ORGANISING INFORMALTRANSPORTWORKERS

Labor Education and Research Networksubmitted to the International TransportWorkers’ FederationApril 2006

Researcher: Clarence Pascual, LEARNThis report was prepared with the assistance ofShalom Mac-liing andTeresita Camacho.

A Case Study of the National TransportWorkers’ Union Philippines

This country case study forms part of a globalresearch project on organising informal transportworkers. In 2005, this project was initiated by theITF Education Department in cooperation with theITF RoadTransport Section.The overall objective ofthe project was to provide transport workers’unions organising, or wishing to organise, informaltransport workers with a comprehensive guide andreference.

The research aims were to:

� document, analyse and synthesise the organisingexperiences, strategies and methods of unionsorganising informal transport workers throughthree detailed country case studies;

� identify the forms and extent of informal transport work; including identifying informal womentransport workers;

� summarise issues concerning organising in theinformal economy and their relevance to transport unions;

� formulate proposals for consideration by ITFpolicy-making structures;

� provide materials for use in planning educationprogrammes on organising in the informal econ-omy.

The research had two interlinked components:

� three detailed country case studies from Benin,Zambia and the Philippines of unions organisinginformal transport workers, including relevantcontextual information;

� an overview of organising informal transportworkers containing: information on informal transport work and men and women workers; organising challenges and strategies; synthesis of the casestudies and recommendations for considerationby ITF policy-making structures.

For the case studies, the ITF identified three affili-ated unions.The unions selected are from countrieswhere informal jobs outnumber those in the formaleconomy, in Asia and Africa.We appointed researchorganisations from those countries to conduct theresearch.A research co-ordinator based in SouthAfrica was appointed to produce the overview.

The ITF would like to thank the following affiliatesand research organisations for participating in theproject: National TransportWorkers’ Union(Philippines); National Union of Transport andAlliedWorkers’ Union (Zambia); Syndicat Nationaldes Zemijan du Benin; LEARN (Philippines);WEAZambia, LARES (Benin).

The ITF would also like to thank researchcoordinator Chris Bonner in South Africa, and theFNV Mondiaal for financing the project.

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Background 5History, politics and government 5Economy and informal employment 6Informal workers and the law 7Informal employment in transport 8Organising informal transport workers 10History of trade unionism 12History of trade unionism—transport sector 13

The National Transport Workers’ Union 15Organisational structure 15Services 15Key developments 16Issues 16Dealing with issues 18Organising 18Networking 19Major challenges 19

Transport federations 21Profile 21Key developments and achievements 22Why organise 23Working and living conditions 23Issues and problems 24Dealing with issues and problems 25Organising 25Networking 25Key changes needed 25Obstacles to achieving change 26Major challenges 26

Conclusions 28References 29Appendices 30Appendix 1 Profile of NTU 30Appendix 2 Profiles of selected local 32associations and their membersList of interviews conducted 39ITF Global REsearch Project/LEARN as of 3 October 2005

CCOONNTTEENNTTSS

HISTORY, POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT The Philippines constitutes an archipelago of 7,107 is-lands with a total land area of approximately 300,000square kilometres (116,000 sq. mi). It borders thePhilippine Sea on the east, on the South China Seathe west, and the Celebes Sea on the south. The islandof Borneo lies a few hundred kilometers southwestand Taiwan directly north. The Moluccas and Sulawesiare to the south, and Palau is to the east beyond thePhilippine Sea. The islands are commonly divided intothree island groups: Luzon (Regions I to V, NCR &CAR), Visayas (VI to VIII), and Mindanao (IX to XIII &ARMM). The busy port of Manila, on Luzon, is thecountry's capital and second largest city after its sub-urb Quezon City.

It is the world's twelfth most populous country, with apopulation of 86 million as of 2005. Roughly two-thirds reside on the island of Luzon. Metro Manila, thecapital, is the eleventh most populous metropolitanarea in the world. Population growth per year is about1.92 per cent, with 26.3 births per 1,000 people. Inthe 100 years since the 1903 census, the populationhas grown by a factor of eleven.

The country was ruled by Spain from the 16th to the19th centuries. Spanish rule on the Philippines wasbriefly interrupted in 1762, when British troops in-vaded and occupied the islands as a result of Spain'sentry into the Seven Years' War. The Treaty of Paris in1763 restored Spanish rule and the British left in1764. The brief British occupation weakened Spain'sgrip on power.

Resistance to Spanish rule was fuelled by the injusticesof the Spanish colonial government and the frailocracy.Filipinos originally clamoured for adequate representa-tion to the Spanish Cortes and later for independ-ence. The revolution against Spain was spearheadedby the Katipunan, ("Kataas-taasang Kagalang-galangangKatipunan ng mga anak ng Inang Bayan") was foundedby Andrés Bonifacio as its Supremo (leader). With aworking class membership, it was a secret society forthe sole purpose of overthrowing Spanish rule in thePhilippines.

The country came under American rule in 1898 afterthe United States and Spain became involved in theSpanish-American war. With her defeat, Spain was

forced to hand over Guam, the Philippines, andPuerto Rico to the US in exchange for US$20 million.The country came under US control and in 1935, itsstatus was upgraded to US Commonwealth. Inde-pendence for the Philippines was finally granted onJuly 4, 1946, after Japan invaded and occupied the is-lands during World War II.

Since 1946, the Philippines has faced some economicand political instability. The restive Hukbalahaps (col-umn of the town fighting against Japan or in FilipinoHukbong ng Bayan Laban sa Hapon, guerrillas whofought against the Japanese during World War II),turned Communist in ideology. They won the supportof many peasants with promises of land reform. In the1950s, the movement suffered a major defeat with thesurrender of its leader, Huk supremo Luis Taruc to theyoung reporter Benigno Aquino Jr. (later elected asSenator and whose assassination in 1983 led to thedownfall of the Marcos dictatorship), and Secretary ofDefense Ramón Magsaysay, who later became Presi-dent.

The late 1960s and early 1970s saw the rise of stu-dent activism and anti-American demonstrations. Thisperiod was marred by civil unrest and exposés oncorruption until martial law was declared on Septem-ber 21, 1972. In the 1986 EDSA People Power Revo-lution, Marcos and his family were exiled to Hawaii, asCorazon Aquino, widow of assassinated Senator Be-nigno Aquino, Jr., assumed the reins of government inthe aftermath of a hotly contested snap election. Sincethen the country has gone through three administra-tions.

The government of the Philippines is organised as apresidential-unitary republic, where the Presidentfunctions as head of state, the head of government,and the commander-in-chief of the armed forces. ThePresident is elected by popular vote to a six-yearterm, during which he or she appoints and presidesover the cabinet of secretaries.

The bicameral Congress comprises the Senate andthe House of Representatives; members of the formerare elected at large and those of the latter by geo-graphical district.

The 24 senators serve six-year terms, with half retiringevery three years, while the House of Representativescomprises 250 members serving three-year terms.

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The judicial branch of government is headed by theSupreme Court, with a Chief Justice as its head and14 Associate Justices, all appointed by the Presidentfrom nominations submitted by the Judicial and BarCouncil. Other courts include the Court of Appeals,the Regional Trial Courts and the Metropolitan TrialCourts.

ECONOMY AND INFORMAL EMPLOYMENT A developing economy, the Philippines ranks 118th of178 countries by GDP per capita. Though once therichest country in Asia after Japan, the economy de-clined and contracted in the early 1980s as it em-barked on a path of ‘structural reforms’ alongneoliberal lines. Today, the economy is dominated byagriculture and services, while the share of industrycontinues to shrink. Agriculture is dominant in termsof employment, but services account for the biggestshare of GDP. Meanwhile the share of industry, in par-ticular manufacturing, in terms of employment andGDP has been on the decline. This feature of thePhilippine economy—long-term gradual de-industrial-ization—sets the stage for the dominance of informalemployment.

There is little doubt informal employment is a domi-nant feature of the Philippine labour market notwith-standing difficulty in defining what constitutes informalemployment and different methods of estimating itsmagnitude. The common method is to deduct em-ployment in large enterprises (defined as establish-ments with 10 or more employees) from estimates oftotal employment in the economy. The latter is ob-tained from the quarterly labour force survey (LFS)while the former is estimated from the annual surveyof establishments (ASE).

Traditionally, informal employment is equated withwork in the informal sector. Based on this approach,informal employment accounted for 79 per cent or24 million out of total employment of 29 million in19991, the last year for which employment by estab-lishment is available. The comparable figure was over80 per cent in the 1970s and 1980s2 . In other words,over the last three decades, despite the growth of thePhilippine economy, despite ‘structural reform’ after‘structural reform’, the overwhelming dominance ofthe informal sector has endured.

Recent studies have adopted the expanded definitionof informal employment proposed by the Interna-tional Labour Organization (ILO). The expanded defi-

nition makes the important point that informal em-ployment is not restricted to the informal sector asimplied in the method used above. It is also found inthe formal sector, including the public sector. The newdefinition focuses on the employment relationship—employment without formal contracts, worker bene-fits or social protection—both inside and outsideinformal enterprises.

A study of informal employment in five developingcountries identifies two major types of informal em-ployment3 :

� Self-employment in informal enterprises: workers insmall unregistered or unincorporated enterprises,including employers, own-account operators, andunpaid family workers;

�Wage employment in informal jobs: workers with-out formal contracts, worker benefits or social pro-tection for formal or informal firms, for households,or those employees with no fixed employer, such asemployees of informal enterprises; other informalwage workers (for example, casual or day labour-ers); domestic workers; industrial outworkers, no-tably home workers; unregistered or undeclaredworkers; and temporary or part-time workers.

The expanded definition improves on the traditionalway of estimating the magnitude of informal employ-ment. It allows one to explore the nature of work andthe terms and conditions of employment. It makes itpossible to trace the impact of economic reforms onthe growth of informal jobs. Because it is relativelynew, however, the underlying concepts have not foundtheir way in official employment statistics, severely lim-iting its application.

Our initial attempt to apply this expanded definitionto available employment statistics reveals some inter-esting points. Using this definition, informal employ-ment accounted for around 70 per cent of totalemployment during the period 1988-2002, comparedwith 80 per cent using the sector-based definition.Workers in small enterprises with less than 10 work-ers probably account for the difference since in theold estimate these workers are considered informalemployees, but not in the new count.

As with the old, the new definition does not provideevidence that informal employment is in general de-cline. If anything, it persists and grows in absoluteterms, even as it takes on new forms. Using the ILOdefinition, the number of informal workers grew toover 20 million in 2002, from 15 million in 1998. The

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1Basic data from the National Statistics Office (NSO) 2 Balisacan, Arsenio M (1995) Poverty, Urbanization and Development Policy: a Philippine Perspective, University of the Philippine Press, p.63.

3Avigran, Tony et. al (2005) Good Jobs, Bad Jobs, No Jobs. GNP and EPI

share of informal to total employment fluctuated froma low of 67 per cent in 2002 to a high of 76 per centin 1993.

Yet its contribution to job creation has increased overthe years. It accounted for 54 per cent of job creationduring 1988-1992, 60 per cent during 1993-1997, and64 per cent during 1998-2002. If one accepts the viewthat this type of employment is inferior to formal em-ployment, then its growing share of total employmentindicates deteriorating quality of jobs being created bythe economy.

Own-account workers and unpaid family workers ac-counted for the bulk, 76 per cent, of informal employ-ment. But a significant proportion, 24 per cent, ofinformal employment is held by wage and salaryworkers. In 2002, wage employment in informal jobstotalled over five million, including 1.5 million domesticwork, 2.8 million jobs on a short-term basis4 and 0.8million jobs on a daily basis. Again, the data does notidentify some types of informal employment in smallenterprises such as those in micro enterprises notcovered by contracts and without social security orhealth benefits.

INFORMAL WORKERS AND THE LAWInformal employment in the Philippines is not with-out legal protection at least on paper, but enforce-ment of the law is weak and often non-existent. Forexample, minimum wage orders cover all wage work-ers in small and large establishments, whether em-ployed on a short-term, daily or permanent basis.While wage orders grant exceptions to certain estab-lishments, the exemption is not automatic and a firmmust seek formal approval from the authorities. En-forcement of the minimum wage law, however, isweak: the proportion of wage workers paid below therespective minimum in their area of employmentranges from a low 20 per cent to a high 61 per centin 1999. Even in Metro Manila, 40 per cent of wageworkers were paid below the minimum wage in thesame year.

In principle, social security and social health insuranceis open to all, including informal workers. Membershipin the social security system5 is mandatory for wageworkers as well as the self-employed. Actual member-ship, however, is largely based in the formal sector.

The same is true for Philhealth, the country’s social in-surance programme. Membership among wage work-ers is mandatory and voluntary for others regardlessof employment status. Some local government unitsoffer free or subsidised membership to indigents,which may include informal workers. The data is notdisaggregated between formal and informal employ-ment, but only 42 per cent of families in 2004 had atleast one member who had a Philhealth card. The pro-portion for the poorest 30 per cent of families is evenlower at 28 per cent, although this is already a big im-provement from the seven per cent in 2002. 6

The Labor Code also provides some protection to in-formal employment in the formal sector. What is cru-cial under the law is the existence of a clearcapital-labour or an employer-employee relation. Forexample, the Code provides some guidelines with re-gard to apprenticeship and the employment of specialworkers—learners and handicapped workers.

Contractual employment is also regulated. Under thelaw, a worker cannot be a contractual employee for aperiod of more than six months. Moreover, as a con-tractual employee, he or she enjoys some benefits (eg13th month pay pro-rated to the number of monthsworked) just like permanent employees. A commonpractice in the retail business as well as in hotels andrestaurants, however, is for employers to replace con-tractual employees after the six-month period withnew hires. More often than not, contractual employ-ees are not paid their benefits such as their pro-rated13th month pay.

The Labor Code also contains provisions with regardto the employment of househelpers and homework-ers. The law sets a minimum wage for househelpersand the manner and form of payment, regulates theirassignment to non-household work, provides indem-nity for unjust termination of service, specifies the re-sponsibilities of the employer in case of death, and soon.

With regard to homeworkers, the law sets guidelineson payment for work, deductions, conditions for pay-ment of work, disagreement between homeworkersand employer, and the liability of the employer or con-tractor. Employment of minors as homeworkers isprohibited while homework is not allowed in certainindustries: explosives, fireworks and articles of likecharacter, drugs and poisons or other articles that re-quire exposure to toxic substances. At the same time,government offices are mandated to provide technicalassistance to registered homeworkers’ organisations,

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4Some short-term employment would be covered by contracts, but the widespread use of short-term contracts in industries such as retail trade (shopping malls), andhotels and restaurants indicate lower wages and benefits relative to long-term permanent employees.5Government Social Insurance System (GSIS) and Social Security System (SSS) for public sector and private sector workers, respectively.6The significant increase in coverage among poor families is attributed to the distribution of free membership cards by the President’s party during the 2004 nationalelections. Data comes from the 2004 Annual Poverty Indicator Survey (APIS) conducted by the NSO

employers, contractors and subcontractors.Informal transport workers, however, are largely out-side the pale of the Labor Code for several reasons.

