unyonismo sa Sektor Publiko

National Secretariat, 9A, KF Street, Kamuning, Quezon City, 9262235