Workers gear up for Labor Day protest

MANILA, Philippines — Workers are gearing up for a massive Labor Day protest to express their dismay over what they describe as President Marcos’ disregard of their demands.

“It will have been almost a year that Marcos Jr. is in office, but we have not yet heard from him regarding his response to workers’ grievances. We workers are pitiful – salary is meager, no permanent jobs and rights are violated. But BBM doesn’t have any response,” Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) secretary general Jerome Adonis said in Filipino yesterday.

“I thought ‘we will all rise together?’ But it seems that you’re the only ones progressing while we continue to sink in hunger and poverty,” Adonis added.

KMU denounced Marcos’ scheduled meeting with US President Joe Biden at the White House on May 1, which they considered “an insult to workers who have long been ignored.”

While Filipino workers commemorate Labor Day, Adonis said Marcos has chosen to appease Biden.

“(Marcos) has once again proven that his priority is not the Filipino people, but foreign powers. He has given the US greater access to our territories without considering its consequences to our national sovereignty and patrimony,” KMU chairman Elmer Labog said.

The labor group further noted that Marcos seems to have no plans of upholding trade union and human rights by not responding to the International Labor Organization High-Level Tripartite Mission’s recommendations.

KMU urged all workers and the public to join protest actions in support of their demand for urgent and significant wage increases, regular jobs and protection of trade union rights.

Labog said KMU and other allied organizations are mounting various activities in observance of the coming Labor Day.

Job vacancies

Meanwhile, close to 60,000 local and overseas jobs are up for grabs in the job fairs that the government is mounting to commemorate Labor Day on Monday.

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) yesterday announced that starting April 30 until May 1, it will mount job fairs in 36 venues nationwide.

A total of 678 foreign and local employers will participate and offer 59,354 jobs to new graduates and other jobseekers, according to the DOLE.

The DOLE-National Capital Region reported that in Metro Manila alone, over 8,000 job vacancies will be offered by employers.

The biggest job fair in the capital is set to be held at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City on April 30.

Jobseekers may also visit various SM malls to apply for employment.

Among the industries participating in the two-day event are business process outsourcing, manufacturing, financial and insurance activities, manpower services and sales and marketing.

Top vacancies are for customer service representatives, production workers/operators, financial consultants, service crew and sales agents or sales clerks.

The DOLE advised jobseekers to bring copies of basic pre-employment requirements, such as resumé or curriculum vitae (multiple copies), Certificate of Employment for those formerly employed, diploma, transcript of records and photocopy of training certificates.

To help applicants complete their pre-employment requirements, a one-stop shop service of various government agencies, such as the Philippine Statistics Authority, National Bureau of Investigation, Bureau of Internal Revenue, Social Security System, Home Development Mutual Fund or Pag-IBIG, Philippine Health Insurance Corp. and Philippine Postal Corporation, will be set up at job fair venues.