There is no clear employer-employee relationship be-tween the vehicle owner and the driver. The relation-ship is one of the driver renting the use of the vehiclefor a fixed amount on a daily basis. On the one hand,the operator pays for the registration, franchise, andother fees required for the vehicle to be used forpublic transport as well as the repair and maintenanceof the vehicle.

On the other hand, the driver pays the agreed dailyrental or ‘boundary’ to the owner and shoulders thefuel cost as well as any fines or penalties incurred. Bypaying the boundary the driver has the right to usethe vehicle for hire for an agreed number of hoursduring the day. Whatever is left of the gross earnings,after deducting the boundary, fuel cost and other inci-dental expenses, is the driver’s take home pay. In manycases, operators themselves drive their own vehicles,in which case, the driver-operator earns the sum ofthe ‘boundary’ and the driver’s share.

The entire arrangement is informal, establishedthrough repeated contracting and reference to com-mon practice. The simplicity of the arrangement elimi-nates grey areas. The daily renewal of the informalcontract prevents unfulfilled ‘obligations’ on either sidefrom accumulating. The antagonistic relation betweencapital and labour manifests itself in the fact that vehi-cle rental takes precedence over labour’s share. Inother words, the driver absorbs all the risks, for exam-ple, fewer trips made due to heavy traffic. Otherwise,drivers and operators do not regard themselves asgroups with opposing interests, but in fact are bothvictims of the larger economic system.

That drivers and operators see themselves as havingcommon interests may be traced to several reasons.One, driver-operators are very common which ob-scures if not removes the capital-labour divide. Two,most operators own one or two units. Very few ownmultiple units. Three, the operators are mostly ofworking class or lower-middle class background. Thereis no wide gulf between their living conditions andthose of drivers.

In general, while legal protection is available to bothformal and informal workers, the latter enjoy far lessbenefits under the law. Moreover, while enforcementof the law leaves much to be desired for both sectors,the problem is much worse in the latter.

INFORMAL EMPLOYMENT INTRANSPORT The transport sector in general and land transport inparticular has been a major source of new jobs in thelast two decades. Transport workers grew from lessthan one million in 1988 to around two million in2002. Between 1988 and1992, the number of work-ers in the transport sector grew by 15 per cent orabout four per cent per annum. The pace of growthdoubled to 30 per cent or six per cent per annum forthe period 1993-1997, marked by the relatively rapidgrowth of the Philippine economy. Expansion in trans-port employment slowed slightly to 19 per cent in theperiod 1998-2002, a still significant five per cent perannum considering total employment growth of onlytwo to three per cent annually.

Land transport is predominantly informal in nature.Mass transit (mainly light rail trains in Metro Manila)and buses have been gaining ground in recent years,but the most common modes of land transport arethe iconic Philippine jeepney, motorcycle-poweredcabs (henceforth, tricycle), and bicycle-powered cabs(henceforth, pedicabs).

The jeepney is the main form of transport formedium-distance travel (5-20 kms). They were origi-nally made from US military jeeps left over fromWorld War II and are well known for their flamboyantdecoration and crowded seating. In key cities likeMetro Manila, Cebu and Davao, it has been increas-ingly complemented by air-conditioned Asian UtilityVehicles (AUV). The new AUVs are patronised by of-fice workers and students looking for a more conven-ient and cleaner way to travel especially in highlypolluted areas.

Tricycles and pedicabs provide transport for short-dis-tance travel. They serve poor and middle class com-munities in Metro Manila. They serve as the main formof transport around most cities and towns of thePhilippines, carrying passengers from home to the cityor town centre. In the last decade, they have come tooutnumber jeepneys and clog major road networksoutside of Metro Manila.

The majority of jeepneys, tricycles and pedicabs areowner-driven. A significant minority of drivers rentunits from operators mostly owning single units. Thedriver pays a fixed daily rental (‘boundary’ in local parl-ance) and spends for fuel cost and incidental expensesnot including repairs. What remains is the driver’s takehome pay. Rental or ‘boundary’ varies depending onthe state of the vehicle or, in the case of jeepneys, the

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number of seats. It ranges from P600-800 for jeep-neys, P100-200 for tricycles, and P50-100 for pedi-cabs.

In 2005, nearly 900,000 public utility vehicles plied thecountry’s underdeveloped road network, with tricy-cles being the most popular form of transport7 . Ac-cording to data from the Land Transportation Office(LTO), the most ubiquitous mode of transport in thecountry is the tricycle with a total of 585,000 regis-tered units or 65 per cent of public utility vehicles. Thisnumber represents a five per cent increase from theyear-ago level. The tricycle is an attractive investmentbecause of low start-up and operating costs. It alsodoubles as private service for the owner’s household.Many registered tricycles are mainly intended for thehousehold’s own use in lieu of a car.

Meanwhile, the number of public jeepneys operatingthroughout the country reached 210,000 in 2005, adecrease of 4,000 units from its year-ago level. Thenumber of registered jeepneys has declined in the lastthree years. The number of buses also declined to22,000 units in 2005, which is 10 per cent below itslevel in the previous year. The number of taxis plyingcity streets also fell to 40,000 from 47,000 the yearbefore.

Based on labour force surveys, employment in landtransport is predominantly informal. Formal employ-ment probably accounts for a tiny four per cent oftotal employment in this sector and is found mostlyamong bus and railway companies. Informal transportworkers are concentrated in the sub-sector ‘otherland transport’ (PSIC 609). Most of them are classifiedas own-account workers (driver-operators), but a sig-nificant number are classified as wage workers (driverswho do not own the units they operate). Thus usingclass of worker to identify informal transport workerswould result in a gross underestimation.

In this study, we use the industry variable as well asclass of worker to estimate the number of informaltransport workers. Thus, all workers under PSIC 609or ‘other land transport’ are considered informal giventhat the sector covers taxis, jeepneys, tricycles, pedi-cabs and tourist buses. Owing to data limitations, thelatter cannot be segregated from the subsector. At thesame time, self-employed and unpaid family workersunder PSIC 601 or ‘land transport’ (mainly buses andrailway) are included. This brings the total informaltransport workers to 1.7 million in 2002 or 83 percent of over two million transport workers and 96per cent of all land transport workers.

Jeepney, tricycle and pedicab drivers numbered some1.6 million in 2002, constituting the overwhelming ma-jority of transport sector workers. Six out of 10 arefound in urban areas; the rest are scattered in ruralareas spread all over the country. By region, MetroManila and the neighboring regions of Central Luzonand Southern Luzon account for more than half (53per cent) of all informal transport workers. Other re-gions of significant concentration are Regions VI, VII, XIand I, each region accounting for six to seven per centof informal transport workers.

Informal transport workers are relatively young owingpartly to the physical demands of the job. More thanhalf (53%) are between 25 and 45 years old. Another20 per cent are young workers between 15 and 25years of age.

Educational attainment among informal transportworkers is low. Forty-two per cent did not finish high school. Another 36 per cent were high schoolgraduates. High school education in the Philippines isequivalent to 10 years of formal education. Less thanfive per cent of transport workers had college de-grees. Low educational background partly explains the low level of traffic signs literacy among public utility drivers.8

By occupation, 87 per cent of informal transportworkers are, not surprisingly, classified as machine op-erators or labourers and unskilled workers. Curiously,10 per cent are lumped together with ‘officials of gov-ernment and special interest organisations, corporateexecutives, managers, managing proprietors and super-visors.’ Operators of public utility vehicles who rentout their units to drivers would fall under ‘managingproprietors’.

Informal transport work is characterised by long workhours. Forty-one per cent of workers report workhours of 10-12 hours a day, with a six to seven dayworking week as the norm. The rapid growth in thenumber of jeepneys, tricycles and pedicabs has re-sulted in declining earnings, forcing drivers to extendthe day’s shift in the hope of earning enough to sus-tain their families.

Such effort is often in vain. Informal transport workersare among the poorest of the working poor. Outsideof agriculture, where the bulk of families subsisting inpoverty are found, the transport sector has amongthe highest poverty incidence, next only to mining andconstruction. In 2000, 17 per cent of families withhousehold heads employed in the transport sector fellbelow the official poverty line. By comparison, the

98A segment in a popular morning TV show, for example, has the host with a traffic sign on hand asking drivers what it signifies. More than a few give the wrong answer.

7Phil Daily Inquirer, 24 March 2006

poverty incidence in mining and construction was 45per cent and 28 per cent, respectively. Mining, how-ever, accounted for only one per cent of householdheads and construction less than seven per cent. Bycomparison, transport workers accounted for nineper cent of household heads.

The relative ranking of transport in terms of povertyhas remained constant across indicators and overtime. In 1988 transport ranked fourth behind agricul-ture, mining, and construction, in terms of threepoverty measures9 . In 2000, this ranking remained un-changed (ADB, 2005). The growing number of infor-mal transport workers continues to swell the ranks ofthe working poor.

Poverty is only one facet of the deplorable workingand living conditions of informal transport workersand their families. Daily exposure to pollution comeswith the job, but the toll it exacts on workers’ healthhas been largely ignored. They toil for long hoursunder the scorching heat of the equatorial sun andhave little protection against the rain. Social security,health insurance, and pensions are luxuries they canonly wish for. A few drivers’ organisations have begunto organise such services for their members, but theseefforts are in their infancy.

Already poor, or because they are poor and helpless,transport workers are a favourite milking cow of cash-strapped local governments, easy prey of police andcriminal syndicates. Considered to be eyesores and airpollutants, they are often banished, relegated to sidestreets every time a place undergoes a makeover inthe name of modernisation. Under such difficult con-ditions, it becomes imperative for informal transportworkers to organise themselves to realise their bar-gaining power and defend their livelihoods.

ORGANISING INFORMAL TRANSPORT WORKERS This study focuses on the experience of the NationalTransport Workers’ Union (NTU) in organising infor-mal transport workers in the Philippines. It aims todocument a concrete example of an effort to organ-ise informal transport workers, illuminate issues thatconfront workers and their organisations, and hope-fully, offer lessons for the NTU and future efforts tobuild on.

Before proceeding, however, it is necessary to tackletwo questions that immediately pose themselves. First,

why organise informal transport workers? In otherwords, what are the goals of this organised sector?Second, where lies the strength and bargaining powerof informal transport workers? A discussion of thesequestions will serve as a backdrop to examining theNTU experience.

The rationale and the goals of organising informaltransport workers are straightforward. As with anyother segment of the working class, these flow froman examination of the working and living conditions ofinformal transport workers. The goal is to alleviate thedifficult conditions under which they work and live, toliberate themselves, through their own struggles, fromthe forces that condemn their kind to inhuman exis-tence. Their growing ranks, a result of failed develop-ment and which further depresses their conditions,makes it imperative to organise.

That their situation is so much unlike that of workersin capitalist firms is easy to see. For one, there is noantagonistic capital-labour relation. Most drivers ownthe units they are driving, while the rest rent from op-erators whose conditions are only slightly better thantheir own. The informal nature of the contract be-tween the vehicle owner and the driver blurs the divi-sion between labour and capital. For example,operators are amenable to forgo the vehicle rental inemergency cases (eg vehicular accident or driver sud-denly gets sick) or for reasons beyond the control ofthe driver (eg a major traffic snarl up that preventsthe driver from plying his/her route). An informalagreement between the two groups may involve a 70-30 sharing of the incremental earnings owing to a fareincrease.

The fact that operators and drivers work togetherand move within the same milieu makes it easy to ar-rive at an agreement or compromise. This is not tomention the fact that dispersed ownership of vehicles,with the majority of operators owning one vehicle,undermines the antagonism between labour and capi-tal.

Informal transport workers operate as independentunits, in competition with each other. The more thepoorer. Their daily struggle to make ends meet in-grains in them competition more than cooperation.Their biggest concerns have to do with seeminglyamorphous forces beyond their reach: the rising priceof oil in the world market, the constant effort of thestate and its agents to suck the blood out of their al-ready anaemic systems. While they are widely used bythe riding public, they seem to generate little sympa-thy for their plight from a public that sees them as an

109Balisacan, Arsenio M. (1994) Poverty, urbanization and development policy.

University of the Philippines Press: Quezon City

anachronism tolerated only for the lack of an alterna-tive.

Yet time and again, they have wielded their ownpower to great effect. Judging by the impact of theiractions (successful strikes lead to schools and businessclosing for the day), the public reaction they generate(scorn for public officials and active support frompoor communities), and the swift response they canexact from the state (government sending out militarytrucks to ferry stranded passengers, dialogues with orarrest of their leaders, and surprising readiness to con-cede to strikers’ demands) an organised informaltransport sector arguably possesses, in certain con-texts, greater bargaining power than formal sectorworkers in many industries.

Here are a few examples of the power of an organ-ised informal transport sector in the Philippines. In1971, an eight-day transport strike joined by conser-vative and progressive groups protested against thegovernment’s rerouting policy and a price hike ongasoline in 1971. As a concession, the governmentcreated a jeepney drivers’ foundation with a P6-millionfund. This was a period of political turmoil, the so-called First Quarter Storm as mammoth student ral-lies rocked the capital early in the first three monthsof that year. The following year, martial law was de-clared. Later in the decade, the government set up theOil Price Stabilization Fund (OPSF) to cushion oil con-sumers, including transport workers, from the impactof fluctuating prices in the world market.

In 1984, a transport strike led by FEJODAP andACTO opposed implementation of PD 1934 and1950 which provided for an increase in the registra-tion fee of motor vehicles. The International MonetaryFund had demanded these policies in exchange forloans to a bankrupt state. Seventy per cent of an esti-mated 80,000 jeepneys went on strike and the Presi-dent was forced to revoke the decrees. This was aperiod of deep political and economic crisis, followingthe assassination of the opposition leader Sen. Aquinoin 1983.

In 1987, a nationwide strike in August was launchedprotesting against high oil prices. Key transport sectorleaders were arrested: Medardo Roda of PISTON; FE-JODAP’s Maranan and Oscar Lazaro of PASANG-MASDA; KMU Chair Crispin Beltran and Vice ChairLeto Villar. Over a hundred people were arrested andscores injured. The transport strike created a perfectatmosphere and cover for a failed coup attempt ledby Col. Gregorio ‘Gringo’ Honasan.

