Thousands to join Labor Day protests in Panay

ILOILO CITY, Philippines – Thousands of workers and other protesters on Panay Island will join Labor Day protests on Tuesday, according to protest organizers.

The militant Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU-Panay) and Bagong Alyansang Makabayan would lead around 2,500 protesters in Iloilo and around 500 protesters each in the capital town of Kalibo in Aklan and in Roxas City in Capiz, said Elmer Forro, KMU-Panay spokesperson.

Forro said the protesters would demand a P125-across-the-board increase in the daily minimum wage, a stop to labor contractualization and the scrapping of the Oil Deregulation Act, which they blamed for the continued increase in prices of oil products.

In Iloilo City, protesters will assemble in front of the campus of University of the Philippines Visayas and in front of St. Clement’s Church before converging at the grounds of the provincial capitol where a rally will be held.

Forro decried the P12 increase in the daily minimum wage granted by the Regional Tripartite Wage and Productivity Board (RTWPB) in Western Visayas.

“It is an insult to workers. It’s not even enough to pay a round trip jeepney fare of P16,” Forro said on Monday.

The KMU is calling for the scrapping of the regional wage boards and the legislation of wage increases.