The long road to P125; Workers are not giving up!

Thousands of courageous workers under progressive labor unions and organizations with the militant Kilusang Mayo Uno at the front line trooped today at the house of senate at its opening of its regular and final session before election comes. This will be a part of the series of the nationally coordinated actions of the Filipino workers and their supporters to further push for the legislation of the P125 wage increase Across The Board Nationwide which the Filipino workers had been demanding for seven years. Last night of January 21, the first wave of workers camped outside the senate building in Pasay City.

As these form of actions and protests progress in the National Capital Region especially in the house of senate, the militant workers here in the Cordillera region under the leadership of The KMU-Cordillera join their fellow workers with utmost vigilance in making sure that the wage hike will finally come to its implementation. Even though the said increase will come into P45-40-40 installments for three years as approved in the house of congress last year, this will be of help in a way to the workers to ease a bit their financial hardships in coping with the continuous rising of process of basic commodities. The KMU urges the senators to adopt the congress-approved House Bill 345.

KMU-Cordillera challenges the senators to stand by their intellectual capacity and not to give in to the pressures of the selfish big businessmen who are always on the guard in making sure that their huge gains remain intact. They should not follow the examples of the traitorous and anti-worker stand of the Department of Labor and Employment secretary Arturo Brion and his cohorts who shamelessly claimed that such wage increase will mean mass closure of businesses and will result to massive retrenchment and unemployment. Government data itself shows that the displacements of workers due to wage increases is just 1% in the list of reasons of closures and retrenchments. 96.6% of establishments resorting to closure and retrenchment in 2006 is due to the impacts of anti-labor policies and measures the government itself is adhering in the name of globalization.

KMU-Cordillera is reminding the senators that a big number of voters come from the workers. If they want to show their sincerity in serving the people and continue to be officials, they have to do it now by taking side to the workers’ demand of a legislated wage increase nationwide. As to Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and her gang in Malacañang, they should be warned that vetoing the wage hike will be their doom as it will only further intensify the outrage of the workers and the rest of the poor Filipinos united with the other sectors very much disgusted on the administration’s anti-people way of governing.

KMU-Cordillera reiterates the call of the resignation of DoLE secretary Brion for being such a turncoat against the workers in his anti-wage hike stance. He should step down immediately as his actions stand for the interests of the businessmen and capitalists.

KMU-Cordillera commends the good job done by the progressive party list representatives and other noble congressmen for the approval of the HB P125. Moreover, KMU salutes the courage and leadership of ANAKPAWIS party list representative Crispin Beltran in fighting for the legislation of the P125. History will tell that “Ka Bel” is the real big guy in pushing for the wage increase. It is still very sad that the beloved congressman of the masses is continuously being persecuted by the repressive regime for his heroic pro-people service. We still demand for Ka Bel’s freedom!


KMU-Cordillera calls on the workers not to give up the struggle for a meaningful wage, just benefits and genuine advancement of the workers’ welfare.

ITAAS ANG SAHOD, P125 ACROSS THE BOARD NATIONWIDE!

SAHOD, TRABAHO AT KARAPATAN, IPAGLABAN!