Workers' right to economic prosperity

The problem with the wage infrastructure in the country is that the prime determinant to fixing the minimum wage is premised on just merely providing the basic need of workers on a day to day basis – that's why it's called "daily living wage."

In a way, companies are legally obliged to meet the right of workers "to survive for the day." If it were not for this law, many would have probably paid their workers below the threshold.

We must remember that the right to survive is not the only right of a worker. There is a far greater right an employer needs to meet other than just meeting their basic needs and that is the right to steadily improve their living conditions. Employers must seek or take an active role to achieve the kind of economic comfort every worker deserves.

Having said that, I somehow I feel the need to ask this question to employers: Have they ever met a wage earner who gets to own a decent house or was able to provide a good education to his or her children? 

I believe that to strive for the best economic interest of workers is a moral and social imperative every company must commit to.

Companies must redirect a large part of what they do to achieve the coherence between economic and social objectives that would place the needs and aspirations of ordinary workers at the center of rules, policies and economic vision.

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Despite the promise of free economy or globalization, a large mass of the labor populace has yet to see or feel its benefits or if there is any at all. "Seen through the eyes of the vast majority of men and women around the world, globalization has not met their simple aspiration for decent jobs, livelihoods and a better future for their children." according to a report of the World Commission of the International Labor Organization.

The same report also says, "There is an urgent need to rethink current institutions of global economic governance, whose rules and policies it says are largely shaped by powerful countries and powerful players." The unfairness of key rules of trade and finance reflect a serious "democratic deficit" at the heart of the system.

The failure of policies, the report argues, is due to the fact that market-opening measures and financial and economic considerations have consistently predominated over social ones, including measures compatible with the prerogatives of fair labor.

With this, this is the time the government must urgently take a firm and active stance to reshape global policy on labor one that is not only conscious but also conscientious of the worsening labor conditions brought about by drop in labor prices.

On May 1 we will be celebrating Labor Day. The celebration of which must be taken with serious reflection about the contribution of our workers to society and economy yet many of them rarely enjoy the fruits of their labor. The people who make the country run but have little say in running the country.

And I'd like to end this column by remembering the universal advocacy of workers that they have the right to: A decent paying job and a decent place to live; to join a union freely without fear of being fired or other retribution; to strike without fear of losing their job; not to be discriminated against because of our race, gender, ethnicity, disability, national origin, or sexual orientation, at work or in our communities; to free, quality public education for ourselves and our children; to universal access to publicly-funded, comprehensive, quality health care for all residents; to retire at a decent standard of living after a lifetime of work; to quality of life in our communities enhanced by a fully funded public sector.

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