CWR | Center for Women's Resources

On the World Day for Decent Work, we condemn the ongoing attacks against trade unionists and labor organizers. The Philippines remains a perilous environment for those advocating for workers’ rights, where killings, abductions, and harassment continue unabated, including women labor leaders and organizers.

According to the 2024 Global Rights Index of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), the threat of violence persists against Filipino workers and unions, where there is “no guarantee of rights” and are “exposed to autocratic regimes and unfair labor practices”.

The red-tagging and intimidation faced by the leaders of the Nexperia workers’ union illustrate this situation. For years, union leaders have been subjected to relentless surveillance and harassment, with union president Mary Ann Castillo among those targeted. Nexperia workers union has been organizing workers and fighting against unfair labor practices, and union-busting.

In 2021, Teresa Dioquino, a cultural worker and labor advocate, was illegally arrested, and is currently imprisoned. Dioquino is a staunch activist and has long served as International Officer of the Kilusang Mayo Uno, fighting for global workers’ rights. On May 3, 2022, Loi Magbanua, a labor organizer and women’s rights activist, was abducted and remains missing, presumed taken by state forces.

These forms of persecution demonstrate a concerted effort to stifle dissent and suppress workers’ rights. The enactment of the Anti-Terror Law and continuing funding of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) has made it all worse.

As we mark this day, we stand together in solidarity to protect and defend those who fight for decent work – against exploitative practices, for living wages and labor rights. We enjoin all Filipinos in the collective fight to ensure that every worker can speak out without fear and threat of violence. No decent work without freedom of association and the right to organize!

The Center for Women’s Resources condemns the government’s attempt to artificially lower unemployment numbers by considering Filipinos work one per ‘reference period’ as employed – an insult to 20 million economically insecure women.

CWR reiterates the importance of using grounded and accurate data when formulating policies related to employment and poverty. The recent statement from the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) during the Senate committee hearing and budget deliberations suggesting that a Filipino working just one hour a day qualifies as employed is a concerning simplification that obscures the real extent of the employment crisis in the Philippines.

In a recent survey conducted by CWR in June 2024, it was noted that the job crisis remains one of the top concerns of women. This indicates that unemployment, loss of livelihood, and its resulting poverty and hunger is a serious problem — a violation of women’s rights. Amidst an escalating economic crisis and widespread human suffering, it is of utmost importance to surface concrete, ground-level data that accurately depicts the conditions people face.

Despite the obvious attempt to give false sense of economic development, no amount of convenient redefinitions can mask the lived experiences of Filipinos. Blurring the lines between employment and unemployment through such convenient definitions does not address these issues. Similar to NEDA’s statement claiming PhP64.00 pesos to suffice for daily food cost, it fails to reflect the severity of economic hardship experienced by many, particularly women. It refrains the implementation of meaningful solutions that will ensure long-term, sustainable growth and people-centered development.

CWR reiterates that grounded data and evidence should serve as a basis for crafting economic policies that serve the most marginalized. Doing otherwise would only serve the interests of a few rich in the country. CWR urges all Filipinos to resist accepting such misinformation and to continue voicing their real conditions and demands. ###