In 2004, a nationwide transport strike that saw themajor transport workers’ groups come togetherforced the government to raise transport fares so asto relieve drivers of the impact of high oil prices. Be-fore the strike, the government had hemmed andhewed fearful that a fare hike before a national elec-tion would erode support for ruling party candidatesincluding the incumbent President. By two o’clock onday one, the government virtually conceded to thestrikers’ demand, averting a potential crisis during theafternoon rush hour, and potentially damaging mediacoverage.

It is worthwhile to examine a little more closely thesource of the bargaining strength of informal trans-port workers. Silver (2003)10 in her study of workers’movements since the 19th century cites two types ofworkers’ bargaining power:

� Associational power: various forms of power that result from the formation of the collective organi-sation of workers (most importantly, trade unions and political parties.

� Structural power: ‘the power that accrues to workers simply from their location … in the eco-nomic system’ There are two sources of structural power: marketplace bargaining power (results directly from tight labour markets; scarce skills; low unemployment; ability to pull out of the labour market entirely and survive on a non-wage source of income), and workplace bargaining power (results from the strategic location of a particular group of workers within a key industrialsector; stronger in integrated production processes and those dependent on just-in-time delivery of parts).

Associational power and structural power apply toworkers in general. To see how these are wielded inconcrete situations, one has to look at the specific sec-tor in which workers attempt to flex these powers. Inthis case, we examine the transport industry, in gen-eral, and the informal land transport industry in thePhilippines, in particular.

Transport industries ‘sell change of location’ as theirproduct. All manufacturing depends upon transportsystems at several ‘moments’ in their productionprocesses—acquisition of inputs including gettingworkers to the workplace, moving intermediate prod-ucts from one production site to the next, and bring-ing the final product to the market.

1110Silver, Beverly J. (2003) Forces of labor: workers’ movements and globalization since 1870. Cambridge studies in comparative politics, Cambridge University Press.

The informal transport industry (jeepneys, tricycle,and pedicabs) get workers from their place of resi-dence to the workplace and back, customers to thepoint of sale, enable workers and household mem-bers to perform reproductive services (going to mar-ket, bringing children to school and back).

The industry is also involved in the moving of interme-diate products and final products to markets and cus-tomers, hence the growth of delivery and messengerservices. These services are increasingly performedusing the firm’s own vehicle and driver/messenger es-pecially as motorcycles have become affordable, but agood number still rely on people delivering docu-ments and goods to customers or related establish-ments using public transport.

In a sense, the entire distribution network is the work-place of transport workers. Transport workers pos-sess relatively strong workplace bargaining power lessbecause of the direct impact of their action on theirimmediate (often public) employers, but more be-cause of the upstream/downstream impact of the fail-ure to deliver goods, services, and people to theirdestination. Disruption may inconvenience the travel-ling public (workers, office employees, and public ser-vants), but more importantly they hurt the employersas well as sellers of goods and services to affectedpeople.

Yet it is not easy to counter transport workers’ strongworkplace bargaining power because industries arelinked to each other. One way to undermine this bar-gaining power is to create a dense network of inter-locking, overlapping, and redundant connections tomake it difficult for disruption in a single segment ornode to paralyse the entire distribution network. Butthis is costly to apply with modern mass transport sys-tems. It is more feasible with informal transport sys-tems where investment costs are smaller and widelydistributed over multiple owners. Even this solutionhas its limits since routes are usually divided and as-signed to specific groups to avoid cut-throat competi-tion and make it a viable business for operators anddrivers.

In the case of informal transport, jeepneys have comeunder increasing competitive pressure from new alter-natives: mass transit and buses, while the old units areincreasingly replaced by faster, airconditioned AsianUtility Vehicles (AUVs) and vans. Needless to say masstransit systems such as light rail, trains, and buses con-fer strong workplace bargaining power to labour andare highly vulnerable to industrial action.

Tricycles and pedicabs are subject to new competitionfrom multicabs and shuttle buses serving specific areasor villages, but not as much as competition from theirown kind. Thus, several lines of tricycles may simulta-neously serve a relatively densely populated geo-graphical area, say a large village. These may start fromdifferent entry points but can go anywhere within theservice area. That is why it would require total paraly-sis of a specific area (organised as a federation) for astrike to make an impact.

Central to the dynamics of the industry is the roleplayed by state regulation. Because a smoothly func-tioning transport system is crucial to the moderneconomy and because of the strong workplace bar-gaining power of transport workers, states find it nec-essary to intervene extensively and precociously inthe transport industry. In turn, the state figures promi-nently in the struggles of transport workers. As will beshown below, a large part of the struggles of informaltransport workers is securing rules and regulationsthat do not unduly impose burdens on already hard-up workers.

Location and mobility are two major advantages ofthe sector. Common terminals and waiting areas facili-tate organising compared with small and dispersedwork sites of other informal workers. Sheer numberand ‘public visibility’ make informal transport workersa threat to political authorities. Public visibility arisesfrom their huge numbers, the centrality of the publicservice they provide, the wide public they serve, aswell as the physical location of work, namely, thestreets, in themselves a central location of political ac-tion.

In contrast to strong workplace bargaining power, in-formal transport workers have weak marketplace bar-gaining power. There is a large supply of workers withthe necessary skills, and barriers to entry for newunits are relatively low. Thus, a universal concern oftransport workers is to preserve their monopoly of aspecific route by lobbying authorities to stop issuingnew franchises or preventing drivers plying otherroutes from poaching into their areas.

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HISTORY OF TRADE UNIONISMTrade unionism in the Philippines started to developduring the decline of Spanish colonial rule and the ad-vent of capitalism under the Americans. The periodsaw expansion in the plantations while internal com-merce boomed. Distilleries, tobacco and textile facto-ries, and many other business establishmentsflourished. With the use of telegraph, steamboats andrailways, transport and communication between theislands, towns and provinces improved greatly.

Industrial workers, found mainly in the railways, ships,ports and factories started to organise themselves inthe 19th century. In 1861, the workers put up secretmutual aid societies or brotherhoods aimed at provid-ing financial assistance to members through a com-mon fund. The secret organisations evolved intounions and the workers started clamouring for higherpay, shorter working hours, and more humane work-ing conditions.

In 1872, the first strike was launched by workers inthe shipyards of Cavite to protest violence by thecolonial powers. Dockers, printers and warehousemenwere at the forefront of the revolutionary movementagainst Spanish colonial rule, the Kataastaasang Ka-galang-galang ng mga Anak ng Bayan (KKK), organisedin 1892. The Spaniards were expelled after the 1896revolution only to be replaced by the Americans.

In 1901, under American rule, the Bureau of Laborwas created and trade unions were legalised. As theworking class grew, workers’ organisations expanded.Social unrest swept the country and the Communistmovement grew in numbers and strength. The Com-munist Party of the Philippines would play a crucialrole in the resistance against Japanese occupation.

After World War II, a Magna Carta of labour waspassed. Unions were allowed to register on conditionthat their leaders took an oath not to join organisa-tions deemed subversive by the state. Laws on wages,women, child labour, social security, and others werepassed. The government put up federations andunions to divide the labour movement into factions.Unscrupulous labour dealers and racketeers ap-peared.

Worsening political and economic conditions markedthe 1960s, and by the 1970s massive rallies anddemonstrations led by students and workers shookMetro Manila, the nation’s capital. In 1972, martial lawwas declared. Civil rights were curtailed. Trade unionswere allowed but strikes were outlawed while labourleaders were hunted down and persecuted. By the

early 1980s, however, the labour movement regainedmomentum on the back of a popular protest move-ment against the Marcos regime.

The return of formal democracy in the aftermath ofthe February 1986 people power uprising restoredmany of the rights of workers and trade unions, butnot all was well. A Welgang Bayan or national strikeled by transport workers was launched in 1989, fol-lowed by a failed coup attempt. Hundreds were jailedand scores injured in clashes with the police. Relationsbetween labour and the new government of CorazonAquino remained uneasy.

The 1990s saw a general decline in trade union mem-bership and activities, which has not recovered todate. Neoliberal reforms, which accelerated during thedecade, undermined the labour movement.

HISTORY OF TRADE UNIONISM — TRANSPORT SECTOR11Labour organising in the transportation sector goesback to the 1960s. Drivers of big operators like Sarao,the Guzman brothers, sought recognition and de-manded security of tenure, social security and otherbenefits. Among the first federations to be registeredwith the Bureau of Labor was the Kamuning Drivers’Association of the Philipppines (KAMADAP), headedby Pedro Bolonas.

The first sector-wide federation to be established wasthe Manila and Suburbs Drivers’ Association(MASDA) composed of small groups who saw theneed to federate to act as a pressure group. Its cre-ation was influenced by the new activist generation ofworkers and students in the 1970s.

Two other groups were formed during this time—thePhilippine Confederation of Drivers’ Associations(PCDO) and the MAPAGSAT, founded by a certainMr. Herberio. Meanwhile, the PCDO affiliated withMASDA to create the Pambansang Sanggunian ngManila and Suburbs Drivers’ Association (PASANG-MASDA). The latter gained popularity under the Mar-cos administration.

A group within PASANG-MASDA split from the for-mation leading to the creation of the militantPagkakaisang Samahan ng Makabayang Tsuper (PSMT)in the early 1970s. PSMT was declared illegal by themartial law government, while the PASANG-MASDAretained its conservative and reactionary image.

1311This section draws heavily from Teodosio, V.A, Bandayrel, PB and GL Labastilla (1989) Labor and the Transport Industry in the Philippines.University of the Philippines School of Labor and Industrial Relations: Quezon City

Despite splits and the proliferation of rival factions, thejeepney sector managed to stage concerted action. In1971, well-coordinated strikes were launched toprotest against the government’s new rerouting policyand a price hike on gasoline. Conservative and pro-gressive groups staged simultaneous strikes over a pe-riod of eight days.

The declaration of martial law in 1972 restrictedlabour organising and union activities. Even the pro-government PASANG-MASDA was not spared. Thefederation was revived in 1978 upon the initiative ofthe Metro Manila Commission, an attempt by thestate to wrest control of the transport labour sectorfrom progressive forces.

This period, which may be described as the height oflabour organising in the jeepney sector, saw the forma-tion of several big federations. Among the major or-ganisations were the Integrated Jeepney Drivers’Association (IJDA), the Federation of Jeepney Opera-tors and Drivers’ Association (FEJODAP), and later onthe Pagakakaisa ng Samahan ng mga Tsuper Nation-wide (PISTON), the Association of Concerned Trans-port Organisation (ACTO).

The FEJODAP and the PISTON have remained activeorganisations up to the present. The former acquireda conservative image given its association with govern-ment. By contrast, PISTON was identified with theleft-leaning Kilusang Mayo Uno (May One Movement).

Against these two polar organisations, the NationalTransport Workers’ Union (NTU), which has its begin-nings in the mid 1990s, is relatively young. It sees itselfat the centre of the wide political spectrum boundedby the FEJODAP on the right and PISTON on the left.As discussed below, this has not prevented the NTUfrom working with both organisations on common is-sues.

Unfortunately, there are no studies documentinglabour organising among tricycle and pedicab driversand operators perhaps because their actions are con-fined at the local level and rarely attract coverage bythe national media.

Wth this background, it is now possible to go into theexperience of the National Transport Workers’ Unionof organising informal transport workers—jeepney,tricycle and pedicab drivers and operators—in thePhilippines.

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ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE The NTU is a national organisation of land transportworkers in key areas of the Philippines: Metro Manila,Pampanga, and Cavite in Luzon; Cebu, Bacolod, andIloilo in the Visayas; and Davao, Cagayan de Oro andZamboanga in Mindanao. It unites informal workers inthe three dominant types of land transport in thecountry, namely, jeepneys and AUVs, tricycles andpedicabs.

While important changes have been taking place inthe last two decades especially with the introductionof mass transit in Metro Manila, jeepneys and theirmodern version, the Asian Utility Vehicle (AUV) con-tinue to dominate medium-distance land transport(within cities and across neighbouring cities or towns).During the same period, tricycles and pedicabs cover-ing short-distance routes mostly on secondary roadshave exploded in number. Bringing together underone umbrella workers in these three modes of landtransport greatly enhances the bargaining power oftransport workers.

The idea of sectoral formation was contemplated asearly as 1997 by six transport federations affiliated tothe Alliance of Progressive Labor (APL). The NTU wasformalised during a congress held in 2004.

According to its constitution, affiliation to the NTU isopen to all forms of workers’ organisation in thetransport industry. In practice, most if not all affiliatesare federations of local drivers’/operators’ associations.Affiliates are classified into two: regular and auxiliary.Regular affiliates are organisations that have compliedwith all the requirements, thus they enjoy all the rightsand privileges of membership. Auxiliary affiliates arethose that have been accepted for membership bythe Council of Leaders, but have yet to comply withthe requirements laid down in the constitution.

To be admitted as a regular affiliate, an applicant or-ganisation must fulfil the following conditions: a) haveits executive officers undergo at least a basic orienta-tion seminar ; b) submit a resolution of its executiveboard or council or its equivalent authorising such af-filiation; a copy of its constitutions and by-laws; whereapplicable a copy of its registration certificate; list ofnames and addresses of all elected officers and a listof members; c) subscribe to the principles and objec-tives of the NTU and abide by its constitution and by-laws; and, d) pay the affiliation fee.

From six founding members, the NTU has grown to anational centre for 26 federations. Expanding the cur-rent membership base is constrained by the inabilityof federations to pay affiliation fees and monthly dues,the lack of manpower on the part of the NTU to‘process’ applications and conduct the required train-ing and education programme for new members. Theprocessing of applications involves a backgroundcheck on the applicant federation and its officers aswell as confidence building between the applicant andcurrent members of NTU. Officers of the applicantfederation and three representatives of member localassociations must then undergo basic orientation andtraining.

Meeting every three years, the congress is the highestpolicy-making body. It brings together the Chair, Vice-Chair and Secretary-Generals of member federations.In between sessions of congress, the Council of Lead-ers (COL) composed of all the heads of member fed-erations makes key decisions. The COL regularlymeets once a year to plan the activities of the NTU. Anational conference of the COL is called as necessaryto discuss pressing issues affecting transport workersand to decide on the course of action to take.

An Executive Committee, composed of the Chair, theSecretary-General, a deputy, and four Vice-Chairs forthe National Capital Region, Luzon, Visayas, and Min-danao, and whose members are elected by the con-gress, implements the decisions of the congress andthe COL. The Vice-Chairs are responsible for coordi-nating activities in the respective areas and linking upwith member federations.

