By ALDWIN QUITASOL
www.nordis.net

“After all, the best part of a holiday is perhaps not so much to be resting yourself, as to see all the other fellows busy working.”— Kenneth Grahame

While people making lists and buying special gifts, transport workers have no vacation on Christmas and New Year celebrations making time and be kind enough to render service for one and all. It is the time of year when the passengers swarm to the bus stations to catch up with the available trips to be in time for their loved ones in the celebrations of Christmas and New Year.

A transport worker who is busy assisting the passengers waiting for their bus ride was asked how they will celebrate the holidays. He answered with a smile that although they want to be with their families during the season, all their leaves were canceled to attend to the transport demand that day. He said if they choose to go on with their cravings and attend the holiday revelry, the management might just declare them AWOL (absent without leave) and they will be suspended or worse get fired.

The man said that it was his 5th Christmas time to be away from his family and that he feels sad every time he sees families who are traveling home together or people who are rushing to get to their love ones. He said, to comfort his mind, he just thinks of the security of his job for his family’s sake, and that at the same time he is doing good to make other people happy. After all, he said, that is the spirit of Christmas, making people happy is the greatest gift rather than spending extravagantly for material things.

The worker let out another sad sigh as he answered that their pay was still the same regular one. He only hopes the boss will be considerate enough and give them “pangkonsuelo de bobo”.

Some security guards, medical workers, gasoline boys among others were also featured on national TV as people who weere going to spend the holidays without their families. Their jobs required that they should render service round the clock.

All over the globe, Christmas, New Year, and other holidays cannot be truly celebrated without the workers who have to get the job done. Who made the decorations? who produced the toys? accessories and other things for the gifts? who processed the foods and put them in packages for the holiday celebrants to avail of, if not the workers.

Surely, most of them aside from wanting to be with their family during holidays dream of secured jobs, livable wage and just benefits and respect for their labor rights to a decent living. For them these are the greatest gifts they wish for.#www.nordis.net