The first May 1 rally was held by workers in the United States in 1886 as a sign of support for the eight-hour workday and other rights of labor. The event culminated three days later in the infamous Haymarket Square massacre in Chicago, where seven policemen and an undetermined number of workers perished. In the succeeding trial which is now considered one of the worst miscarriages of justice in history, seven labor leaders were sentenced to death. This is why most countries today, except ironically the United States, commemorate May 1 as Labor Day.
It is ironic that in our celebration of Labor Day in this country, our workers continue to be bedeviled by the same problems that their counterparts more than a century ago protested.
The eight-hour work limit guaranteed by Philippine legislation has been derailed by the concept of flexible work arrangement, which includes a compressed work schedule sanctioned by the Department of Labor and Employment under Advisory No. 4, series of 2010. Under this scheme, the normal work week is reduced to less than six days, but the total number of working hours is extended to 12 hours instead of the normal eight hours, without the corresponding overtime pay.
The right to job security has also been rendered inutile by the increasing contractualization and agency-hiring of employees currently sanctioned under DOLE Order No. 18-A, which took effect in 2011. Pursuant to this scheme, a company can make use of the services of labor contractors or agencies for the conduct of tasks relative to its operations. The workers hired by these contractors or agencies do not obtain regular status in their employment and lose the same before six months, which is the usual length of their contract. The company is thus assured of a nonregular work force and is spared from the possibility of its workers organizing themselves into unions.
Thus, out of the country’s 39 million-strong workforce, only about 225,183 workers are covered by collective bargaining agreements. Government statistics also indicate that some three million Filipinos are jobless and about eight million more are underemployed. Indeed, the nation’s capacity to generate enough jobs for its labor force remains in question despite its claim of having one of the highest GNP growth rates in the region and a robust economic expansion of 6.6 percent last year.
The inadequacy of workers’ wages is also another sad reality. It is said that the National Capital Region has the highest statutory minimum wage for workers which is P466 a day. Yet, with the cost of living for an average-size family estimated to be at P1,054 per day, it is clear that the average worker’s earnings is short by P588 every day. With such meager salary, it is evident that the worker and his family have to skip a meal or forego certain necessities of life to survive.
The workers at Haymarket Square cried “Capitalist greed!” when asked whom to blame for their woes.
Unfortunately, that answer remains valid today.
—REMIGIO D. SALADERO JR.,
chief legal counsel,
Kilusang Mayo Uno