To support day-to-day operations and campaigns, theNTU collects from member federations a monthlydue of two pesos per declared dues-paying member.Collecting the token amount, however, poses great dif-ficulty since individuals do not make a separate contri-bution specifically for this purpose. In practice, theamount is taken out of the general funds of memberfederations, who are themselves perennially short offunds. Financial support also comes from foreign andlocal workers’ organisations and donor agencies.

SERVICESTo empower transport workers, strengthen their or-ganisations, and advance their interests, the NTU hasidentified various forms of action including organising,

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TTHHEE NNAATTIIOONNAALL TTRRAANNSSPPOORRTT WWOORRTTKKEERRSS’’ UUNNIIOONN ((NNTTUU))

lobbying, bargaining, providing education to membersas well as legal and paralegal assistance, setting upeconomic projects, and linking transport workers toother sectors or formations at local and internationallevels.

Organising includes the formation of a federation oralliance of transport workers’ unions at city andprovincial levels, and bringing these into the NTU. TheNTU does not engage in organising individual driversand operators as most, if not all, of them belong to as-sociations. In the case of tricycles and pedicabs, driversplying a certain route are required to organise them-selves into an association. There is also a proliferationof federations and alliances. Organising services focuson expanding the membership base of NTU amongfederations and alliances and strengthening this unityof transport workers’ unions.

The NTU represents the interest of transport work-ers in various fora, public hearings, conferences andsimilar activities. It convenes conferences on issues af-fecting transport workers. It engages in lobbying workin the legislative and executive branches of govern-ment. It coordinates mass actions and other forms ofpressure politics such as transport strikes. It pursuesnegotiations with transport authorities at local and na-tional levels. The NTU facilitates the sharing of infor-mation and strategies among affiliates as well asfraternal organisations to improve negotiation skills,and train new negotiators and leaders.

The NTU provides education services to members.Education aims at consciousness raising, value forma-tion and skills development of the general member-ship and leadership. This includes basic orientationseminars, leadership training, gender concerns semi-nars that aim to encourage women’s active participa-tion at all levels of the NTU’s organisational life,environmental concerns, and the like.

Legal and paralegal work complement existing legalcapabilities of member organisations by providingthem with legal services but also helping them de-velop paralegal support mechanisms.The NTU engages in sectoral, multi-sectoral and inter-national solidarity work on behalf of members. It par-ticipates in strategic as well as issue-based coalitions,develops linkages with international labour organisa-tions and networks, and labour-based NGOs in bothdeveloped and developing countries.

KEY DEVELOPMENTS Since it was formally launched in 2004, the NTU has

made its mark as a major centre for transport work-ers. Firstly, as mentioned above, membership rapidlygrew from six to 24 federations in less than two years.A number of federations have also signified their will-ingness to join the NTU. Only the lack of resources toprocess potential members prevents it from furtherwidening its ranks. New members must go through along process of familiarisation to build confidence be-tween the NTU and potential members as well as abasic orientation seminar to inculcate the union’s ob-jectives and principles.

Secondly, the NTU conducted its first successful cam-paign in April 2004 to demand a fare increase forjeepneys in the face of a sustained increase in theprice of oil products. Together with the major nationaltransport federations including FEJODAP, PISTON, AL-TODA and NJODA, the NTU joined a nationwidejeepney strike to petition the government to raise theminimum fare by 50 per cent. By 2pm the Depart-ment of Transportation and Communication (DOTC)conceded to the strikers’ demand. The one-day strikedemonstrated the NTU’s organisational strength inareas outside Metro Manila. Partner federations paral-ysed Metro Manila while the NTU provided the mus-cle in key cities like Cebu, Iloilo, Bacolod in the Visayas,and Davao, Zamboanga, and Cagayan de Oro in Min-danao.

Thirdly, a less successful campaign was launched inNovember 2005 to protest against the imposition of10 per cent in valued-added tax (VAT) on oil prod-ucts. This time the NTU was on its own. The strikewas felt in the NTU’s bailiwicks in the provinceswhere it was able to mobilize 90 per cent of its base.In these areas, transport and business in general cameto a halt. But it was hardly felt in Metro Manila, dimin-ishing the strike’s overall impact. Lack of resources, theshort period of preparation, and more important, thelack of unity with other transport workers’ centres un-dermined the campaign.Fourthly, the campaigns launched at a national level aswell as localised action by member federations haveraised the public profile and credibility of the NTU asa union of transport workers. Today, transport authori-ties consider the NTU a force to be reckoned with. Itis a regular participant in dialogues with national poli-cymakers while member federations sit in policy dia-logues at a regional level.

ISSUES Most of the issues tackled by the NTU are related toprotecting the incomes and livelihood of informaltransport workers. Reduced fuel prices, higher fares,

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state subsidy or exemption from duties and taxes forvehicle parts, lower fees and penalties for traffic viola-tions, preventing re-routing that reduces passengervolume, keeping illegal units off the road, a morato-rium on the granting of new franchises, an end to ex-tortion by police and criminal groups are among theperennial demands of transport workers.

Oil price hikes and fare hikesWith oil price deregulation in the late 1990s, oil pricehikes have had an immediate and direct impact on theearnings of jeepney and tricycle drivers. While pumpprices have been deregulated, the government contin-ues to set transport fares. Jeepney fares are deter-mined at national level while tricycle fares are set bylocal government units. Without an automatic mecha-nism for fares to track changes in the price of oil, faresetting is a political balancing act. Wary of losing thesupport of the travelling public, authorities are reluc-tant to raise transport fares. This renders fare setting acontentious process between transport authoritiesand transport workers’ groups.

Under the present system, the driver pays the owneror operator of a jeepney or tricycle a fixed amountfor use of the vehicle over an agreed period of time.The owner is responsible for repair and maintenanceexpenses, while the driver shoulders operating ex-penses like fuel, parking fees if any, daily dues, penalties,and so on. It is common practice for owners of singlevehicles to work as a driver at the same time to max-imise returns from their investment. Given this systemand because fuel cost is the biggest expense item nextto the vehicle rental, there is little conflict of interestbetween vehicle owners and drivers. Indeed, the twogroups have a common interest in petitioning forlower fuel prices or higher fares. For non-driving own-ers, a fare increase translates into higher vehicle rental. In recent years, the government has granted a taxsubsidy on the fuel consumption of public utility jeep-neys. PUJs can buy diesel fuel at reduced prices at par-ticipating gas stations, usually those located alongmajor roads. In turn, the sale of diesel fuel to PUJs (atdesignated pumps in each station) is entitled to taxsubsidy. Participation by gas stations is voluntary butappears to be gaining ground. The actual impact ondrivers’ earnings is insignificant.

In relation to this, the deregulation of the oil industryhas been the object of protest and criticism fromtransport workers’ groups. In the late 1990s, the gov-ernment scrapped the Oil Price Stabilization Fund(OPSF), put an end to oil price regulation, and sold itscontrolling stake in one of the three major oil compa-nies. New players were allowed to enter the industry.

Despite the entry of new players big and small, the in-dustry remains virtually under the control of threecompanies, Shell, Caltex and Petron. Worse, deregula-tion has not lived up to its promise of lower oil prices.

With industry deregulation, the NTU has called for afare hike mechanism that is more responsive to fluctu-ations in oil prices. In particular, it wants the rules ofprocedure for fare hike petitions to follow the rules ofsummary procedure for civil cases, that a decision bemade not more than 30 days after the filing of a peti-tion, and that clear economic parameters are identi-fied in granting a fare hike.

Spare parts subsidyLower duties and taxes on vehicle spare parts is an-other way of increasing the earnings of public trans-port drivers and operators. In fact, the governmenthas often offered this measure as a palliative to theneed for a fare hike. This coincides with the govern-ment’s overall tariff reduction programme. The entryof lower-priced parts from Asian manufacturers in-cluding China has eased the burden on the transportsector. But this is not without cost. It is possible thatthis has discouraged a dynamic vehicle parts manufac-turing industry from flourishing despite the presenceof major car manufacturers in the country. In Taiwan,South Korea, and Thailand, a network of subcontrac-tors producing vehicle parts for the major car manu-facturers has flourished. There is a long-term cost interms of developing a vibrant local industrial sector.

Government fees and penaltiesPublic utility operators and drivers are subject to along list of fees at all levels of government—vehicleregistration, insurance, common carrier tax, franchise,smoke emission tests, medical and laboratory tests, li-cence renewals, business permits, new tariff schedules(drivers pay P500 for a verified true copy of the farematrix each time there is a fare adjustment)—that eatup their earnings. At the same time, penalties for viola-tion of traffic rules are increasingly a source of incomefor local government units, not to mention corruptpolice and traffic officers. The imposition of new feesor an increase in existing ones easily invites oppositionfrom transport workers and their organisations. Partof the resistance stems from a sense of persecution(ie drivers feel they are the milking cows of local gov-ernments) and the lack of public services to show forall the money collected by government.

A steep increase in vehicle registration fees in 1976upon the prodding of the IMF triggered a nationwidejeepney strike, which forced the government to with-

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draw the measure. Increased fees and penalties arecommon fare among the NTU’s member federations,although the actions are directed at their respectivelocal governments. This is true for jeepney, tricycle andpedicab drivers and operators.

Recently the NTU lobbied for a reduction in the com-puter fee charged by the Land Transportation Office(LTO) as part of the cost of transacting business (eg li-cence renewals, vehicle registrations, and so on). It alsopetitioned for lowering the cost of smoke emissiontesting charged by private testing centres, which isthree times the amount previously charged by thegovernment.

It has also asked that fines and penalties charged bythe Metro Manila Development Authority, which man-ages traffic in the capital region, and the Land Trans-portation Franchising and Regulatory Board, be set atmore reasonable levels. For example, the penalty forout of line offences exceed the rate prescribed underthe law (Republic Act 4136). Related demands includethe setting up of a one-stop-shop for vehicle registra-tion, stricter regulation of private towing companies,and an end to the frequent reversal of decisions is-sued by the Adjudication Office of the MMDA by theagency’s own Legal Office, a practice that the NTUsays breeds corruption.

Transport policies and regulationsAs a national workers’ centre, NTU deals with gov-ernment policies and regulations affecting the trans-port sector in general. It has proposed amendmentsto various laws, including the Local Government Code(which requires local governments to coordinate reg-ulations with the Department of Transportation andCommunication, and for the latter to conduct publichearings); the Clean Air Act to set penalties at morereasonable levels; the LTFRB Charter to change thedecision process and the composition of the board;and the Public Services Act to put in place a mecha-nism to adjust transport fares together with changesin fuel prices.

DEALING WITH ISSUES In dealing with the above issues, the NTU combinesthe tools at its disposal in order to advance the inter-ests of transport workers. It carries out research andeducation activities on the issue at hand. It arrangesdialogues with state officials to explore all avenues to-wards a resolution of issues. It coordinates with othertransport groups to lobby for policy changes as wellas launch coordinated transport strikes, the ultimate

weapon of transport workers.In 2004, for example, the NTU together with majortransport groups in Metro Manila petitioned for a fareincrease to offset the impact of rising fuel costs. To de-termine what was a reasonable fare hike, it conductedresearch among member federations and associationsto estimate the impact of rising oil prices on the earn-ings of drivers and operators. Once the necessarydata was available, the NTU organised a national con-ference of its Council of Leaders to discuss the issueand to formulate the group’s position and demands.

During the conference, the NTU secretariat sched-uled a dialogue with LTFRB officials. A press confer-ence was also held to inform the public and to beginto put pressure on concerned government agencies.In response to the group’s announcement, the Trans-portation Secretary and the President’s representativecalled for a meeting of all transport groups to thrashout the issues.

Members of the NTU Council of Leaders were giventhe task of communicating the Council’s decision tolocal associations. Along with the demand for a farehike, federations articulated issues affecting transportworkers in their localities and put forward their owndemands. Press conferences specifically targeting radiowere organised to amplify the issues and the group’sdemands. Dialogues were held with local LFTRB offi-cials. The NTU provided campaign material to itsmember federations.

Meanwhile, before and during the one-day strike theNTU secretariat continued to coordinate with othertransport groups.

ORGANISING Organising includes the formation of federations or al-liances of transport workers’ unions at city andprovincial levels and bringing them into the NTU. Inpractice, there has been a proliferation of federationsof transport associations owing to the rapid growth ofthe sector in the last two decades. Still, many federa-tions do not belong to any national formation. Othersare disgruntled with their current affiliations and areseeking new alliances that they believe will advancethe interests of their members and transport workersin general. Through campaigns and activities, the NTUhas gained credibility among transport workers, thusattracting potential members to its fold.

Potential members are identified by members and arereferred to the NTU secretariat. Organisers then con-duct formal and informal talks with key leaders of the

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target federation. This may take some time as bothparties establish a common level of understanding andbasic confidence in each other. The application is thenreferred to the Council of Leaders for consideration.

The NTU’s education programme is a key attractionto potential members. The NTU provides a Basic Ori-entation Seminar (BOS) to new member federations.The BOS module discusses the situation of the trans-port industry and workers in the industry and offersan introduction to unionism, and the principles, goalsand workings of the NTU. This is offered to federationlevel officials and at least three persons or officers ofeach local association belonging to the federations.

Most federations and local associations elect new offi-cers every year. The new officers become the targetbeneficiaries of the NTU’s education programme. Be-yond the BOS, the NTU offers leadership trainingseminars to officers of member federations. Field in-terviews confirm the importance of the NTU’s educa-tion programme and there is deep appreciation bymembers, something that sets it apart from other na-tional formations.

Organising transport workers is not without its prob-lems. Payment of monthly dues discourages member-ship and active participation. The problem is notmoney per se but a clear appreciation of the value ofbeing part of larger formations such as area federa-tions and a national level organisation like the NTU.Local associations collect nominal daily dues frommembers. Given their number and accumulated overtime, the amounts involved are nothing to be sneezedat. Not surprisingly, money is often the object of cor-ruption and infighting.

Traditional views and attitudes towards unions andworkers’ organisations present formidable obstacles.Understandably, federations and local associationstend to focus on issues affecting their members andhave little interest in larger national issues. A great dealof officers’ time and energies are devoted to managingthe collection of drivers’ daily dues at association level.

A final obstacle to organising transport workers is op-position from local governments, wary of the powerthat organised workers can muster. While the forma-tion of local operators and drivers’ association is alegal requirement, many local governments activelyprevent the formation of federations in their areas.Some actively monitor attempts to organise associa-tions into larger formations.

NETWORKING Networking with other formations is second natureto the NTU for two important reasons. First, theNTU is a project of the Alliance Progressive Labor(APL) whose credo is ‘Social Movement Unionism.’Simply put, the latter refers to the view that the tradeunion movement can only realise its full liberating po-tential as part of the larger movement for socialchange. The APL is therefore the main arena for theNTU’s networking efforts.

