Distinguished delegates, fellow workers of the world,
For nearly a decade, the Philippines has been consistently flagged as one of the worst countries in the world for workers. While our government asserts that the situation has improved, we, the Filipino workers, are here to dispel that illusion.
It is no secret that wars have triggered oil price shocks and crises globally — intensifying the already hard situation of low wages, precarious employment and shrinking social protection.
Filipino workers unite and resist. But in our quest to achieve better working conditions, we are attacked.
In this spirit, we put forward our concerns regarding the ILO Convention 98 on the right to collectively bargain. We will substantiate our situation as we get our turn as part of the short list, but allow us to provide an overview.
The average Philippine minimum wage of EUR 7, further eroded through a fragmented wage-setting system, is a far cry from our calls for a living wage of EUR 17.
Forming a union is an uphill battle. Only 5 in 100 workers are part of a union or labor organization, with less than 1% enjoying the fruits of collective bargaining.
Millions remain unemployed or underemployed. Informalization and contractualization have stripped workers of rights. 3 out of 4 workers are under informal work. Platform workers are deprived of rights — considered “partners,” instead of workers.
Public sector unionism remains invisible – unmonitored and unprotected. Congress has yet to pass an enabling law that would fully realize trade union rights for public sector workers.
Assumption of Jurisdiction violates the right to strike by granting the Labor Secretary unsupervised power over strikes in enterprises deemed “of national interest.” An irony considering the ICJ decision on the right to strike being protected under freedom of association.
Brothers and sisters, the rights to organize, collectively bargain, and strike are intertwined. They directly impact our wages, job security, and social benefits. Without them, we lose our power to defend our welfare and dignity.
Trade union rights spell the difference between inhumane work and a fighting chance at dignity. And frankly, it is the government in collusion with capitalists that creates barriers to their realization.
We observe a continuity of the State’s dangerous mindset of equating unionism and activism with armed insurgency – a key finding of the 2023 High-Level Tripartite Mission. Under the current administration, labour leaders and unionists continue to be red-tagged, arrested, disappeared and killed under the government’s counterinsurgency program. The victims? People who strive for better working conditions and a just society. They are our friends, family, colleagues, our loved ones.
The Philippine government’s labour and security policy framework and implementation remain to be against the interest of workers. Uninterrupted superprofit is prioritized over ensuring workers’ welfare amid a crisis we had no part in creating.
We are attacked and vilified because they want us begging for crumbs, afraid, and divided. But one truth becomes clearer — that we, the workers, are the lifeblood of the global economy.
We work, so the world could live. Every commodity, service, infrastructure is possible with the labour of our hands, minds, and hearts. It is only imperative that our welfare and dignity be addressed and honoured.
With that being said, we must claim this dignity for ourselves. It is inherent in every worker who continues to fight against exploitation and unlivable conditions.
When the system attempts to bury that dignity beneath precarity and fear, we refuse to bow down. We stand resolutely against those who trample upon our rights.
We, the trade unions and workers’ organizations of the world, must forge solidarity with all working people whose rights are under attack from neoliberalism, fascism and war – from the workers of Myanmar, Philippines, and India, to the workers of Palestine, Venezuela, and Iran; and to the migrant workers everywhere who were failed by their governments.
The call is clear for the workers of the world: militantly assert our rights. Organize and carry on the struggle, and when the moment demands it: Strike! Fight back!
Mabuhay ang uring manggagawa!
Long live the workers of the world!
