Organized labor, in a display of solidarity, will troop to
Mendiola on Labor Day to demand an increase in wages, an end to
contractualization and the full recognition of the right to freely unionize.
At a press conference today, the All Philippine Trade Unions
(APTU) announced that it will gather more than 10,000 workers and march from
España to Mendiola in the morning of May 1 to collectively air their demands.
The APTU, composed of the Nagkaisa! Labor Coalition,
Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU), Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP),
Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino (BMP) and a host of other trade union centers
and confederations, was established in January 2023 as workers submitted its
report on the state of freedom of association in the Philippines to ILO High
Level Tripartite Mission that looked into the killings of trade union leaders
and other FOA violations since 2016.
“Wages should climb together with productivity because it is
only right and just that workers, who create the wealth of our nation, get
their fair share of our economic growth. Workers cannot wait anymore and
workers definitely deserve better,” said Paul Gajes, Legislative Officer of the
Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP).
There are petitions for wage increase in almost all regions,
even as proposed measures for wage increase have been filed in both Houses of
Congress, ranging from Php 150 to Php 750.
“Workers will march on May 1 to press for Malacañang’s
position on our demands for an inclusive roadmap to achieve decent work, an
immediate action to the popular clamor for immediate wage increase and an end
to impunity among other matters. Titiyakin naming maririnig ang sigaw ng
manggagawang Pilipino saanman sa mundo,” said Elmer Labog, chairperson of
Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU).
Protest actions have also been planned in different parts of
the country.
“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.
Magtubo is referring to the joint workers report submitted
by the APTU to the ILO-HLTM that that documented 68 trade union killings and
hundreds of violations of the right to freedom of association, thus the need
for whole of government approach to better guard labor rights.
"Milyong-milyon ang walang trabaho, at kung meron man,
karamihan ay kontraktwal. Hamon natin sa gobyerno: ibasura ang Department Order
174, iwaksi ang kontraktwalisasyon, at igarantiya ang regular at ligtas na
trabaho para sa lahat,” said Atty Luke Espiritu, president of Bukluran ng
Manggagawang Pilipino (BMP).
Ending contractualization remains high in the priority list
of organized labor.
"Low wages, rising prices, contractualization and
workplace violence are hitting working women the hardest. Raising the minimum
wage would considerably benefit women workers who are disproportionately
concentrated in low-wage, precarious jobs and help close the gender wage gap.
The current administration should pass the security of tenure bills in both the
public and private sectors, and ratify ILO Convention 190 on the elimination of
violence and harassment in the world of work,” said Annie Geron of Women Workers
United (WWU). The WWU was formed parallel to the APTU.
PRESS RELEASE
All Philippine Trade Unions
26 April 2003
Contact Rene Magtubo @ 09178532905
Nagkaisa Spokesperson
