1 May 2023
On the occasion of International Workers’ Day, the Center for Women’s Resources pays tribute to all workers of the world – women and men, who create the world’s wealth, and yet are appropriated the least.
In the Philippines, workers receive meager wages. The highest wage set in the Philippines is in NCR pegged at P570.00. With rising inflation, the real wage now only amounts to P483.00 (March 2023). In other regions, where the mandated minimum wage is even lower, the situation is worse, where inflation is even higher. In the Bicol region, the real wage is only P290.37 from the current nominal wage of P365. In Western Visayas, it is only P362.90 from its nominal wage of P450. In the Mimaropa region, where some municipalities are now reeling from the impacts of the oil spill, the real wage is P279.74 from the P355 nominal wage.
On the other hand, the wealth of the few richest businesses in the Philippines continues to grow. According to Forbes Richest, the richest families had a “robust recovery” where their combined wealth grew by 30% from $60 billion to $79 billion (Php3.94 trillion) in 2021. The gap between the rich and the poor in the country continues to increase amidst declining income and livelihoods.
Women workers bear a disproportionate burden of exploitation and oppression under the current monopoly capitalist system. Women face systemic discrimination and are often relegated to low-wage jobs with little or no social protection and benefits, while also facing prevalent sexual harassment and discrimination in the workplace.
Attacks against trade unionism and blatant violation of workers’ rights to freedom of expression and association are on the rise as the government enacts and implements policies that restrict workers’ right to organize and engage in collective bargaining, preventing them from pursuing better wages and working conditions.
Now more than ever, workers, along with the rest of society, must unite to fight for living wages, better working conditions, social protection policies, and the right to collective bargaining. It is only by fighting together and demanding these fundamental rights that we can ensure that every worker is able to work safely and with dignity.
