Militant trade union center Kilusang Mayo Uno slammed anti-wage hike statements from various government officials as “walang puso sa manggagawa.” (no heart for workers)
DOLE Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma, and representatives Joey Salceda and Stella Quimbo recently said wage hikes are “inflationary” and “will kill MSMEs” in response to proposals in the Senate for a P100 legislated wage hike.
“Bukas, Araw na ng mga Puso. Pero may mga opisyal ng gobyerno na walang puso sa’ting mga manggagawa. Ang gusto ata nila, magdumilat ang manggagawa sa gutom habang bilyun-bilyon ang tubo ng mga negosyante. Eh sino ba nagtrabaho doon, di ba tayong mga manggagawa?” said KMU secretary general Jerome Adonis.
KMU highlighted that big employers using MSMEs as an excuse is already a tired argument. Labor productivity rose to around 1,000,000 per worker per year in 2021 from 780,000 per worker per year in 2012. In 2022, the Philippines’ Top 1000 Corporations garnered a total revenue of P16.7 trillion, highlighting their capacity to provide wage increases.
“Mas malaki ang bilang ng manggagawa na nagtatrabaho sa malalaking korporasyon kumpara sa MSMEs. Sa katunayan, kaming mga nangangampanya para sa dagdag-sahod ay nananawagan din ng wage subsidy upang agapayan ng gobyerno ang maliliit na negosyo na maibigay ang dagdag-sahod.” said Adonis.
KMU asserted that Wage Rationalization Act, and other government policies contributed to the extremely inadequate wages. It also pointed out that the government’s economic framework, primarily driven by foreign direct investments, mandates that wages be kept low to appear “competitive” and “attractive” to foreign investors.
“Napakaraming chance na ibinibigay sa dayuhan at mayayaman para makapasok at magnegosyo sa Pilipinas. Ito ngang mga malalaking negosyo kinaltasan ng buwis sa ilalim ng CREATE Law. Inuuna ang dayuhan at malalaking negosyo pero ang manggagawa inaagawan ng fighting chance para na mabuhay?” added Adonis.
KMU called out the legislators in the House and the Senate and told them to stop bickering and railroading efforts for a Charter Change. It instead demanded action from legislators and the Marcos Administration to immediately raise workers’ wages and establish a national minimum wage based on family living wage levels.
KMU enjoined the Filipino people to speak out and take action. The group invited everyone to join the EDSA Day protests on February 25 and carry the banner call: “SAHOD, HINDI CHACHA!” ##