An alliance of Church leaders and labor organizations in the Philippines has expressed support for calls for increased wages ahead of the observance of Labor Day on May 1.
“[The Church People-Workers Solidarity (CWS)] strongly emphasizes the justness, urgency, and doability of living wage in the midst of economic hardships,” said its Bishop Gerardo Alminaza, the group’s chairperson.
The prelate said workers deserve a “substantial wage increase” and raising the minimum wage this time is about “dignity and justice.”
“Based on this dignity, workers have a legitimate claim to those essential material goods that meet basic needs for food, clothing, shelter, health, education, security, and rest,” he said.
The bishop said the rising cost of living and the “insufficient wage” are “forcing workers to work more than 12 hours a day for an extra income to provide for their family.”
He called on the Philippine Congress to pass a pending legislative measure that calls for a wage increase, adding that the CWS supports “initiatives by progressive labor groups to demand for wage increase.”
The Protestant National Council of Churches in the Philippines, meanwhile, called on the government “to respect and uphold the rights of our workers.”
The organization urged the people “to amplify our demand to the government … for a just and living wage by institutionalizing a nationwide wage hike.”
“As the Bible says, the laborer deserves his wages,” read a statement issued by the NCCP for Labor Day. – with a report from CBCP News
