Piston sets Sept. 19 strike as Malacañang dialogue gave nothing “concrete”

Piston sets Sept. 19 strike as Malacañang dialogue gave nothing “concrete”

The transport groups issued the announcement amidst efforts by Malacañang to scuttle and threaten the planned strike of the transport sector against oil overpricing, taxes, numerous fees and penalties.

By MARYA SALAMAT
Bulatlat.com

MANILA – A day after the “disappointing” dialogue with President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III in Malacañang, the Pagkakaisa ng mga Samahan ng Tsuper at Opereytor Nationwide (Piston) and other transport groups in Metro Manila and other regions declared that they will push through with their planned strike on Sept 19, Monday.

The transport groups issued the announcement amidst efforts by Malacañang to scuttle and threaten the planned strike of the transport sector against oil overpricing, taxes, numerous fees and penalties.

San Mateo said they attended the dialogue in Malacañang “with an open mind.” But President Aquino left them with no choice but to proceed with their planned strike, as Aquino gave “no concrete response” on their demand for a rollback in pump prices to correct the oil overpricing, to scrap the oil deregulation law, suspend or scrap the value-added tax on oil products and toll fees. Aquino’s response boils down to “open-ended, very general promises to review” the said issues, said George San Mateo, secretary general of Piston, in a press conference in Quezon City.

Aquino’s response of ordering a “review” of the Downstream Oil Industry Deregulation Law is not yet the worst of it, said San Mateo, because it “aims to strengthen, and not scrap, the oil deregulation law.”

This is so way off the transport sector’s demand, San Mateo said. Piston and other transport and progressive groups have blamed the oil deregulation law for “allowing the Big Three oil cartel to raise prices of petroleum products without any government control.”.... MORE

Source:  Bulatlat.com

URL: http://bulatlat.com/main/2011/09/16/piston-deems-malacanang-dialogue-a-failure-vows-to-push-through-with-sept-19-strike/