Through the APL and on its own, the NTU is alsopart of a number of progressive coalitions. It is part ofthe Freedom from Debt Coalition (FDC), an umbrellamovement of progressive forces working for a resolu-tion of the debt problem in a manner that considersfirst and foremost the short-term and long-term inter-ests of the Filipino people. The FDC has been at theforefront of campaigns on economic issues in thePhilippines such as opposition to the privatisation ofwater utilities, revocation of onerous contracts withindependent power producers, opposition to new andhigher tax rates intended to raise revenues to servicethe huge public debt, and so on.

The NTU via the APL is currently part of the Solidar-ity of Unions and Labor Organizations for New Gov-ernance (SULONG). SULONG evolved out of analliance of unions that campaigned for an adjustmentin the minimum wage, BAWI or Broad Alliance for aWage Increase. SULONG has campaigned for the res-ignation or removal from office of President GloriaMacapagal-Arroyo on the grounds that she cheated towin the presidency.

Within the transport sector, the NTU is a member ofthe National Land Transport Council, an alliance ofbus, truck and taxi operators. As mentioned above,the NTU works with other national federations duringmajor campaigns such as the last national transportstrike to demand a fare adjustment. Aware of its smallmembership base in Metro Manila, it linked arms withthe PISTON and FEDJODAP, two nationally recog-nised federations of jeepney drivers and operatorswhose bailiwick are in the national capital region. Theresult was a joining of forces that effectively paralysedtransport in key urban centres nationwide.

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MAJOR CHALLENGES The NTU sees three challenges in the near andmedium term. The NTU sees as its most importanttask strengthening and consolidating the federation’smembership base. In this respect, it is crucial to incul-cate among drivers and operators the consciousnessof a trade unionist, which is sorely lacking. As notedabove, the nature of informal transport—individualunits often in competition with one another—doesnot encourage collective action. But as their own ex-periences show, it is only through collective action, re-lying on their numerical strength, that transportworkers can begin to defend their livelihood and im-prove their conditions.

There is also a need to reduce members’ excessivereliance on their leaders to run their organisationsand fight for the interests of drivers and operators.Ensuring regular payment of union dues is part of in-stilling discipline and making transport workers realisethe value of having their own independent organisa-tion.

The second challenge is to forge unity within thetransport sector. Factionalism and rivalry among themajor formations have weakened the sector. In addi-tion, the concerns of many organisations are focusedon internal, money-making efforts such as forgingdeals with insurance companies, facilitating the ap-proval of franchises with the LTFRB, cornering electioncampaign money from politicians in exchange forvotes, and keeping their membership base intactthrough patronage.

Finally, informal transport workers, in some areas, facethe threat of extinction as a result of modernisationand the rise of mass transit. In Metro Manila, for ex-ample, the rise of urban mass transit, light trains in par-ticular, has displaced jeepneys and buses. The MetroManila Development Authority plans to reduce thenumber of buses in the city to 300 to ease traffic con-gestion. Displaced buses and jeepneys then move tothe provinces, creating further competition for existingpublic utility vehicles there. Still in Metro Manila, theremodeling of the Cubao shopping area in QuezonCity into a world class commercial centre has resultedin jeepneys being kept out of the main streets drasti-cally reducing passenger volume and drivers’ earnings.

In other areas, transport workers face the pressure ofcongestion brought about by inadequate infrastruc-ture and the lack of urban planning in the face of rapidurbanisation and population growth. Frequent rerout-ing poses a constant challenge to transport workerswhile a low regard for their profession if not outright

discrimination renders them vulnerable to daily harassment and abuse.

The problem, however, goes beyond the transportsector to the ability of the economy to create ade-quate decent jobs for a rapidly growing labour force.The sheer number of workers and families that relyon informal transport work exerts tremendous pres-sure on earnings and family incomes there. Notwith-standing declining earnings, the sector providesfallback employment to unemployed and displacedworkers. Given the lack of alternatives, informal trans-port workers have to struggle to defend a livelihoodthat increasingly cannot give them a life out ofpoverty.

For a summary profile of NTU and its organisationalstructure, sseeee AAppppeennddiixx 11..

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Transport federations (as the term is used in thisstudy) are organisations composed of local operatorsand drivers’ associations. The federation is the unit ofmembership in the NTU. The discussion in this sectionis based on interviews with leaders of six memberfederations of the NTU as well as the leadership ofthe latter. The interviews were conducted betweenOctober and December 2005.

PROFILE For this section, the following federations, along withsome of their local member associations, were inter-viewed:

� FFEERRCCOODDAA (Federation of Eastern Rizal CubaoOperators and Drivers’ Alliance, Inc) comprised oflocal associations of jeepneys that serve theAraneta Center, a business district in Quezon City,Metro Manila.

� PPAASSAADDAA (Pangkalahatang Samahan ng Drivers atOperators sa Angeles City) composed of jeepney associations operating within Angeles City, Pam-panga, a province located north of Metro Manila.

� PPEEMMAADDAA (Pederasyon ng mga Magtatrisikel saDasmarinas), a federation of tricycle operators anddrivers’ associations in Dasmarinas, Cavite, aprovince to the south of Metro Manila.

� SSEEMMDDDDOOCC (Southeastern Mindanao DiversifiedDrivers’ and Operators’ Cooperative), a federationof 24 local associations in Davao City, Minadanaoin southern Philippines.

� TTRRAAFFEECCOO (Transport Federation of Cagayan deOro City) comprised of 32 associations of jeep-neys, multicabs and air conditioned vans in Ca-gayan de Oro City, Mindanao in southernPhilippines.

� VVAALLPPOODDAA (Valenzuela Pedicab Operators Drivers’Association), a federation of pedicab associations inthe 1st and 2nd districts of the city of Valenzuela,Metro Manila, and established in 2000.

The federations interviewed for this study includethree jeepney federations, two tricycle federations,and one pedicab federation. Membership in each ofthe federations ranges from 13 to 32 local associa-tions, or some 3,000 to 7,000 transport workers perfederation. Federations, however, do not keep recordsof individuals belonging to member associations sothese are very rough estimates and probably on thehigh side.

All six federations were organised or re-organised be-tween 1995 and 2000. The 1990s was a period ofrapid growth in the informal transport sector. The Al-liance of Progressive Labor (APL) was organised in1995 and a transport caucus within the alliance, theprecursor to the NTU, established.

The second half of the 1990s was also a period offragmentation in left politics leading to a number oforganisations leaving the fold of the dominant leftgroup, the CPP-led (Communist Party of the Philip-pines) National Democratic Front (NDF). The succes-sive splits in the left made an impact on the transportsector with a number of federations asserting their in-dependence. Two such federations, SEMMDOC andTRAFECO, would later become mainstays of the APL-NTU.

The typical organisational structure at federation levelis fairly straightforward. The General Assembly (GA)composed of any number of representatives of localassociations is the highest policy-making body. Thebody elects a set of officers or executive committeeand board members for a fixed term. The board for-mulates the federation’s policies and programmeswhile the officers are responsible for their day-to-dayimplementation and execution. In some cases, a com-mittee system is put in place to encourage membersto take part actively in the implementation of pro-grammes of their choice.

Most federations rely on a monthly contribution frommember associations averaging a few hundred pesos amonth per association. For example TRAFECO col-lects P200 monthly from each association. With atmost 32 member associations, this amounts to P6,400,barely enough to sustain regular activities of the feder-ation. This is not to mention the difficulty of collectingthe nominal amount on a regular basis.

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TRAFECO also used to operate a workers’ cooperative (Transport Workers’ Cooperative) in-tended to provide assistance to members and to be asource of funds for the federation. Misappropriation offunds by the officers led to the dissolution of the co-operative.

Given very limited financial resources, some federa-tions maintain a physical centre but do not employregular staff. They rely mainly on the voluntary effortsof officers, board members and the more active anddedicated members.

Two of the federations have a long history beforethem. The SEMDDOC traces its roots back to theToril United Drivers’ Association which started in the1960s as a savings/loans cooperative that offeredservices to members. PASADA evolved from the VillaPampang Jeep Operators’ and Drivers’ Association inthe 1960s.

The rest as mentioned above were organised in the1990s. In most cases, the formation of a federationwas triggered by the need to address pressing issuesfacing the drivers. PEMADA was formed in 1997 be-cause of the need to have a drivers’ representative inthe Municipal Traffic and Franchise Regulatory Boardwhich decides on fares increases. FEDSTODA wasformed to present a united opposition against addi-tional requirements—a mayor’s permit and incometax return—for the granting of a franchise. Police ex-tortion, traffic congestion and the proliferation of ille-gal units prompted drivers to form FERCODA.

KEY DEVELOPMENTS ANDACHIEVEMENTS For some respondents their victories and struggles toimprove the working conditions of their members arethe key achievements of the organisations. The scrap-ping of new regulations imposing an additional burdenon workers, putting a stop to rerouting schemes thattake away passenger volume and depress drivers’earnings, protection of routes from poaching by illegaloperators or the imposition of a moratorium on thegranting of new franchises, and protection from cor-rupt police officers and transport officials—these vic-tories are seen as the defining moments of transportorganisations.

PASADA boasts of staying the implementation of Or-dinance #2 in Angeles City in 1996. The ordinance al-lows public utility vehicles to pass through the routesof PASADA members, reducing earnings of drivers

and causing massive traffic congestion. The federationwas able to convince the city government to abandonthe odd-even scheme, which resulted in indiscriminatearrests.

FERCODA, a relatively new federation, sees as a keyachievement the protection of members from cor-rupt police officers, resulting in the dismissal of some.A turning point in the federation’s short history is theremoval from office of the previous chair for allegedmisappropriation of the federation’s funds. A numberof driver members have also won recognition as out-standing drivers by the oil giant, Caltex.

VALPODA successfully fought a local ordinance disal-lowing pedicabs to ply a major road, effectively elimi-nating them from the city’s streets, thus killing theirlivelihood. It opposed City Hall’s proposal to limit thenumber of units per route to 50. Federation officialsconsider it significant that the federation continues tofunction despite being entirely dependent on volun-tary contribution by members.

FEDSTODA succeeded in scrapping additional re-quirements for the granting of franchises as alreadymentioned above, the struggle that gave birth to thefederation.

PEMADA won fare increases in 1998, 2001 and 2004.It led opposition to a common carrier tax imposed bythe city government and a driver’s permit fee of P50.It convinced the city government to impose a mora-torium on the formation of new associations and aquota on new franchises, while keeping competingunits such as multicabs and shuttle bus services at bay.

TRAFECO caused the resignation of the Roads andTraffic Administration Director in 2002 for reroutingtraffic without public consultation. SEMDDOC wasable to convince the city government to lift the uni-form requirement for drivers on weekends.

Government regulation is a key feature of the trans-port industry, formal or informal. It impinges on practi-cally every aspect of the lives of transport workers,from the granting of drivers’ licences and franchises tooperate a unit, to fares rates, allowable routes, thedesignation of terminals, loading and unloading areas,and so on.

In the case of jeepneys, these rules are set at nationallevel, although variations are allowed to take into ac-count local conditions. In the case of tricycles andpedicabs, regulations are set at the town or city level.In all cases, the process requires varying degrees of

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participation by affected parties. This creates ampleroom for transport workers and their organisations totry to shape these regulations to their advantage de-pending on the level of organisational strength.

That is why an important objective of transport or-ganisations is to win representation in state agenciesthat have jurisdiction over their members. PASADAgained national accreditation in 2000, which gives itthe privilege of being able to enter into a dialogue andnegotiate with national and regional authorities.TRAFECO has been deputised by various local agen-cies and the city government to perform specific taskssuch as the policing of drivers with authority to issuetickets for penalties, the implementation of RA 4136,and the monitoring of compliance to the new farematrix. It has also won seats in the city council. FED-STODA for its part has won a seat in the Silang Fran-chising and Regulatory Board.

Interestingly, federations take pride in their active in-volvement in the NTU. For example, SEMDDOC listsas a key achievement spearheading the formation ofthe NTU. PASADA, on the other hand, sees its educa-tion and training activities for its members in collabo-ration with the NTU as an important achievement ofthe federation.

WHY ORGANISE Organising local associations into federations is thefirst step in realising the bargaining power of informaltransport workers. While the local associations arethe basic organisation of transport workers, these as-sociations have no political or industrial objectives. Inthe case of tricycles and pedicabs, drivers and opera-tors of a given route are required by law to formthemselves into a local association. The functions oflocal associations, however, are confined to putting anorderly queuing system in place, collecting daily duesfrom members, and some other minor activities.

On their own, local associations have little bargainingpower. Routes overlap so that one association actingon its own is not capable of paralysing transport serv-ices in its area of service. A transport strike has thepotential to succeed only starting at the federationlevel, and even then it would take several federationscovering a fairly large contiguous area to send astrong message to authorities.

The other reason for bringing local associations intofederations is to enhance the bargaining power oftransport workers vis a vis local authorities at the mu-nicipal or city level. The existence of a federation facili-

tates the appointment of a representative of transportworkers who can speak on behalf of a decisive major-ity of drivers and operators.

Finally, the existence of transport federations can leadto the formation of national level federations orunions. It is here where the bargaining power of trans-port workers is most potent.

WORKING AND LIVING CONDITIONS Informal transport workers toil and live under toughconditions that vary slightly among the major groups.In general, the pecking order is jeepney drivers at thetop, tricycle drivers in the middle, and pedicab driversat the bottom of the heap. This is true in terms ofworking hours, working conditions, earnings, and theway they are regarded by traffic officers and the publicat large.

Working hours stretch from dawn—as early as 4 or5am—to evening—as late as 10 or 11pm. They worksix or seven days a week, taking a day off when theirunit is banned from going out, which is once a week,in the case of jeepneys, or when their units go formaintenance service or repair, in the case of tricycleand pedicab drivers.

On a regular working day, rest and meals are takenwhile drivers await their turn in the terminal queue.Waiting time can take hours during slow days as insummer months when schools are closed or on Tues-days and Thursdays on ordinary weeks.

Drivers are continually exposed to pollution. Weaklungs, coughs and colds are common health problems.Tricycle drivers, in particular, are at high risk becausemost of them use motorcycles with two-stroke en-gines that do not burn fuel as efficiently as four-strokeones. Worse, drivers mix kerosene with gasoline tosave on fuel costs, but the result is very high smokeemissions. This problem is particularly acute in areas ofa high concentration of tricycles, especially duringmorning and afternoon peak hours.

Tricycle and pedicab drivers do not have the gear toprotect them from the scorching heat of the tropicalsun or the drenching rain. The latter earn a little extramoney on rainy days, as they can charge a premiumon the regular fare, but it requires extra effort topedal through wet and flooded streets.

