Marcos asks labor to just ‘keep going’ as wage hike clamor grows
President Marcos on Friday stopped short of offering a clear commitment to the labor sector despite intensifying demands for a nationwide wage hike, which has been made more urgent by the Middle East crisis.
The President, in his Labor Day statement, called workers the “backbone” of the country, but the only piece of good news was the Department of Labor and Employment’s (Dole) announcement of higher daily minimum wages ranging from P475 to P500 for those in Regions 10 (Northern Mindanao) and 13 (Caraga).
Workers took to the streets calling for a P1,200 wage hike, job security, and urgent relief from rising prices.
“Since the conflict in West Asia erupted, the United States and its allies have dragged workers and people in the Philippines and around the world into a quicksand of severe hunger, poverty, and suffering,” Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) said in a statement.
It called out the Marcos administration for being tight-lipped, antiworker and useless.
“The fight must continue for an end to the war, the attainment of a living wage of P1,200 nationwide, lowering the prices of goods and removing [value-added tax] and excise taxes, ensuring regular, decent, and safe jobs, respecting the right to unionize and organize, and putting a stop to the repression of the people,” it added.
Labor and union groups assembled along España Boulevard while some converged at Welcome Rotunda early Friday before they headed to Mendiola.
Members of the Nagkaisa Labor Coalition, including KMU, Trade Union Congress of the Philippines, Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino, together with transport, youth, and sectoral groups, joined the march.
Mr. Marcos, in his speech at the 124th Labor Day celebration in General Santos City, affirmed the government’s commitment to provide decent jobs to Filipinos.
He touted the more than 250,000 jobseekers who were hired on the spot at job fairs and over 5 million who graduated from the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority’s Technical-Vocational Education and Training since he assumed office in 2022.
Backbone of economy
Mr. Marcos also encouraged Filipino workers to keep going despite current challenges.
“Fellow Filipinos, there is a Visayan word with a moving meaning: ‘Padayon,’” the President said. “Keep going. The livelihood of Filipino workers continues steadily. Government support continues as well. Because through continuous action, we will also overcome all challenges.”
“Padayon” is a Visayan word meaning “to continue,” “move forward,” or “keep going.”
In his statement released earlier in the day, Mr. Marcos said Labor Day was for honoring “every member of our workforce whose hands carry the weight of our shared future—whether at sunrise, beneath the noonday heat, or in the long hours when the nation sleeps.”
“As we face changing economic pressures, rest assured that this administration stands firm in defending the dignity of every Filipino by creating more and better jobs, boosting worker protection, and broadening pathways for all to succeed,” he said. “You are, and will always be, the backbone of our Republic.”
In response, KMU called Mr. Marcos’ statement a huge “hypocrisy.”
“Backbone, backbone? We only have bones left. All that is left of the workers are bones and skin,” KMU said in a statement.
It stressed that they may be honored in words, but wage earners “have nothing to eat because the right to a living wage and decent work is not recognized.”
Minimum wage hikes
The Alliance of Concerned Teachers also decried the government’s constant failure to uphold and promote workers’ rights.
It reiterated the group’s longs-tanding demand, which has dragged on for years, for a P50,000 entry-level salary for public and private school teachers across levels, as well as a P36,000 basic pay for government workers under Salary Grade 1 of the salary standardization law.
Beginning May 1, the daily minimum wage in Region 10 increased to P500 from P485 after the implementation of the second tranche of P14. The first tranche of P25, which took effect on Jan. 16, raised the minimum wage to P471.
The daily minimum wage in Caraga, meanwhile, increased to P475 after the second P20 hike took effect on Friday. The first P20 hike, implemented on Jan. 3, brought the wage to P455.
Dole said the second tranche of wage increases in Regions VIII (Eastern Visayas) and IX (Zamboanga Peninsula) amounting to P18 and P25, respectively, will take effect on June 1.
Regions V (Bicol) and XI (Davao) are also set to receive the second tranche of their wage adjustments later this year.
Based on the latest data from the Philippine Statistics Authority, the number of unemployed Filipinos declined to 2.66 million in February, translating to a 5.1-percent unemployment rate. This is an improvement from 5.8 percent, or 2.96 million in January, which was the highest since June 2022. —WITH A REPORT FROM KATHLEEN DE VILLA
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