Militant trade union center Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) lambasted the Marcos government for complete silence on wage increase as government action is focused on amending the 1987 Constitution.
Last month, the first tranche of Wage Order RXI-22 took effect, raising the minimum wage in the Davao Region by 19 pesos. KMU highlighted how small and delayed this wage increase is, considering that it is the latest passed for the first wave of wage increases in Marcos’ term. It also pointed out that the Department of Labor and Employment has expressed no intent in passing additional wage hikes while wage increase legislation languishes in Congress.
“Sobrang delayed na nga magpatupad ng wage hike ng mga wage board, wala pang usad ang mga panukalang wage increase sa Kamara. Lip service na lang ba ang sinasabi nila nung nakaraan na tataasan pa nila ang 100 pesos ng Senate?” said KMU Secretary General Jerome Adonis.
Meanwhile, the Senate has declared that it will convene its sub-committee on Constitutional Amendments and Revision of Codes three times within the next month to form a committee report which would allow the proposed amendments to be discussed in the plenary.
“Sa pagratsada ng Cha-Cha, pinapakita ng gobyerno ni Marcos ang kakayahan nitong mabilis na magpasa ng mga batas. Kung pabor ito sa kanya at sa kanyang mga kasosyo. Ang lumalabas, walang intensyon ang gobyerno ni Marcos na magpasa ng dagdag-sahod para sa mga manggagawa” added Adonis.
The group also questioned Joe Biden’s promise of “more jobs, more investments” in the ongoing trilateral summit between the United States, Japan, and the Philippines. KMU laid out that these “investments” are often funneled into Special Economic Zones, and are often accompanied by poor working conditions, labor violations, and depression of wages.
“Ang mga trabahong ibubunga ng pakikipagsabwatan ni Marcos sa US ay mga precarious na trabaho: walang kasiguraduhan at mababa ang sahod. Lantad na lantad ang pagiging kontra-manggagawa at mamamayan niya sa pagsusumamo sa US at mga alyado nitong bansa” ended Jerome Adonis.
KMU called out to workers to speak up, create clamor, join protests and consultations, and mount any and all efforts to break the Marcos government’s radio silence on wage increase. KMU enjoined all workers in the Philippines to mobilize in their thousands to demand immediate wage increase, and denounce Marcos’s charter change ploy and all attempts to open the economy at the expense of the Filipino people.