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Jeepney drivers in Metro Manila earn anywhere fromP300 to P600 daily, while those outside the capital re-gion earn less at P250 to P300 a day. The higher costof living in the capital, however, offsets the nominalearnings differential. Tricycle drivers earn around P200to P250 a day, while pedicab drivers bring home P100to P150 for a hard day’s pedalling work.

These amounts are barely enough to sustain a typicalfamily above a life of poverty. The government esti-mates that a family of five needs P5,50012 to keep outof poverty or P230 a day six days a week. That is whydrivers are endlessly indebted to local lenders or theneighbourhood convenience store, amortising theirloans on a daily basis. The women take on odd jobslike vending or washing and ironing clothes to add tothe family income.

Most drivers can only send their children to second-ary school. It used to be that jeepney drivers sent achild or two to college, but that has passed. “Drivergood lover” used to be a common, if sexist, stickerfound on the inside of a jeepney. It indicates, accordingto old drivers, the relatively good financial standing ofjeepney drivers until the 1980s.

Without health insurance, a single episode of seriousillness can mean bankruptcy to the driver’s family fromwhich recovery would be difficult if not impossible.Given this generally hopeless situation, it is hardly sur-prising that gambling has become a pervasive prob-lem.

ISSUES AND PROBLEMS Many of the issues and problems facing transport op-erators and drivers have already been discussedabove in relation to the key achievements of trans-port federations. In many cases, these issues werewhat prompted workers to organise their ranks andengage in concerted action, eventually leading to theformation of their own organisations. Despite somesuccesses, transport workers continue to face thesame sets of problems and issues.

A common problem faced by transport workers, forexample, is a change in the rules and regulations with-out prior consultation. The lack of consultation createsanimosity between authorities and transport workers.The latter feel that their interests have not been givendue consideration in the formulation of the new rules.

Transport workers also complain of the unfair imple-mentation of rules and regulations, the indiscriminatearrests of drivers and the imposition of penalties. The

unfair implementation of rules relates to drivers ofprivate vehicles who, transport workers believe, aregiven preferential treatment by traffic authorities. Theyfeel they are being closely watched by police and traf-fic authorities so that the most minor infraction canresult in a traffic violation and imposition of a penalty. Increasingly, transport workers are being displaced asa consequence of modernisation and the rise of masstransit systems. This is especially true in Metro Manila.In the case of FERCODA, the development of theAraneta Center in Quezon City into a world classshopping centre threatens the livelihood of drivers. Al-ready, jeepneys are no longer allowed to go throughthe main shopping area resulting in lower passengervolume. The construction of mass railway transits inMetro Manila has greatly affected jeepneys and busesplying these routes.

Transport workers must also contend with frequentrerouting schemes as local officials grapple with theconsequences of population growth, rapid urbanisa-tion, and the resulting traffic congestion. A commonsolution is to keep public utility vehicles out of themain roads especially in the town or city centre. Thiscreates difficulties for drivers and often results in a lossof income.

Transport federations also face issues and problemsinternal to their organisations. A critical issue is theconstant attempts by local politicians who seek tocontrol the federations either to undermine resistanceto new policies or to use them for electoral purposes.Intervention by local politicians can take many forms:ensuring that supporters occupy key positions in theorganisation; preventing local associations from form-ing area wide federations; offering the organisation theuse of government facilities to make them beholdento local officials. Uncooperative officers are the subjectof smear campaigns and similar efforts to dislodgethem from their posts.

Another internal problem faced by a number of feder-ations is mismanagement of funds. Being informal,transport workers’ organisations are vulnerable tomalfeasance by key officers. This not only depletes theorganisation’s resources, but also, more importantly,erodes the confidence of members in their organisa-tion and their leaders. Recovering the lost confidencetakes a long time and could hinder the growth of theorganisation even after erring leaders have been re-moved.

A final problem identified by leaders interviewed isthe difficulty in encouraging members to participateactively. They trace this back to a lack of spare timewhile they are busy earning whatever money they can

24 12Official poverty threshold as computed by the National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB).

earn, a lack of information and understanding of theproblems facing transport workers, and a tendency torely on officers and leaders to run their organisations.

DEALING WITH ISSUES AND PROBLEMS Transport workers engage in dialogue with authoritiesto thrash out issues and problem areas. More oftenthan not, transport workers have to launch publiccampaigns and protest actions to get the attention ofauthorities and force them to negotiate with theirleaders. Concerted action includes pickets, or if thesituation warrants, localised transport strikes.

Another route to influence the formulation of rulesand regulations affecting transport workers is to gainrepresentation in local transport bodies as already il-lustrated above. Not all federations have succeeded indoing this and a lot depends on the track record ofthe federation, its organisational strength, as well asthe receptiveness of local authorities to outside pres-sure.

Federations conduct education and information activi-ties among members to raise awareness of issues andproblems facing transport workers. Education activi-ties provided through the NTU are appreciated bymember federations and are particularly crucial in de-veloping responsible local leaders. Key leaders of localassociations are required to undergo certain trainingand education modules. The annual turnover in someleadership positions ensures a steady stream of partic-ipants involved in these activities.

ORGANISING Organising at federation level means convincing localassociations to join the federation. Not all federationsactively engage in organising activities. The older oneswould already have covered all existing local associa-tions in their area and it is therefore a matter of keep-ing everyone within the federation and avoidingdefections to rival federations.

For the relatively newer federations, organising in-volves frequent visits and talks with officers and keymembers to gain their confidence. It is not enough tomeet with potential members once or twice. Organis-ers have to find time to visit local associations just tosay hello or engage in light talk. This is one way ofshowing the organiser’s sincerity and impress uponthem the importance of joining the federation. Pa-tience is key to gaining the confidence of potential

members.

Other federations use information dissemination andeducation activities to recruit new members. Theseactivities deal with simple issues such as traffic rulesand regulations (since a good number of drivers onlyhave secondary education) to rights and responsibili-ties of transport workers as citizens and members ofthe community.

Some associations are hesitant to join because of aprevious bad experience. This usually involves corrup-tion among a few federation officers. Continuous dis-cussions with officers and key members, working withlocal associations on issues affecting them, and sus-tained education campaigns are necessary to regaintheir trust and confidence.

NETWORKING Some of the federations interviewed networked withother organisations, including other transport federa-tions operating in their area. They found they had is-sues in common when it came to problems affectingtheir members. PASADA has worked with PISTON,another federation that operates in the same area ontransport sector issues. It has worked with communityorganisations in its locality on environmental issues (egsolid waste treatment), urban poor communities, andhealth concerns.

PEMADA coordinates with other local associationsand federations within the province of Cavite, but iswary of alliances and coalitions instigated by localpoliticians for their own ends.

Being part of NTU and APL, the federations are alsopart of the coalitions to which the NTU and APL be-long. In particular, they work together with the localchapters of national organisations like the Freedomfrom Debt Coalition (FDC) and the political party, Ak-bayan. Many of them consider their membership ofthe NTU as part of their alliance work.

KEY CHANGES NEEDED A constant threat to transport workers is the risingcost of oil and oil products in the world market. Fromthe 1970s to the 1990s, the government operated anOil Price Stabilization Fund (OPSF), an industry bufferfund to minimise price fluctuations. Fiscal problemsprompted the government to abandon the scheme in1998. At the same time, the industry was deregulatedand new players allowed to enter the industry. Pricing

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was left to market forces.

The government, however, continues to regulatetransport fares. Given the widespread impact ofhigher transport fares, the government is always reluc-tant to raise fares. Thus drivers and operators end upabsorbing the higher cost of fuel. Transport workershave called the government’s attention to the needfor a more flexible fare adjustment mechanism toavoid the need for workers to go on strike before afare hike is granted. Complementary measures to mit-igate the impact of high and rising oil prices are alsoneeded.

Government recognition of the transport sector—in-cluding jeepneys, tricycles, and pedicabs—as a legiti-mate sector would go a long way to resolving many ofthe problems facing the sector. This might involve en-suring that workers’ representatives sit on policy-mak-ing bodies that concerned with transport and at alllevels of government, putting in place processes ofpublic consultation, enumerating the rights and re-sponsibilities of drivers and operators and so on. Atthe same time transport officials must be given propertraining and education in managing traffic and enforc-ing traffic rules and regulations. Rules and regulationsmust be implemented fairly.

Federation leaders see the need to provide educationprogrammes to raise the skills and build self-confi-dence among operators and drivers, the majority ofwhom did not go to college. Despite years of workingin the transport sector, many of them have littleknowledge of traffic rules and regulations. Lack ofawareness of rules and their rights as drivers makethem vulnerable to harassment by traffic authorities.Thus there is a need for education and informationprogrammes to address these gaps.

There is no doubt that there is also an acute need forsocial insurance programmes to protect drivers andtheir families from unforeseen and costly events suchas ill health or death in the family. While informaltransport workers can join existing social insuranceprogrammes such as Philhealth, the state-run healthinsurance programme, and the social security system,the premium payments are beyond the means ofmost transport workers.

An informal social insurance system exists amongtransport workers. For example, drivers contribute afixed amount to cover the possibility of the death of adriver or family member. But these schemes are notenough. A number of organisations have attempted toset up credit cooperatives and similar schemes but

these are hampered by a lack of resources and man-agement skills, making them vulnerable to corruption. Some of those interviewed expressed the need for atransport sector representative in congress throughthe party-list system. The party-list system reserves 50seats in the Lower House of congress for representa-tives of marginalised sectors. The seats are then appor-tioned to political parties representing these sectors,who must win at least three per cent of the votes castfor the party-list. The NTU and the APL are support-ers of the Akbayan party.

OBSTACLES TO ACHIEVINGCHANGE Lack of strong unity within the transport sector posesa major obstacle to achieving changes that will im-prove the position and working conditions of trans-port workers. Rivalry among federations andassociations prevents the sector from presenting acommon position on pressing issues. More than onefederation may operate within a geographical area.These federations have different affiliations and loyal-ties and forging a united stand is not easy.

Intervention by local politicians further underminesunity among transport workers in a given area. Insome areas, politicians intervene to prevent the for-mation of area-wide federations. In other areas, politi-cians attempt to control or influence the federationsin their area of jurisdiction either for their own politi-cal purposes or simply to remove opposition to newpolicies and programmes that may be detrimental tothe interests of transport workers.

In a few cases, proximity to incumbent politicians givesthe transport workers organisations access to policymakers, enabling them to influence the policy-makingprocess. Thus, some leaders feel a need to maintaingood relations with politicians, but this must be tem-pered by the need to preserve the independence andintegrity of the federation, and therefore its credibilityto members and the larger public.Adding to fragmentation and a lack of strong unity ismember apathy; they are content to leave the runningof the organisation to their leaders. The lack of re-sources to carry out programmes that could offerclear and tangible benefits to members and thus en-courage them to take an active part in the day-to-dayactivities of the organisation contributes to the weak-ness of transport workers’ organisations.

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MAJOR CHALLENGES Leaders at federation level agree that the biggest taskahead of them is to strengthen and consolidate trans-port workers’ organisations and build strong unitywithin the transport sector. Weak organisations at thebase and fragmented federations at the top renderthe transport sector vulnerable to divide-and-rule tac-tics and outright attack by state authorities at all levels.

Given constant attempts by national and local authori-ties to undermine the unity of transport workers andthe vulnerability of transport workers’ organisations toenticements and attacks by the state, a crucial task isto maintain the independence and integrity of trans-port workers’ organisations.

Finally, a major challenge facing transport workers’ or-ganisations is the preservation of their livelihoodsgiven the lack of alternative jobs and sources of in-come. Modernisation and the rise of mass transit sys-tems threaten to phase out informal modes oftransport. Already the number of buses and jeepneyshas been on the decline in recent years.

For profiles of selected local associations and theirmembers, sseeee AAppppeennddiixx 22..

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From its beginnings 10 years ago as a caucus of trans-port sector unions within the Alliance of ProgressiveLabor (APL) to its recent transformation into a na-tional union, the National Transport Workers’ Union(NTU) has emerged as an important player in thetransport sector representing transport workers’rights and interests. The rapid growth of the informaltransport sector, no doubt, laid the ground for theequally rapid growth of the NTU so that it has be-come the largest formation within the APL. The expe-rience it has gained in organising informal transportworkers can be summed up by looking at thestrengths and weaknesses of the NTU.

The NTU has attained a critical mass in cities likeDavao, Cagayan de Oro, Zamboanga, and Cebu givingit the ability to paralyse public transport in these areas.Organisational muscle in key urban areas have gainedfor the NTU and member federations recognition andrespect from authorities, local governments, andworkers’ organisations and unions in the transportsector. On the one hand, many of the NTU’s memberfederations are recognised by local government andtransport sector authorities in their areas of opera-tion, and thus they have the opportunity to shapepolicies to take into account the interests of driversand operators.

On the other hand, with a strong membership base inkey cities outside of the capital, Metro Manila, theNTU gives a coordinated transport strike a truly na-tional character. This was demonstrated in 2005 whenthe NTU, together with the major Metro Manila-based transport formations, launched a nationwidetransport strike to demand a fare hike. Cooperationwith other organisations extends beyond the trans-port sector as evident in the NTU’s membership andactive participation in larger labour formations, multi-sector coalitions, and the alternative political party.

Substantive participation of federations at nationallevel ensures that NTU’s programme of action reflectsthe concerns and aspirations of transport workers aswell as the capacity of their own organisations tocarry out agreed plans. The NTU national leadership(council of leaders and the executive committee) isdrawn from leaders and representatives of memberfederations, themselves leaders in their local associa-tions. Most of them continue to earn their living asdrivers/operators of jeepneys, tricycles or pedicabs.Furthermore, the planning and execution of the an-

nual programme of activities as well as occasional co-ordinated action (eg transport strikes) involves thenational council of leaders and/or the executive com-mittee.

The NTU’s education programme is borne out of acommitment to raise the awareness of transportworkers of political and socio-economic issues thatimpact on working and living conditions, thereby em-powering them to act collectively on their own behalfas transport workers. To members, education andtraining activities indicate that the NTU is seriousabout the problems and issues affecting transport sec-tor workers. Moreover, it distinguishes the NTU fromthe more traditional formations whose interests arelimited to the collection of daily dues from drivers andoccasional activities come election season.

Democratic participation and sustained educationprogrammes distinguish the NTU from other nationalformations operating in the transport sector, and haveproved to be major factors encouraging membershipgrowth. Growing dissatisfaction with patronage politics,personality-driven leadership, and top-down organisa-tional management have driven many independent-minded federations and associations into the NTUfold.

