On the ILO CAS Conclusions and Recommendations re: Convention 98
KMU affirms the ILO CAS’s conclusion: that all violations of workers’ freedom of association and collective bargaining rights lie in the Marcos government’s policy framework first, and in its implementation second. This anti-worker, anti-union framework exists because it is useful – useful to capitalists who profit from cheap labor, from workers too precarious to organize, […]
Blood in the Cane Fields: The Toboso Massacre and the State’s War on Negros Organizers
Errol Wendel arrived in Negros with a notebook. A researcher for the Unyon ng mga Manggagawa sa Agrikultura, he had come to document the tiempo muerto – the dead season, when the sugarcane harvest ends and hunger moves into the homes of farmworkers across the island. He was counting empty plates, not carrying weapons. On April 19, […]
KMU Chair Adonis Leads Philippine Delegation to 2026 ILC; Philippines Back on Shortlist for Trade Union Rights Violations
Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) Chairperson Jerome Adonis is leading the Philippine workers’ delegation to the 114th Session of the International Labour Conference (ILC) in Geneva, Switzerland. KMU asserted that the Philippines’ return to the shortlist of countries cited by the Committee on the Application of Standards for violations of trade union rights is itself proof […]
It is high time to strike and fight back!
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 […]
Women workers, unite against war and exploitation!
Joanne Cesario, Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law, and DevelopmentInternational Labour Conference 2026 Distinguished delegates, women workers of the world, Today, we speak from a region burdened by war, crisis, and deepening exploitation. Across Asia and the Pacific, women workers bear the heaviest costs of an economic order built on violence and inequality. Wars and […]
KMU Correspondence – May 2026
The KMU Correspondence (May 2026) captures a defining moment for the Filipino labor movement – a time of both deep mourning and unprecedented global solidarity. This issue leads with a harrowing report on the Toboso Massacre, where nineteen civilians and researchers documenting the “dead season” in Negros were killed by state forces. We further dissect the “Crisis of […]
[Labor Day Statement – English] Celebrate Labor Day!
CELEBRATE LABOR DAY! FIGHT FOR WELFARE AND RELIEF AMID WAR AND CRISIS! ADVANCE NATIONAL FREEDOM, DEMOCRACY AND SOCIALISM! Kilusang Mayo Uno | May 1, 2026 We commemorate the 124th Labor Day in the Philippines amid an unparalleled crisis further intensified by the US-Israel war of aggression against Iran. Since the conflict in West Asia erupted, […]
Successful Launch of “Ating Lakbay-Aral sa Magsasaka”!
As part of the Peasant Month celebration, Ating Lakbay-Aral sa Magsasaka (ALAM) was held on October 4–5. This educational immersion brought together workers from Philippine Span Asia Carrier Corp. (SM PSACC-NAFLU-KMU), Pambato Cargo Forwarder Labor Union (PCFLU-LAND KMU), and cultural workers from Tambisan sa Sining. Organized by the Felixberto Olalia Sr. School in partnership with […]
