This year’s observance of Labor Day will be marked, as usual, by two completely opposing views on the situation of the Filipino working class.
On the one hand, no less than the President himself will undoubtedly cite in his speech government efforts to protect the rights and enhance the welfare of our workers.
On the other, we can also expect protest rallies by labor groups decrying the government’s failure to live up to its pledges to improve the lot of Filipino workers and demand wage increases.
The militant Kilusang Mayo Uno has served notice it expects around 10,000 workers to participate in a massive protest rally on Labor Day.
What’s different this year, however, is that government will give financial aid to workers amid calls for wage hikes.
According to the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), it will distribute ₱1.8 billion worth of financial assistance to workers as wage hike petitions remain under review.
The cash-for-work TUPAD program will grant ₱100 million worth of salaries to qualified beneficiaries.
The agency will also release around ₱50 million for livelihood assistance to workers nationwide.
But will government accede to the demand for wage hikes?
There are currently eight petitions filed across regions calling for an increase in the minimum wage of workers in the country.
DOLE, however, appears in no hurry to grant wage increases at this time, and says the working class will have to wait for the process already in place to determine whether there is a need to revise the existing minimum wages in different parts of the country.
Wage boards can only act on wage petitions a year after the last wage order.
The labor groups want a ₱530 peso increase in the minimum wage in Metro Manila.
The current minimum wage of workers in the National Capital Region is at ₱570. The think tank IBON Foundation, however, believes the family living wage in NCR is ₱1,161 per day.
In other words, there’s a wage gap of 50.9 percent or ₱591.
At present, there are 58 bills in the House of Representatives and 21 in the Senate seeking to increase the wages and salaries of workers and employees both in the public and private sectors.
An ordinary factory worker earning the minimum wage can barely support a family of five amid rising prices.
The trade unions are therefore justified in asking for higher wages and more benefits, and the least the government should do is to allow them to ventilate their grievances.
After all, Labor Day is a day for honoring the working class and recognizing their contributions to building the national economy.