Giit ng Manggagawang Munti | Labor Day 2024

by Kyle Pontillo

Greetings of glee! Labor Day comes in celebration of the diligent workers of the world. Contrary to the festivities held on occasions, we offer this day as a moment of rest from the compulsory labor they do on a normal Wednesday. And while they sit in the comfort of no supervision, attention towards the assertion of our workers is necessitated as their plight grows cold from the disregard of entities bigger than they could ever level in influence.

Philippine Statistics Association (PSA) reports on April 11 an estimated 3.5 percent unemployment rate in a Labor Force Survey for February of 2024. This dropped from the 4.8 percent of February last year and 4.5 percent of January 2024. This shows great progress in the bleak state of unemployment the country has previously faced. However, the average working hours in a week presents a contrast as it shows an increase from last year’s 39.5 hours to the 42.1 hours of January this year. Increased working hours implies a fraction of workers employed to do more than eight hours a day. Unemployment might have been remedied to a much more reasonable level than last year but with the cost of inhumane labor conditions, are we actually seeing progress?

PSA also reports fishing and aquaculture as one of the five sub-sectors facing the highest annual decrease in the number of employed persons at -490,000. The fisherfolks of the country are a demographic in grave danger as invasive operations persist. 68-year old fisherman Maximo Bayubay from Batangas flew to Switzerland to publicly urge investors and shareholders of UBS Group (a Switzerland-based bank) to halt its fossil fuel projects in the country. He stated less fish is caught because the waters are not treated sustainably.  

“We are suffering now and you are continuing funding, financing fossil gas. It’s a big question for me. Why? What is the life of the future generation? What will we promise them if we continue financing this kind of peril? You can just imagine, I traveled so far just to mention this important matter to you,” Bayubay appeals. Overall, a third of power generations still belonged to fossil fuels. Stressing his point of promise to better living conditions for the future generations, he asks why even with the presence of clean alternative sources of energy do they still invest in harmful fossil fuel projects.

In relation to international news, alleged Israel support of McDonald’s encouraged boycotts from people all over the world, including the Philippines. This boycott greatly affected employees, who are mostly students, as some expressed a decrease in pay. Given their wage conditions are not commission-based, a bigger problem lies behind the empty tables at the fast food chain; the boycott is working, yet dislocating workers more than it contributes to the global cause promulgated by leftist consumerism. As macro ideologies continue subjugating micro entities, this irony of humanity served to deter genocide by compromising the employment of local people benefits no one.

Consumer response also adds clamor to ongoing transport strikes led by jeepney drivers as the deadline for jeepney modernization nears. Some joined the strikes as commuters concerned of their welfare as passengers as well as the drivers, while some grew frustrated as it significantly dented their work days. This green driven measure for sustainability comes at the expense of drivers who are either about to be unemployed or be in great debt if employment is retained after the phaseout. This posited goal for sustainability does not skew holistic as intended given the greater disadvantage it causes the people it's supposed to help.

Arching over these problems is the hazard brought by heat. The rise of temperature makes areas of work dysfunctional, piling onto the already stacked challenges they have to leap over on a normal day. Not only does it lessen the quality of their work because of discomfort, it also poses health risks. Farmers who have to work under the scorching weather to compete with imports supplying Filipino homes are most prone to heat stroke and are most likely to not afford necessary health services. This, among many others, plague the Filipino workforce and calls for sufficient solutions to keep the country afloat.

The welfare of the labor force directly impacts the welfare of all. Like wedges on a machine, the conditions that grant them full and healthy mobility oils society towards holistic progress without compromises that pose great harm for the benefit of those who can afford privilege. There are even workers who can’t afford to not work during Labor Day. From those in great power to the people who pay for these services, the movement should come from society as a whole. Proper measures that address these said problems should account for the assertions made by workers against the conditions that define their plight.