Workers plan big Labor Day rally

The Solidarity of Cebu Workers will hold a rally as a counter-activity of the Labor Day celebration of the Tripartite Industrialized Peace Council on May 1.

Solidarity of Cebu Workers, an alliance of 25 unions, labor federations and workers associations of Cebu Province, also called for the abolition of the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board.

"Partido ng Mangagawa" spokesman Dennis Derige said that RTWPB should be abolished since only workers can benefit from it. He contended that the regional board prioritized the capitalists' capacity to pay and not the capacity of laborers to buy.

Meanwhile, National Federation of Labor-Visayas director Roger Igot explained that while there is an assumption of jurisdiction from the management, workers are being suppressed to voice out their grievances to the employers.

"Among ipadangat sa gobyerno nga ang kaming mga mamumuo wa mobati og industrialized peace kung dili ang kapait, kalisod ug kagutom," he said.

The group also calls to abolish House Bill 2112 which endorsed the full-blown legislation of contractualization. With this, they said that workers lose the chance to become regular thus suffering the very low and even below the minimum wage of contractual employees. 

Also regular employees will have to suffer big chances of termination since contractual workers with low compensation might replace them.

The group's demonstration will also highlight other labor issues, including tax exemptions, to those who are living on and below the minimum wage.

On Labor Day, an estimated 1,500 members of SCW will converge at the Cebu City Central School and will march to the Lapu-Lapu Sports Complex where TICP will hold its program.

From there the group will proceed to Mactan Economic Processing Zone.  - Anthony Teo, Marchie Jane Trangia and Trex Eden Ignacio, UP interns/BRP