Labor groups say Labor Day 2022 not for election campaigns

Several labor groups on Sunday stressed that this year’s Labor Day, despite falling in an election period, is not a day for campaigning, but a day to fight for the workers’ rights and those who suffer from exploitation by the rich and big corporations.

In a joint statement by the Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino (BMP), Partido Lakas ng Masa, and Sanlakas said that their demonstrations today in the different parts of the country were steps towards a common direction: a call for immediate solutions to the crises affecting health, livelihoods, rights, and the environment.

“Sa buong mundo, nagmamartsa ang mga manggagawa para patampukin ang kanilang mga isyu’t kahilingan. Pagsalaula sa sagradong araw na ito ang paggamit sa Mayo Uno bilang okasyon sa pangangampanya ng kandidato, lalo kung nagmula sa mga elitistang partido,” they said.

(Workers all over the world are marching to highlight their issues and demands. It is an insult to this sacred day to use Labor Day as an occasion for a candidate's campaign, especially if it comes from elitist parties.)

They added that their march called for economic demands that truly address the workers’ problems, to which “elitist” political parties like the Uniteam of tandem Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. and Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte, as well as that of Vice President Leni Robredo and Senator Francis Pangilinan, could not bring forward.

“Plataporma na hindi lamang para humamig ng boto kundi upang ipaglaban ng manggagawa at masa ng sambayanan, ngayong halalan at matapos nito sa ilalim ng bagong rehimen. Plataporma na nakuha na ang pagrespeto kahit ng mga nasa masugid na tagasuporta ng dominanteng partido’t kandidato,” the labor groups said.

(We have a platform not only to get votes but also to fight for the workers and the masses this election and after the end of this regime. This platform has earned the respect of even the staunch supporters of the dominant political parties and candidates.)

Labor leader and presidential candidate Leody De Guzman, along with running mate Professor Walden Bello, and several labor groups trooped in Manila earlier in the day to reiterate their call to increase the national minimum wage to P750, to abolish the regional wage boards, and to dissolve the manpower agencies to end contractualization in the country.

In his speech, De Guzman, who also chairs the BMP, said that the various administrations after the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos Sr. had only catered to the interests of the elites.

“Itong kasaysayan ng pulitika sa bansa ay napakalinaw na patunay na wala tayong maaasahan sa pamumuno ng mga mayayaman, ng mga bilyonaryo, ng mga trapo at dinastiya. Hindi ang elitistang pamumuno ang makakapaghango sa kabuhayan ng mga manggagawa, sa karapatan ng mga mamamayan, sa kabuhayan ng mga magsasaka. Hindi sila!” he said.

(This history of politics in the country is a very clear proof that we have nothing to rely on under the leadership of the rich, the billionaires, of the conventional politicians, and dynasties. It is not the elitist leadership that can elevate the living conditions of the workers and the poor, and the rights of the people.)

De Guzman is known for his pro-poor and pro-workers stances, vowing that his administration would focus on policies on labor to help regular workers. — BM, GMA News