Leadership formation is a major concern with imme-diate and long-term implications. A major constraint inthis respect is the fact that the NTU has only a singleorganiser working full-time. Spotting and developingpotential leadership becomes even more difficult con-sidering the geographical dispersal of NTU’s member-ship, the bulk of which are found far from the centre.Limited resources to carry out sustained educationactivities that serve as a training ground for futureleaders also contribute to slow leadership formation.

A key challenge is to strengthen participation of localassociations, where the NTU’s mass membership isfound, in their respective federations through sus-tained organising, education and welfare programmes.Membership of the NTU is at federation level, whichbrings together local drivers’/operators’ associations.The NTU coordinates activities across federations, butactivities within federations are largely left to the fed-eration leadership. The degree of participation by localassociations in their respective federations varieswidely depending on history, personalities and re-sources available. A major problem identified in the

28

CCOONNCCLLUUSSIIOONNSS

Balisacan, Arsenio M (1995) Poverty, Urbaniza-tion and Development Policy: a Philippine Perspective, University of the Philippine Press,p.63.

Avigran, Tony et. al (2005) Good Jobs, BadJobs, No Jobs. GNP and EPI.

Phil Daily Inquirer, 24 March 2006.

Silver, Beverly J. (2003) Forces of Labor: Work-ers’ Movements and Globalization since 1870.Cambridge Studies in Comparative Politics,Cambridge University Press.

Teodosio, V.A, Bandayrel, PB and GL Labastilla(1989) Labor and the Transport Industry in thePhilippines. University of the Philippines Schoolof Labor and Industrial Relations: Quezon City.

SSoouurrcceess ooff bbaassiicc ddaattaaNational Statistical Coordination Board(NSCB).National Statistics Office (NSO).

interviews is lack of participation at base.

Lack of financial resources is a major constraint for theNTU. This limits its ability to consolidate and at thesame time expand its membership base despitefavourable conditions as evident in the long list of po-tential members that it cannot process. It prevents theNTU from engaging more full-time organisers to es-tablish links with potential members and provide edu-cation and training. The lack of finances makes itdifficult to promote and support welfare programmes(livelihood, economic activities, social insurance, mu-tual savings, etc) in a systematic fashion. This has im-portant repercussions as the absence of suchprogrammes reduces the relevance of the union fromthe point of view of ordinary members. At the sametime, experience has shown that a strong workers’ or-ganisation is necessary for the sustainability of welfareprogrammes and a purely ‘economistic’ approach is asurefire formula for failure.

Failure to generate adequate financial resources atfederation and national levels remains a major chal-lenge for the NTU. Despite low earnings, informaltransport workers are not averse to paying daily duesto their local associations in the guise of terminal fees,dispatchers’ fees, savings, assistance to members withspecial needs, and so on. But paying membership duesto their federations, let alone to a national organisa-tion like the NTU, takes far more convincing. Lack ofownership of federation and national level pro-grammes, lack of material and economic benefits(given absence of welfare programmes), free-riding(drivers who watch from the sidelines will still benefitfrom a change in policy), to name a few factors, prob-ably account for inadequate finances.

Notwithstanding these obstacles, the growth of theNTU over the last decades testifies to the deep com-mitment of individuals at all levels of the organisation,a commitment to the ideals and principles of theunion and to working to uplift the lives of fellowtransport workers.

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RREEFFEERREENNCCEESS

Profile of NTU

FFuullll nnaammee ooff uunniioonn::NATIONAL TRANSPORT WORKERS’ UNION(NTU)

CCoonnttaacctt ddeettaaiillss –– ALESO M. SAYASA II (BREN)—SPOKESPERSON102 Scout de Guia cor. Tomas MoratoBgy Sacred Heart, Quezon CityPhilippines

HHoommee aaddddrreessss::21-A Kingsway StFairlane SubdivisionNangka, Marikina City

Cell: (0906) 62044037Tel: (632) 9276991Email: bren@apl.org.ph

SSccooppee ooff mmeemmbbeerrsshhiippNATIONAL

AArreeaass ooff ooppeerraattiioonn ((CCiittyy,, PPrroovviinnccee))Metro Manila and suburbsDavao City, DavaCagayan de Oro City, BukidnonZamboanga City, ZamboangaCotabato City, MaguindanaoGeneral Santos City, South CotabatoMati, Davao OrientalIloilo City, IloiloBacolod City, Negros OccidentalMandaue City, CebuAngeles City, PampangaSan Fernando, PampangaPorac, PampangaDasmarinas, CaviteSilang, CaviteTagaytay, Cavite

MMeemmbbeerrsshhiipp ((nnuummbbeerr ooff ffeeddeerraattiioonnss)):: Jeepney: 8 (4 in Mindanao, 2 in the Visayas, 5 inLuzon)Tricycle: 5 (2 in Mindanao, 3 in Luzon)Pedicab: 3 (1 in theVisayas, 2 in Luzon)

MMeemmbbeerrsshhiipp ((llooccaall aassssoocciiaattiioonnss wwiitthhoouutt ffeeddeerraattiioonnss)) Jeepney: 9 (2 in the Visayas, 7 in Luzon)Tricycle: 5 (5 in Luzon)Pedicab: 1 ( Luzon)

DDaattee ooff ffoorrmmaattiioonn:: December 13-14, 2003

RReeggiissttrraattiioonn ssttaattuuss:: Registered with the Bureau ofLabor Relations, Department of Labor and Employ-ment

AAffffiilliiaattiioonnss:: Alliance of Progressive Labor (APL)

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AAPPPPEENNDDIIXX 11

NATIONAL TRANSPORT WORKERS UNION (NTU) ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE 2006

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CONGRESS

Council of Leaders

� Congress meets every 5 years� 2 representatives per 100 dues

paying members

� Composed of chairs/presidents ofaffiliate federations and associations

EXECOM

ChairNational Vice ChairVice Chair

� Luzon� Visayas� Mindanao

SecretaryGeneral Treasurer

Secretariat

National CommitteesNational Committees

Education Finance Organisation etc

Sectoral Commissions

Jeepneys Tricycle/Pedicab Coops

AFFILIATES

OORRGGAANNIISSAATTIIOONNAALL SSTTRRUUCCTTUURREE

COMELEC Audit

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AAPPPPEENNDDIIXX 22

PROFILES OF SELECTED LOCAL ASSOCIATIONS AND THEIR MEMBERS

Adriano-Malanday Pedicab Opera-tors’/Drivers’ Association

Jonathan Fuentebella, at 16 years old became thebreadwinner of his family when his father passedaway. The eldest of four children, he quit school andbegan to work as a pedicab driver plying the routealong M.H. del Pilar in Valenzuela, Bulacan. Hismother does laundry for their neighbours whenwork is available and, on the side, collects bets forthe lotto game.

Now 18 years old, Fuentebella has since then ped-alled a pedicab every day from 8 in the morning to10 in the evening. A good day’s work brings himP150 from where he deducts a boundary fee ofP50 for the operator of his pedicab, leaving him anet earning of P100. On rare occasions, he grossesP200 while a bad day yields only P90.

He feeds his family and sends his three siblings toschool: one who is in high school and two in ele-mentary school. There are times when his day’stake cannot provide for the daily peso needs of hissiblings for meals at school and fees for schoolprojects. On top of these basic expenses, youngFuentebella must scrimp to put up the monthlypayment of P500 for city services (a kind of tax)for his grandmother’s house where his family stays.To tide them over, he borrows from co-workers. Itis an endless cycle of indebtedness.

There are of course occupational hazards one ofwhich is avoiding getting caught by the Traffic Man-agement Office for parking his pedicab illegally. Hislegs get numb at times because of excessive ped-alling. Exposed to the elements, he suffers fromupper respiratory ailments: colds, severe coughsand flu.

But Fuentebella dreams of a better life—to own hispedicab someday and enter vocational school oncehis siblings have finished schooling.

Isabelo Fernando Pedicab Operators’/Drivers’ Association (ISPODA)

ISPODA is one of the local associations ofVALPODA that was established in 2000. It has amembership close to a hundred. It gives dividendsto its members based on their daily dues, theamount of which varies according to each mem-ber’s contribution. At the end of the year, eachmember is entitled to a bag of groceries that aregiven out at the association’s Christmas party. Incase a member dies, the association solicits contri-butions from among its members to give to the be-reaved family.

The association gets a daily due of P6 from eachmember: P2 goes to the operations of the associa-tion, P2 for the Christmas party and P2 goes to thesavings of the member. ISPODA also collects amembership fee of P150 and a change of operatorfee of P50.

Its officers are elected annually. The general assem-bly is the highest policy-making body of the associa-tion.

One accomplishment of the association was to se-cure their right of way to pass through M. H. delPilar street.

It also operates a queuing system for its memberswhere pedicab units form a line at an assigned postor station to pick up passengers. Though this systemassures a steady pick up of passengers and reducesthe mad rush of pedicab drivers in getting passen-gers, some member drivers can opt to leave thequeue and look for passengers in nearby streetsand areas. But there are “colorum” pedicab drivers(non members) who compete for passengers andcan disregard the queuing system. The association’sonly recourse is to convince them to becomemembers.

A major challenge for the association is for the localauthorities to recognise pedicab work as a legiti-mate job. Recognition will give the drivers the rightto ply their routes without fear of constant arrests.

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Anna Francisco and Tess Ilagan push pedals of pedi-cabs along M. H.del Pilar in Valenzuela, Bulacan. Bothare 38 years old and members of ISPODA.

Francisco and her husband own three pedicab units,two of which they ply and one they hire out to otherpedicab drivers making them both operators anddrivers. They have three children, all of who are still inelementary school. On the side, she takes on ironingand laundry jobs but finds that she gets fewer cus-tomers now. Her husband, too, has a sideline—clean-ing air-conditioned units which pays more than whathe earns from a day’s pedalling. Their combined in-come sends three children to school, pays the rentand utility bills, and provides for their daily needs.

Francisco’s day on the road starts at 5.30 in the morn-ing and ends at 7 in the evening. She takes an unusuallunch break: she goes home to feed lunch to herthree children and checks what they need for their af-ternoon class. Then off she plies the road again. Atnight, she tutors her children and attends to her fam-ily’s needs. On weekends, she washes and irons otherpeople’s clothes on top of her household chores. Thenshe goes off to collect the daily dues (butaw) fromher fellow members in the association.

Tess Ilagan on the other hand is the sole breadwinnerof her family—her old mother and three childrenaged 10, 13 and 15. She has been providing for herfamily since she left an abusive husband nine yearsago. She used to collect empty bottles which she sellsto bottle collectors. She decided to drive a pedicabbecause it brings in more income than selling usedbottles. Two years ago, luck smiled on her. By chance,she appeared on a local television show hosted byRaffy Tulfo. There she expressed her wish to own apedicab and her wish was granted.

Ilagan starts pushing the pedals at 5 in the morning till10 in the evening, earning around P150 to P180 a day;that feeds her family and sends her eldest child toschool. She goes home during lunch time not for her-self but to feed her children. She washes their clotheslate at night. Dog tired, once she woke up wet findingherself half-submerged in a basin of water and dirtyclothes.

To earn more, sometimes she’d rather leave thequeue of pedicab drivers once she has been giventheir permission to leave, and goes to the marketplacewhere she has better chances of getting more passen-gers. She still sells bottles on weekends from earlymorning up to 2 in the afternoon and plies the roadagain until evening. Her old mother worries over herdaughter’s safety but Ilagan has learned to steel herselffrom drunks and seedy men.

Both Francisco and Ilagan use their pedicabs for spe-cial services, that is, bringing children to and fromschool. They, however, are still paid the regular P5.00fee for each trip. Sometimes, the school children canonly pay P3 but both women continue to provide theservice. At least, they have regular customers and per-form services as good neighbours should.

Lorenzo Avila is 64 years old and has been a pedicab driver since 1997. Before that, he was a labourer ofPHILCAMCO, a mining company in Quezon province, for 18 years. When the company shut down in 1994,he moved his family to Valenzuela, Bulacan and earned his living doing carpentry jobs for three years beforehe became a pedicab driver.

He bought six pedicab units from his savings, five of which he would rent out to pedicab drivers and one hewould ply himself. Back then, one unit costed P2,500 while today, a unit costs P7,000 with an additional costof P150 for the umbrella. But, he sold five of his units in the succeeding years because it became too costly tomaintain damaged units and replace missing tyres. To maintain a pedicab unit, an operator must save for thefollowing items: “bulitas” that cost P12/set which usually come as a weekly expense, a chain, grease, a sprocketthat costs P75, and vulcanising for a flat tyre at P20 for an occurrence that can happen three times a day. Anew tyre on the other hand costs P380.

His family now survives from his income as a pedicab driver and from the proceeds of a small eatery man-aged by his wife.

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The SSVRMTODA used to be the San Agustin TricycleOperators’/Drivers’ Association when its route was inSan Agustin, founded sometime during the late 1980s.It came to be the SSVRMTODA when it was able tonegotiate with the home owners’ associations to serv-ice the Summerville and Southwest subdivisions.

It has 125 member operators and more or less a hun-dred drivers. Several of its members are retirees whobought tricycle units while a good number went intodriving tricycles because there was no other workavailable. Most of its members borrow money at usu-rious rates because their income cannot support theirfamily’s needs.

SSVRMTODA dispatches around 125 tricycle units aday to service the two subdivisions.

It offers the following programmes and services to itsmembers:

� accident insurance both for operators/drivers anddrivers maintained by an operator from the yearlycontribution of P200 from each member;

� a bag of groceries at the end of the year ;

� in case of death, the family of the deceased receivesP1,000 from the general fund, another thousandpesos from PEMADA on top of voluntary contribu-tions it collects from each member;

� an improved terminal for drivers: a pot hole wasfilled along the terminal road; a paved the terminalroad; and a hut that serves as a resting place fordrivers while waiting in line;

� regular meetings for drivers on traffic rules and reg-ulations, and how to conduct themselves properly.

The association collects a daily due of P8.00: P2.00goes to the dispatcher who also collects the dailydues and P6.00 goes to the operational costs of theassociation. It also gets a membership fee of P25,000and P4,000 for whose who change vehicle or owner.A member also gets to participate in raffle drawssponsored by the association with prizes like an elec-tric fan or a pump for tires. These raffle draws are alsoused as an incentive for its members to attend meet-ings.

It practices a participatory and consultative processamong its members and consensus building in arrivingat decisions. It has a set of officers and its highest pol-icy-making body is a general assembly.

A major concern of the association is the proliferationof private vehicles that are used as school buses. An-other concern is the yearly franchise of P2,000 whichis not commensurate to a driver’s income.

Internal issues also beset the association like the prac-tice by some of its officers of treating law enforcers tosnacks which can run up to P200 or more in a week;poor accounting of its books; petty graft and corrup-tion (some officers dip into the association’s funds orborrow money which never gets returned); and undis-ciplined drivers.

