Members of the Women Workers United (WWU) on Friday, April 28, vowed to continue fighting for living wages, decent work, quality public services, and freedom from all forms of violence and exploitation. (Photo courtesy of Women Workers United)
In time for the celebration of International Workers’ Memorial Day, women workers aired their demands for wage increase, and regular and secure jobs among others. “There is no better way to honor and seek justice for workers who have fallen in this struggle than to advance our fight for better living and working conditions and defend the rights and civil liberties of Filipino workers and people,” said WWU on Friday. The gathering, which was attended by several women workers, also served as a pre-Labor Day activity where leaders stressed the effects of rising inflation to employees, especially women. “This is especially worse for women workers who receive less pay for similar jobs, and are more vulnerable to lay-offs, contractualization schemes, and other forms of labor flexibilization. Significantly less women are also able to join the labor force, much less participate in unionism or exercise our rights to speak up due to our precarious employment status, the disproportionate responsibilities we shoulder at home and in the family, the discrimination and violence we may face, among others,” the group furthered. Along with their calls and demands, WWU also urged the national government to refrain from implementing policies that enable attacks on workers’ lives and livelihoods, further the gender wage gap, and intensify the repression of workers’ right to unionize.