Category Archives: Economy

WALMART WILL PAY BELOW MINIMUM WAGE BEGINNING NEXT YEAR, CEO SAYS

December 10, 2014 Pol Pinoy Leave a comment

Bentonville, Arkansas (The Adobo Chronicles) – Last October, Walmart CEO Doug McMillon announced future plans regarding wages at the big box giant chain store so that no worker is paid the federally mandated minimum of $7.25 an hour.

In an interview on Wednesday morning, he appeared to have set himself a deadline of early 2015 for this change.

“We’re going to make changes in a few months that will create a situation where no Walmart associate in the United States makes federal minimum wage,” McMillon told ‘CBS This Morning’ co-host Charlie Rose in a rare, fairly wide-ranging sit-down discussion.

McMillon, who at 48 is the youngest CEO of Walmart since founder Sam Walton, agreed with Rose’s assertion that the perception of Walmart — as a low-wage, dead-end employer, doubtlessly — differs from the reality of the business he runs.

McMillon’s announcement angered thousands of Walmart associates who, along with their allies in the labor movement, have been protesting working conditions and wages at the world’s largest private employer for the last three years. “Now we’ll even be paid below the federal wage,” they said in protest.

It was, of course, a misunderstanding of what McMillon said during the interview. What he really wanted to say was that no Walmart employee will be paid the minimum wage and that instead, they will be paid above the minimum wage.

It looks like McMillon’s communications manager is not doing a good job.

Economy

PHILIPPINE HOUSEMAIDS, DRIVERS FINALLY ATTAIN NEW CLASS STATUS

November 21, 2014 Pol Pinoy Leave a comment

Makati, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles) – In the Philippines, as in many countries, there are three classes of people — rich, middle class, and poor. The gap between and among these three classes has all but widened over many decades.

But finally, Filipino housemaids and drivers have earned their own class distinction. While they are free to interact with the rich, they are not allowed in the same elevators with their employers or bosses. They either have to use service elevators, if available, or use the stairwell.

This new social class has emerged as the Philippines continues to experience an infrastructure boom, especially in condominium buildings.

Many condominiums in Makati and other Philippine metropolitan areas have implemented a policy barring housemaids, drivers and contractors from using elevators reserved for condo owners and tenants.

FullSizeRender (13) The new class system surfaced after a memorandum from a condo property manager was posted on Facebook. The memo, addressed to unit owners and tenants, stated:

“We would like once again to request all Unit Owners and Tenants to remind their household employees, i.e., drivers, housemaids, outside contractors, to strictly use the Service Elevator only.”

“The administration office has had a number of enquiries from owners in the building on why helpers are using the Passenger Elevators when only Unit Owners/Tenants and their guests are allowed to the Passenger Elevators.”

Apparently, this is a common practice in many condos in Metro Manila.

Overjoyed with their newly-attained class status, housemaids and drivers have expressed relief that finally, they are being afforded the special recognition they have long clamored for.

Business, Economy, International, Law Enforcement

CANADA TO PHILIPPINES: RETURNS NOT ACCEPTED ON GARBAGE EXPORT

October 9, 2014 Pol Pinoy Leave a comment

Ontario, Canada (The Adobo Chronicles) – A total of fifty 40-foot container vans of garbage recently arrived in Manila’s International Container Port. It was supposed to be an export of scrap plastic materials for recycling, consigned to a Metro Manila trading firm by a Canadian company identified as Chronic Plastics.

It turns out that the shipment contained mostly toxic garbage, and was in violation of the Philippines’ Tariff and Customs Code, better known as the “Toxic Substances and Hazardous Wastes Control Act of 1990.”

Alerts were promptly issued on the shipment because the consignee had submitted incorrect documents for the importation, which has a declared value of over $220,000.

Ariel Nepomuceno, customs deputy commissioner for enforcement, warned “this junk dumped in the Philippines could pose biohazard risks to our people.”

Both the Bureau of Customs and the consignee firm have asked the Canadian shipper to take back the garbage. However, Chronic Plastics laughed the request off, saying that it has a policy of “No return, no exchange.”

A spokesperson for Chronic Plastics said that all sales are final, especially for garbage waste. “The only way we can accept a return is if the Philippines can assure us that the return shipment will be in the exact same condition as when it first left the Canadian port,” he said.

That doesn’t seem to be possible, as it was reported that garbage juice is now leaking from the container vans. It’s been sitting for almost a year now at the Customs container yard and shipping it back to Canada will take another 3 months.