Joey Encabo, 36 years old, used to be a date encoder for the San Miquel Corporation but resigned in 2002 andopted to buy a tricycle unit from his savings. (Today, a tricycle with a permit to operate costs from P100,000 toP110,000).

He now finds it difficult to earn because of the continuing oil price hikes and expensive tricycle maintenancecosts, which can reach up to P5,000/month, sometimes even more. (A new tyre costs P400. The yearly licencerenewal costs P2,000.)

What tides his family over the difficult times are his savings from his former job, which are fast depleting andsupport from his parents. His wife, unfortunately, cannot get a job, hard though she tries to look for one. Withthree children and a recent major surgery, Joey knows he has to find a better job, fast. But he is not too hopefulbecause there are few job opportunities.

Southwest Summerville Via Verde TricycleOperators’/Drivers’ Association (SSVRMTODA) – Dasmariñas, Cavite

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Ipunan Cagayan de Oro MultipurposeCooperatives (Jeepney)(ICMC)

ICMC was established and registered with the Coop-erative Development Authority as a transport coop-erative in 1999. Its members are able buy what theyneed, ie auto supplies, from the organisation itself andat the same time enjoy the benefits of being a mem-ber of a cooperative. The organisation, however, is nota fully functioning cooperative because of a lack ofcapital.

ICMC began with 15 members and has grown to 270members—150 drivers and 120 operators. There areabout 10 women operator members but they are notactive in the association.

ICMC dispatches 100 units a day.

Its source of income comes from a percentage of rev-enues from the sales of a gasoline station (P.05/litre).The gasoline station is in the name of the organisationbut it does not own it because the capital investmentwas put up by a private investor.

It collects a membership fee of P10,000 and a dis-patching fee at P20/day.

It offers no programmes and services, but it was ableto formalise the route of its jeeps with the help of thefederation, which it considers to be its achievement.

However it faces several issues and concerns:

� The transport sector is the milking cow of the gov-ernment. For instance, the LTO procures computersbut drivers pay for these with the computer fee thatthe LTO collects from them every year. Or whenfor instance a fare increase is approved, the govern-ment is the first to gain from the increase ratherthan the drivers because they have to pay for thefare matrix; it can take months before it is issued tothe driver. And until the matrix is issued, drivers can-not charge the new increased rate.

� The transport sector is always blamed as the sourceof pollution but it is the government that allows theentry of junk vehicles/surplus engines into the coun-try that contributes heavily to pollution. Drivers buythese junk units because they are cheap. They, how-ever, suggest that the LTFRB can very well buy newengines and sell these to drivers on an easy instal-ment basis.

� At local level, the problem is how to operationalisethe cooperative, which lacks the necessary capital tomake it functional. There is also a need to instilamong members the spirit and values of coopera-tivism.

� It also needs to set up programmes for members sothat they value and appreciate their organisation.

Alexander Gutierrez, 46 years old, is an operator oftwo units of jeeps.

He became an operator in 1998 when his father gavehim one unit. Aside from being an operator, Gutierrezteaches at the Lyceo University.

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Crame-Papasok-Cubao Jeep Operators’/Drivers’ Association(CCODAP)

The CCODAP became a member of FERCODA inJanuary 2005. It maintains 289 units and has 134members.

Among its programmes and services are taking on theresponsibility of renewing the licence of its members,and providing medical assistance, death benefits anduniforms.

It collects a daily fee of P15 from each member, P5 ofwhich goes to operational costs of the association.

It encourages a participatory process among its mem-bers and practises consensus building. All its officersincluding board members are elected. The highest pol-icy-making body is the general assembly.

Police officers who demand bribes, the possibility theymay be phased out of their route and the continuingoil price hikes are a few of its major concerns. In addi-tion, the association wants to find ways of profession-alising their trade and gaining respect as jeepneydrivers.

Alfredo Franco L. Silva Jr. used to be an overseas Fil-ipino worker before he became an operator/driver ofa jeep in 2001. He worked as a farm manager inMalaysia, Australia, Thailand and Brunei for severalyears. He is the President and founding member ofthe association. Aside from driving, he engages in abuy and sell and “ukay-ukay” business.

Tricycle Operators’ and Drivers’ Association of Dasmariñas, Cavite, Inc.(TRODDAC)

TRODDAC which used to be DATODA (DasmariñasTricycle Operators’ and Drivers’ Association) was setup in 1988 and was formally registered in the SEC in1991. The new name also signalled a change of ways.Its former President was involved in undue arrests ofmembers by traffic enforcers for allegedly violatingtraffic rules. Members also found out that some for-mer officials had embezzled the association’s funds.Today, TRODDAC has a membership of 1,050 opera-tors/drivers and 250 drivers, 25 per cent of whom arewomen. Ten per cent of these women are active inthe association.

The association collects a membership fee of P10,000and P4,000 for a change of operator/owner. It collectsdaily dues of P7.00: P3.00 goes to the association andP4.00 goes to the member. All members are entitledto participate in raffle draws sponsored by the associ-ation.

On the other hand, the association pays a terminal feeof P1,500 to P2,000 to the barangay. It gives an al-lowance of P50 to Marimon (see member profilebelow) who keeps the daily records and collects thedaily dues of the association. It rents an office forP1,000 a month which is also used as a resting placefor its member drivers.

The programmes and services of the association are:

� payment of 50 per cent of penalties imposed ondrivers arrested who are not at fault

� assistance of P500 or more to defray expenses ofan injured driver

� burial assistance of P1,000 for operators and P500for drivers

� medical assistance of P500 or more.

The association has a set of officers and its highestpolicy-making body is the general assembly. It encour-ages a participatory and consultative process amongits members and consensus building.

The association boasts of disciplined and responsibledrivers. Members have a strong sense of unity and

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cannot be easily swayed by politicians. Perhaps due to its previous negative experience, it now swiftly addresses issues of corruption.

Some of its immediate concerns are:

� the immediate implementation (as of October2005) of a fare increase which it cannot implementbecause the MTFRB has not yet released the farematrix even if the drivers have already paid for itsrelease;

� the LGU’s persistent interference in their affairsover which it has no jurisdiction because the asso-ciation is a non-governmental organisation;

� a lack of awareness among its members of trafficrules and regulations;

� over-reliance of some members on the leadership.

To address their concerns, the association sees theneed for basic education programmes on traffic rulesand regulations and trainers’ training sessions on lead-ership for its members.

Irma Marimon, 36 years old, is a retired governmentemployee who used to be a teacher in high schooland at elementary level. She and her husband ven-tured into the tricycle business because of her hus-band’s preoccupation with motorised vehicles. Theynow own 11 tricycle units and operating them is theirmajor source of income. They also run a sari-saristore and a lending business. Marimon has been withthe association for the past seven years.

Villa Pampang Jeep Operators’ / Drivers’ Association (VIPJODA)

VIPJODA, as an association of operators and drivers,has existed since the 1960s but was formally estab-lished only in 1989. It has a membership of more than200 drivers and operator/drivers. It also has femalemembers who are all operators. A significant number1of its members were once overseas Filipino workersand several were once employed at the US Clark air-base. Though most of them could have landed inwhite collar jobs, there were however, few job oppor-tunities. Driving a jeep was the only available means ofearning a decent income.

A member of the association is entitled to a maxi-mum “allowance” of P800 at the end of the year but amember can get less if they have been remiss in pay-ing their P8 daily dues. It takes care of renewing the li-cences of its members and shoulders half of the feefor a new licence (P500). It also facilitates the process-ing of cases of members arrested for various infrac-tions.

Members are entitled to medical aid (P500). In casesof death, the bereaved family receives P2,000 in theform of aid.

Sources of income for the association are: daily duesof P8, membership fee of P5,000, and a change in op-erator fee of P3,000.

It observes and encourages a participatory processamong its members and makes decisions by consen-sus. All officers are elected annually. The highest policy-making body is the general assembly.

Securing the Sto. Domingo terminal in 1997 is seen asone of the association’s achievements. But it has hadto confront several issues like the illegal terminal ofTela Bastagan jeeps and the proliferation of “colorum”jeeps (jeeps that do not have a franchise to ply a spe-cific route) that encroach on the VIPJODA route, ineffect reducing their members’ share of passengers.Drivers complain that traffic rules and regulations arenot fairly enforced by the authorities: private vehiclestake up the parking spaces of jeeps, and drivers areoften victims of indiscriminate arrests.

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For better working conditions, drivers demand:

� lower diesel, crude oil, tyre and accessory costs;

� lower taxes

� strict and fair implementation of traffic rules andregulations

� seminars on traffic rules and regulations.

Alejandro Vergara, 58 years old, has known hard worksince he was 14 years old when he was a labourer,carrying sacks of cement. The eldest in the family, hetook on the responsibility of providing for his motherand siblings when his father died. He became a car-penter and a mason before learning to drive in 1986.Back then, he earned as much as P400/day which wassufficient for his own growing family. Now, it is increas-ingly becoming difficult to earn from driving with thesteady increase in oil prices. His wife takes in laundrywork and sells fruit to school children to augmenttheir income.

To illustrate that life has become more difficult, he es-timates a year’s schooling for his daughter, a student ina local college, to reach P20,000, inclusive of tuitionfees, school supplies and other expenses for schoolprojects. He is always in debt because his incomefrom driving can no longer support his family’s needs.Before, he had savings from which he used to buildhouses for his three daughters who got married. Now,he cannot even buy one single hollow block.

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DDaattee RReessppoonnddeenntt//ss PPoossttiioonn ooff RReessppoonnddeenntt iinn FFeeddeerraattiioonn//LLooccaall

NNaammee ooff FFeeddeerraattiioonn//LLooccaall

22 August 2005 Bren Sayasa Secretary-General National TransportUnion (NTU)

24 August 2005,LEARN Office, 10.30am – 12 NN

Rudy de Guzman President Pangkalahatang Sama-han ng Drivers at Op-erators sa AngelesCity (PASADA);

27 August 2005, 9 am– 12 NN, Pala-pala,Dasmariñas, Cavite

Delfin Encabo Gary de JesusJonathan GregorioFelino MantileJulieto Cipriano

PresidentVice PresidentAuditorSecretaryBoard Member

Pederasyon ng mgaMagtratraysikel sa Das-mariñas (PEMADA)

27 August 2005, 1.20pm – 3.40 pm, Silang,Cavite

Jaime Aguilar Adviser and FoundingMember

Federation of SilangTricycle Operatorsand Drivers Assn(FEDSTODA)

29 August 2005, 9.30am-12NN, Sto.Domingo Terminal, Angeles City

12 NN – 2pm, ClarkEPZA terminal, Angeles City

Alejandro Vergara

Medardo Mallari

Member

Vice President

Villa Pampanga JeepOperators/DriversAssn (VIPJODA)

Angeles Jeep Opera-tors/Drivers Assn

2 September 2005,2.40 pm-3.15pm,Araneta Center,Cubao

4pm-6.10 pm

Patrick VergaraRolando Iñigo

Alfredo Franco L. Silva Jr.

Secretary GeneralFounding Member

President

Federation of EasternRizal Cubao OperatorDrivers Alliance Inc.(FERCODA)

Crame-Papasok-Cubao Operators/Drivers Assn(CCODAP)

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DDaattee RReessppoonnddeenntt//ss PPoossttiioonn ooff RReessppoonnddeenntt iinn FFeeddeerraattiioonn//LLooccaall

NNaammee ooff FFeeddeerraattiioonn//LLooccaall

3 September 2005,2pm – 6.15, AranetaCenter, Cubao

Dolfo EnsilaresCarlos Gutierrez

Antonio Ricayco

Founding Members

Board Member

GRUDO (GroupUnited Drivers/Opera-tors)

Binangonan Jeep Op-erators/Drivers Assn(BATCJODA)

8 September 2005,8.30 am – 4pm, Das-mariñas, Cavite

Joey Encabo Member Southwest Sum-merville Via VerdeManuela Tricycle Oper-ators/Drivers Assn(SSVRMTODA)

8 September 2005,8.30 am – 4pm, Das-mariñas, Cavite

Irma Marimon Treasurer Tricycle Operatorsand Drivers Associa-tion of Dasmariñas,Cavite Inc (TROD-DAC)

8 September 2005,8.30 am – 4pm, Das-mariñas, Cavite

Tirso Sarabusab President First Cavite IndustrialEstate Tricycle Opera-tors/Drivers Assn

12 September 2005,3.15-6pm, Valenzuela

Roberto G. ArbisRicardo Eslopar

PresidentMember

Valenzuela PedicabOperators and Driv-ers Alliance Inc.(VALPODA)

27 September 2005,Valenzuela2pm – 4pm, LEARNOffice

Jojo Regala NTU organizer TODARVA (TricycleOperators/DriversAssn of Rizal Village,Ayala)

DDaattee RReessppoonnddeenntt//ss PPoossttiioonn ooff RReessppoonnddeenntt iinnFFeeddeerraattiioonn//LLooccaall

NNaammee ooff FFeeddeerraattiioonn//LLooccaall

30 September 2005,Valenzuela

Anna FranciscoTess IlaganLorenzo Avila

Members ISPODA (Isabelo Fer-nando Pedicab Opera-tors/Drivers Assn)

30 September 2005,Valenzuela

Jonathan Fuentebella President Adriano Pedicab Op-erators/Drivers Assn

1 October 2005,Valenzuela

Serafin Gonzalez President Malanday PedicabDrivers Assn

1 October 2005,Muntinlupa

Edgar Baylon President TODARVA (TricycleOperators/DriversAssn of Rizal Village,Ayala)

November 05 (?),Davao

Manuel T Duran President SEMDDOC (South-eastern Mindanao Di-versified Drivers andOperators Coopera-tive)

November 05,Davao

Alexander Manopa Secretary CRADO Route 11(Circulatory RouteDrivers/OperatorsCooperative)

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November 05,Davao

Erleen Estrellante President SODAPODA (SouthDavao Drivers/Opera-tors Association)

November 05,Davao

Edwin Tumanac President MACODA (MatinaCrossing Drivers/Op-erators Association)

November 05,Davao

Chris Duldulao President SODCO (Sasa Opera-tors/Drivers Coopera-tive)

November 06 (?),Cagayan de Oro

Virgilio Valmoria President TRAFECO (TransportFederation of Cagayande Oro City)

November 06,Cagayan de Oro

Nic Flores President LJODA (Lapasan Jeep-ney Operators DriversAssociation)

November 06,Cagayan de Oro

Alexander Gutierrez President ICMC (Ipunan Ca-gayan de Oro Multi-purpose Cooperative)

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