DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 1 May) — Progressive groups here commemorated Labor Day by calling for ₱1,200 minimum wage amid the continued increase in the prices of basic commodities.
Members of the Kilusang Mayo Uno-Southern Mindanao (KMU-SMR), Anakbayan Southern Mindanao, Kabataan Southern Mindanao, and Bayan Muna partylist, among others, gathered along Roxas Avenue fronting Ateneo de Davao University, urging the national government to work on increasing the minimum wage to a living wage nationwide.
The call for a ₱1,200 minimum “living” wage started in 2023, but Rauf Sissay, Bayan Muna Southern Mindanao coordinator, said this proposed wage hike remains pending in Congress.
“Nagatuo kami og gina-recognize namo nga kinahanglan na gyud og alibyo ang mga mamumuo ug mga katawhan, labi na nga naga-experience sila sa mga kamahal sa mga palaliton ug uban pang economic challenges We believe and recognize that the workers and the people need to be relieved of their hardships, more so because they have been experiencing high prices of basic commodities and other economic challenges),” Sisay told the media at the sidelines of their protest Thursday morning.
For Romelito Pablo, chairperson of KMU-SMR, the wage hike is long overdue and is needed because of the present administration’s mismanagement of inflation and the rising prices of basic needs.
“Ang atong inflation, mao kana ang hinungdan nga ang atong trabahante walay pahuway sa ilang pagpanarbaho tungod kanunay silang gaapas sa ilang ekonomikanhong panginahanglan (Inflation causes our workers to work tirelessly to make ends meet for their economic needs),” Pablo said.
He added that the available jobs for Filipinos are not sustainable and could not even answer basic needs.
Pablo pointed out that workers are being discouraged to exercise their freedom of association, or to form workers’ unions as their leaders are repeatedly “harassed and red-tagged.”
He cited the case of 63-year-old labor organizer William Lariosa who was reportedly abducted April 10 last year in Barangay Butong, Quezon, Bukidnon by “suspected military agents” as one of the harassments of labor groups under the Marcos Jr. administration.
As of today, Lariosa remains missing.
Pablo took a swipe at the government’s move to sell rice at ₱20 per kilo, which was launched in the Visayas on Labor Day, saying that the government should instead subsidize the production of rice, including expenses for farm inputs, rather than selling rice at a “cheaper yet poor quality rice, which can be unsustainable.”
During the rally, protesters called on the government to eradicate corruption, eradicate anti-people economic policies, end political dynasties, abolishing the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC), among others. (Ian Carl Espinosa / MindaNews)
