MANILA, Philippines – Representatives of labor organizations called out President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. for his upcoming meeting with United States President Joe Biden instead of Filipino workers on Labor Day, May 1.

“Ngayong Mayo 1, mas pinili pa ni Presidente BBM (Bongbong Marcos) na harapin ang Presidente ng Estados Unidos na si Biden kaysa mga manggagawang Pilipino. Dapat Pilipino muna bago Kano. Malayo ka man, Mr. President, titiyakin namin na makakarating sa ‘yo ang panawagan ng manggagawa, mamamayan, at naghihinatay kami sa iyong tugon,” said Kilusang Mayo Uno chairman Elmer Labog on Wednesday, April 26.

(This May 1, President BBM chose to meet with US President Biden over Filipino workers. Filipinos should come first. Although you will be far away, Mr. President, we will make sure that you will receive the calls of workers and citizens, and we will be waiting for your response.)

On Wednesday, various trade union centers and labor organizations came together in a press conference to signify a unified call: jobs for all, living wages, the end of contractualization, and the upholding of workers’ rights. They identified all together as the All Philippine Trade Unions, and announced their plans to mobilize around 10,000 of their members for Labor Day protests on Monday, May 1.

Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino president Luke Espiritu anticipated that Marcos was going to go abroad to promote Philippine labor and attract potential investors, a practice that he has done in previous overseas trips. (READ: Marcos brings home ‘promise of new investments,’ Maharlika Fund tips from Swiss trip)

“Last year, he went to America and Europe to promote Philippine labor as young, high quality, and cost-efficient. That is simply a euphemism to signify cheap, flexible, and precarious labor. And because of that direction of our government…. the figures are really unfortunate for our workers,” Espiritu said in a mix of English and Filipino.

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Labog also condemned the brutal killing of business process outsourcing (BPO) industry labor organizer Alex Dolorosa in Bacolod. His body was found with multiple stab wounds on Monday, April 24, in Barangay Alijis.

Labor groups Nagkaisa and Women Workers United stressed the need to uphold workers’ freedom to associate.

“Depriving someone of the right to life diminishes us all. We are all part of the greater humanity. As trade unions, we are in solidarity with one another. Thus, we must defend, promote, and protect our individual rights to decent life, security of tenure in our work, as well as our rights to organize and engage in collective bargaining,” said Rene Magtubo of the Nagkaisa labor coalition.

Supporting MSMEs, women

The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP), which has a seat at the House of Representatives, called for the passage of the wage recovery bill. The bill seeks to provide an across-the-board increase of P150 in daily wages of private sector workers, as well as subsidies for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) through the budget of the Department of Labor and Employment.

TUCP legislative officer Paul Gajes said that this was especially needed amid inflation and loss of purchasing power.

“We believe that this is an urgent, actionable, and reasonable course of action that we should take through legislation because both workers and businesses are badly hit by the surging inflation, continue to suffer to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Russia-Ukraine war, and the ill effects of climate change,” said Gajes.

Meanwhile, Jacqueline Ruiz of the Kilusan ng Manggagawang Kababaihan highlighted the existing gender wage gap.

“Makakaresolba ang pagtataas ng sahod upang kahit papaano ay masolusyonan itong tinatawag nating wage gap between sa sahod ng mga manggagawang kababaihan at kalalakihan. At the same time, maiibsan ‘yung iba pang ikinakaharap na burden ng mga kababaihan dahil sila rin po ay mga ina. Pagkatapos ng trabaho sa kanya kanyang mga pagawaan, government offices, ay babalik bilang mga nanay,” said Ruiz.

(Raising wages will help solve the wage gap between the salaries of women and men. At the same time, it will relieve some of the women’s burdens because some of them are mothers. After they go to work in their offices, they come home as mothers.)

A 2022 study of the Philippine Institute for Development Studies found that women earn 18.4% less than men in digital jobs. – Rappler.com