Bacolod City – Various labor groups in Negros island will unite and come together today May 1 in Bacolod City, under the banner of the United Labor Alliance – Negros, a press release from the organizers said.
ULAN demonstrates a strong and broad unity in calling for P750 across-the-board national minimum wage, the lowering of prices of goods, and other economic demands of the workers amidst the worsening crisis brought upon by the US-Marcos Jr. regime.
ULAN aims to uphold the militant history of May 1 Labor Day, which originated from the struggle for an 8-hour workday in Chicago, USA in 1886.
The group will greet this historic day with a massive mobilization and a short program at the Bacolod City Replica along Araneta-Gonzaga streets, Bacolod.
Workers are the lifeblood of society, breaking their backs to generate wealth and keep the economy afloat. Yet, they are the ones who suffer the most and bear the brunt of the economic crisis, their statement said.
In Negros island, the inflation rate remains stubbornly high (12.2 percent as of January), making it increasingly difficult for workers to survive. The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) has approved a measly increase in the daily minimum wage of workers in the province.
This increase is not enough to make up for the value lost due to the rising cost of goods that outpace the wage hike. For hacienda workers, it is even worse as the “pakyaw system” or piece-meal rate is prevalent. They earn as little as P50 for a day of back-breaking work under the sweltering sun. Workers are left with no choice but to make ends meet with their slave-like wages, while the elite continue to accumulate more wealth.
Despite being the backbone of the nation, workers are also maligned and hindered from organizing themselves into unions. Worse, they are branded as “communist sympathizers” and harassed by the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) and other state forces, thus further undermining their right to demand better wages and working conditions. Trade union organizers are imprisoned, and worse, even killed for fighting for their basic rights. Before Duterte’s term ended, two labor organizers were abducted and have yet to be found.
During Marcos Jr.’s first 6 months in office, the Center for Trade Union and Human Rights (CTUHR) documented 29 cases of harassment and intimidation against workers, four cases of illegal arrest, and several trumped-up cases.
The ruling elite also perpetuate widespread unemployment, underemployment, and precarious working conditions to keep worker wages low in the face of rising inflation. The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) states that 4.8 percent of the country is unemployed and 14.1 percent are underemployed, compelling many Filipinos to seek work abroad, displacing them from their homeland and loved ones. The government’s Labor Export Policy encourages the exportation of cheap labor to foreign countries, while neglecting to generate local job opportunities or develop national industries, the statement added.
ULAN also vehemently denounces the government’s push for charter change, which would only serve to increase our reliance on foreign investors who come to exploit our labor laws and meager wages.
These so-called “job creators” are not interested in building a sustainable national economy, but rather in enslaving Filipinos and exploiting their labor for the benefit of capitalists. Furthermore, charter change would pave the way for more privatization of essential services, as evidenced by the ongoing privatization of utilities like BACIWA and CENECO, they concluded. (News & photo courtesy of ULAN)