Higher wages and the abolishment of contractualization were the calls of various feminist groups during the celebration of the International Working Women's Day (IWWD) during a progressive march from the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) office in Intramuros to Mendiola, Manila, last Wednesday, March 8.
Led by Gabriela Women's Workers United (GWWU) and Kilusan ng Manggagawang Kababaihan (KMK), several women's organizations from the labor sector conducted a protest action while having dialogues with DOLE officials about their calls for protecting women's rights, regularizing labor workers, demanding lower product prices, and objecting to the looming phaseout of public utility vehicles (PUVs).
“Habang nananatili ang mga polisiya na kumikitil sa karapatan ng mga manggagawa para sa pag-oorganisa, pakikibaka para sa karapatan ay hindi matutupad ang mga kagustuhan na nakasaad sa Labor Code ng Pilipinas para sa malaya, ligtas, at makatarungang pagpapasahod,” said Partido Manggagawa Secretary-General Judy Ann Miranda.
Samahang Janitorial ng Polytechnic University of the Philippines (SJ-PUP) member Jonathan Jorda also spoke at the program, sharing the harassment they experienced inside the campus as contractual workers.
“Kami po sa loob ng pamantasan ng PUP ay nakararanas ng paghihikahos dahil po hanggang sa ngayon, dekada na, kami po ay kontraktuwal… Wala po kaming benepisyo, maliban sa SSS, PAG-IBIG, PhilHealth. Ang ahensya namin, nagbibigay [pero] kulang-kulang… Marami rin po sa aming mga kasamahan ang hina-harass sa pamamagitan ng pagbibigay ng memo, pagtatanggal sa kanila kung minsan na walang due process,” asserted Jorda.
The groups then marched to Liwasang Bonifacio to continue the program, which was participated by different public sectors and marginalized groups, including the party-list that was recently red-tagged by Vice President Sara Duterte, the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT), for supporting the transport strike.
“Nakakalungkot po na tinatawag kaming propesyunal pero ang sahod po ng ating mga guro ay sadsad; masahol pa ang kalagayan,” said ACT-NCR President Ruby Anna Bernardo.
“Hindi rin po nakaligtas ang ating mga guro ng bayan sa atake. Nagmukhang spokesperson ng NTF-ELCAC (National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict) ang ating Department [of Education] Secretary. Siya po mismo ang nangre-red-tag sa ating mga guro ng bayan na ang tanging gusto lamang ay magmalasakit sa ating [mga] dyipni drayber.”
GABRIELA Caloocan member Gina Piano, who has been protesting women's rights in the country for several decades, calls for higher wages for working women in the country in spite of gender-related abuses and injustices.
“‘Yung mga batas na kung saan ay magtatamasa ‘yung kababaihan, halimbawa, sa pagtaas ng sahod sa mangaggawa—‘yun ang pangunahing kahilingan namin na maging pantay kasi parang tinitingnan ng ating pamahalaan na kapag babae ka, mahina ka. Hindi ka tulad ng lalaki. Parang ‘yung standard na laging mataas ‘yung kakahayan ng lalaki kaysa sa babae.”
The protest march then continued going to the monumental street of Mendiola, ringing the city with roars of chants that later caused an escalated tension between the protestants and police forces along Recto Avenue.
Armed elements of the police later stood back against hundreds of progressives, and the traditional hammering of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s effigy concluded the program along with cultural performances.
With at least 16 million Filipino working women employed in January 2020, the sector urges the government to ratify International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention No. 190 (C190), or the Violence and Harassment Convention of 2019, which strengthens the protection and welfare of labor workers in the country, along with recognitions of their right to security of tenure that abolish contractualization among Filipino workers.
Graphics: Cathlyn de Raya
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