Alliance of FIlipino women Gabriela on Friday, Jan. 27 urged President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. to heed the demands of Filipino employees and specify the national government’s plan for workers in the country.

After the International Labor Organization conducted the High-Level Tripartite Mission in the Philippines aiming to investigate the alleged violations of workers’ trade union rights, Gabriela told the administration to heed the demands of Filipino employees.

“Malinaw naman ang hinihiling ng manggagawang Pilipino: itaas ang sahod, wakasan ang kontraktwalisasyon, at itigil ang pandarahas sa manggagawa (The demands of the Filipino workers are clear: raise our wages, end contractualization, and stop the violence against workers),” said Gabriela Deputy Secretary General Cora Agovida on Friday, Jan. 27.

Earlier, members of the women’s group expressed their support to the ILO Mission team – a group of Filipino workers that held a dialogue with ILO, urging them to “uphold the rights of working women."

At least 15.68 million Filipino women are under informal employment in 2018 according to Gabriela. At present, seven out of ten Filipino workers are in the informal sector.

“Ang mga kontraktwal, self-employed, mga manininda, at iba pang manggagawang Pilipino sa impormal na sektor ay walang natatamasang karapatan sa pag-uunyon at pakikipagtawaran para sa dagdag-sahod, benepisyo, at proteksyon. Dulot ito ng kakapusan sa oportunidad sa disente at regular na trabaho sa bansa (Contractual, self-employed, vendors, and other Filipino workers in the informal sector do not benefit from the right to unionize and bargain for increased wages, benefits, and protection),” Agovida stressed.

This unfortunate circumstance, as explained by Agovida, happens due to “lack of opportunities for decent work” in the Philippines.