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Unionizing the institution through the lens of the workers

Oppressive a perfect word that describes an idea of injustices, abuse or unfair


treatment to the people. Paulo Freire in his masterpiece the Pedagogy of the
Oppressed defines the central problem for a man is the problem of humanization. To
allude the introduction of my favorite philosophy mentor Prof. Julius Poli, he said
What makes a human, a being? Or we are all human beings but only few can be
called Human.
Our employment rate increases at the year of 2015 and it simply shows that our
economy is vastly improving. Employment record in the Philippines last July in this
year is now at the estimated number of 94.6% and majority of the age of the
employed individuals range from 18- 35 years old. Basically employing the young
guns for the betterment of the company. However, in this 21 st century wherein our
nation is boosting its literacy rate of 99% due to its action in education, our country
fails develop critical thinking skills to its people and it is a failure of educational
system why the laborers in the age of economic booming became dehumanize.
Literacy doesnt mean able to read and write, it also means baptizing the person to
its humanitarian rights thus perceiving, interpret, criticize and transform the world
about them.
Thus, the birth of the union came to answer the plea of the oppress. In every
institution, there must be a union of workers to serve as the voice of the people, the
legal face of the people, the manifestation of administrators decisions to its worker.
Hence, union can help the workers to voice out their rights. It is an advantage to the
employers rather than disadvantage, it is a humanitarian approach to set aside
personal interest and listen to its workers. In the history of the catholic church, Pope
Leo XIII published his encyclical entitled Rerum Novarum (On the Condition of
Labor) that a worker had a right to a wage sufficient to support the worker and his
or her family. The workers rights also extended, said Pope Leo, to reasonable hours,
rest periods, health safeguards, and a decent work environment. In 1981 Pope joh
Paul II published his encyclical entitled Labaorem Exercems which he asserted the
fundamental principle of the priority of labor over capital. While in actual fact
capital has organized itself against labor in our society, John Paul II insists that
capital exists to serve labor. Similarly, in education, the teachers which are the most
underpaid professionals in the country faces sort of oppression in their work and
schools discouraged building of unions inside the institution because unions are
associated to the reds or left, which is a wrong belief. Lefts and unions shared the
same principle and that is to provide an equality and eradicating injustice in
workplace, they fight the same enemies but they are different ideologically.
If an educational institution is promoting literacy and improving the lives of its
students how come that the school discouraged the building of union of employees?

How come they are promoting equality, communal life, and harmony but rejected
the pleas of its employees? Is it a huge amount of hypocrisy or a blatant lie to their
conviction? Or just a drawing of faith in God? Remember God is near to those who
are poor and oppress.
I believe in communicative action of Jurgen Habermas that in order to achieve
equality and to address the problem what we need is a dialogue, a collective
dialogue of both parties and a mediator to solve the conflict. I believe in practicing
fairness and true to its principle and conviction. I believe that aligning our faith with
work is important and relevant to the needs of the workers and lastly, I believe that
through the union, it creates a face of the people to counter and check if the
administration is practicing fairness and equality to its workers.

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