The Violation of Vicente Barrios
Like other Filipino workers, Vicente Barrios tries often desperately to make both ends meet for his family. But no matter how hard he works, he cant get out of a destructive cycle of indebtedness, thanks to a measly minimum wage. By Germelina A. Lacorte
In the Name of His Father
Like his father, who was gunned down one day in October 1988, Omar Bantayan has long been in the crosshairs of those who are carrying out what is believed to be a systematic campaign to eliminate not just those the military had been labeling as communists but labor leaders as well the perennial thorns in the side of abusive and greedy capitalists. By Carlos H. Conde
Minimum Wage Workers, Struggling to Live
As minimum wage earners, workers, like Rodolpho Delfin of Filipino Metals Corporation, are able to take home only around P100 per day after deductions are made on their salaries. Even with scrimping, their daily expenses always exceed their income. Given this condition, it is not surprising that workers such as Delfin struggle not only with management but also with government through protest actions in streets. By Trina Federis
Amid High Living Costs and Growing Poverty: Workers Demand for Decent Wages Becomes More Urgent
As more families are pushed to poverty, the fight for decent wages becomes a life-and-death struggle for the workers. By Jennifer del Rosario-Malonzo
Contractualization a Bane to Workers
Contractual workers toil under subhuman conditions while the working conditions of the remaining regular workers worsen, said Elmer Labog, chairman of Kilusang Mayo Uno. By Marya G. Salamat
Contractual Workers: Always Underdogs?
Jane (not her real name) works in a garment factory in San Pedro, Laguna and gets paid well within the minimum range for the Southern Tagalog region. But she earns less than what a good number of her co-workers get for the same work. The difference? Shes a contractual worker. By Alexander Martin Remollino
Deadly Workplace
Elmer Pen needs no imagination to see how hed look when he dies he now looks deathly pale. Compounding his worrisome look are his hands, which are perpetually crooked. He cant straighten them even if he tries. For 18 years now Pen has been working at Unilox, or Union Lead & Oxide Industrial Corporation, a company that produces lead oxide, stabilizers, and anodes. By Marya Salamat
Only in the Philippines
GUESS? clothing sold locally is actually sewed here in the Philippines. And while it is put up for sale at exorbitant prices, the workers just earn a pittance for their hard work. By Trina Federis
Govt’s New Statistical Trick Hides Job Losses
The government will happily announce drastically lower unemployment rates this June. But this is only because it changed the way it counts the countrys jobless, causing them to statistically disappear. By Sandra Nicolas (For more recent labor statistics, click here.)
May 1st, a History of Struggle
Historically, May 1 or Labor Day is commemorated through a mass demonstration of workers to fight for their rights. And given the conditions of Filipino workers today, the commemoration of May 1 this year is no different. By Benjie Oliveros
Read Davao Today editor Carlos Conde’s commentary on Labor Day in his blog at promdi.net.
