Workers walk out for pay

MANILA, Philippines—Militant labor groups led a walkout of private and public employees nationwide as they called for a higher across-the-board minimum wage.

About 100 members of umbrella group All Workers Unity, labor group Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU), as well as representatives of labor unions in sectors such as manufacturing, banking and finance, and education, staged a protest in front of the Department of Labor and Employment Thursday morning.

The groups demanded the abolition of regional wage-setting laws and the establishment of a national minimum wage, starting at P16,000 per month, or about P530 per day.

Meanwhile, employees from private firms and government agencies like the Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, Court of Tax Appeals, Sandiganbayan, National Housing Authority, Department of Agriculture, and Department of Social Welfare and Development walked out of their offices at noon in solidarity with the protests. Nathaniel R. Melican