KMU vows to advance the fight for significant wage hike, genuine change

On Ka Bel’s third death anniv

“Ipagpapatuloy ang laban ni Ka Bel! Ito ang pangako namin kay Ka Bel tatlong taon na ang nakakalipas at hindi siya mabibigo. Sa harap ng patuloy na pagtaas ng presyo ng langis at mga bilihin, patuloy kaming maninindigan para sa makabuluhang dagdag-sahod at kabuuang kapakanan ng mga manggagawa.”

This was the statement of labor center Kilusang Mayo Uno as it is set to commemorate the third death anniversary of the late labor leader Crispin ‘Ka Bel’ Beltran on May 20. Together with Anakpawis Partylist and Crispin B. Beltran Resource Center (CBBRC), KMU plans to hold a whole-day set of activities which will highlight the Filipino workers’ struggle for a significant wage hike and the defense of their rights and welfare – all of which Ka Bel ceaselessly fought for until his unexpected death.

“Ka Bel’s life serves as an inspiration for the labor movement and makes us realize that the workers’ and people’s long overdue call for a substantial wage hike and other basic rights is indeed a long and uphill fight against regimes conniving with big foreign and local capitalists in pressing down wages and exploiting workers,” said Roger Soluta, KMU secretary-general.

KMU enumerated the activities that it is going to hold on May 20. Ka Bel’s family, together with KMU’s leaders, will lead a short program in front of Ka Bel’s marker at Plaza Miranda in the morning. This will be followed by a mass mobilization of various sectors in the afternoon at Mendiola to call for the passage of the P125 Wage Hike Bill and to condemn the approval of the meager P22 Cost of Living Allowance. There will also be a film showing about the life of Ka Bel and a tribute at the Bantayog ng mga Bayani in the evening.

“Our vow to advance the workers’ and people’s fight for a significant wage hike, for workers’ basic rights, and for revolutionary social change is, we believe, the highest tribute we can give to Ka Bel,” Soluta said.

The P125 Wage Hike Bill was first filed by Ka Bel in 2001 when he was Bayan Muna Partylist representative. The bill was repeatedly filed in Congress since then. Ten years after its first filing and three years after Ka Bel’s death, it remains a bill.

“We are more than determined to fulfill this vow to Ka Bel and especially to the starving workers and people,” Soluta said.

“We are also encouraging the whole nation to join us in paying tribute to the life and struggles of the late Ka Bel and continue his fight for our basic rights. His humble life of genuine and militant service to the Filipino workers and people reminds us that we can achieve our legitimate demands only through collective action,” Soluta ended.