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March 6, 2004
The
National Transportworkers Union (NTU), representing about 120,000 members
nationwide held yesterday a dialogue with the Land Transportation and
Franchising Board, Department of Transportation and Communication, the
Department of Energy, and the Shell oil company to demand for a rebate on
oil prices for public utility vehicles.
We would like to announce that the NTU was able to push the government and
the Shell Company to give a P1 decrease or rebate in the selling price of
diesel and gasoline nationwide. This would be a big relief on the public
transport drivers and operators nationwide that have been longing for a
fare increase.
The grant for a rebate was the result of a series of dialogues with the
government that initially gave a measly P0.30 discount on the price of
diesel and gasoline outside MetroManila just a few weeks ago. The NTU
asserted the demand for a much bigger rebate that would be implemented
nationwide since in the National Capital Region oil companies are giving
P2.10 discounts.
While
supportive of the recent strike for a fare hike, the NTU-Alliance of
Progressive Labor (NTU-APL) believe that it should be the last option
since the riding public would be gravely affected by it. The fare hike is
certainly an additional burden to the riding public especially to the
workers and their children who have to look for other ways to augment the
deficit it would create in their daily keep.
We would like to clarify that the real problem is the oil deregulation
program of the government. It allows the oil companies to change the
prices of oil without the benefit of public hearings thus negating the
interest of the consumers. The oil companies are free to determine on how
much would be the amount it will increase or decrease in the oil price and
the date on when to implement it. The public are prevented from knowing on
how the oil companies compute the exact rate or amount of the new price of
diesel and gasoline.
Without public hearings, oil companies increase at whim the prices of
crude at staggering rates while very slow and deliberate in lowering it
down. And because there are no public hearings, the public do not know if
we are being short-changed by the oil companies when they lower it down.
The government has failed miserably to protect the consumers by
instituting safeguard mechanisms in situations when oil price hikes are
inevitable.
The transport strike serves as a wake up call for the government to look
into the problem of our oil industry because oil deregulation does not
really work. We will give the government one week to see if they would
comply to our agreement for a rebate and if not, we will not hesitate to
hold strikes nationwide.
The
NTU and the APL will continue to fight for the interest not only of the
workers in the public transport utility service but also of the riding
public in general. We call on the people to be vigilant and continue to
strive for what is just for the good of the country.
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