Today, the Center for Trade Union and Human Rights (CTUHR) joins Filipino workers and the workers of the world in marking International Labor Day by supporting them in demanding the advancement of workers’ labor and human rights.

This year is the third Labor Day under the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr and workers’ rights have not seen any improvement under his rule, despite his declared commitment to human rights and democracy.

Former President Rodrigo Duterte left office as the president that has granted the most meager wage increases in recent history. Marcos Jr is following in his predecessor’s footsteps: his government feigns understanding workers’ need for a significant wage hike, but has failed to legislate even the P200 minimum wage hike that it bandied about.

We reiterate that even if the P200 minimum wage hike is approved, the country’s minimum wage levels are still far from a family living wage. Computations of independent think-tank Ibon Foundation show that the average minimum wage in the country is P469 while the family living wage is P1,227. The 1987 Constitution clearly states that Filipino workers are entitled to a living wage.

While Duterte made a big public spectacle about ending contractualization, Marcos Jr is completely silent on the employment scheme. Whatever gains that Duterte’s campaign against contractualization achieved, these have most likely been eroded by Marcos Jr’s indifference to the plight of workers and championing of the interests of big local and foreign employers.

Grave human rights violations committed by Duterte in the field of labor remain unaddressed to this day, despite the former president’s detention in International Criminal Court facilities. No justice has been achieved for the 72 victims of extrajudicial killings in the labor movement, and two labor organizers were abducted and disappeared under Marcos Jr’s watch.

The release of some political prisoners from detention can be attributed to their efforts, not to the actions of the Marcos Jr administration. Twenty-three (23) political prisoners from the labor movement continue to be detained due to trumped-up charges filed by the military. Marcos Jr continues to turn a blind eye to their plight and to refuse to lift a finger to correct this injustice.

Marcos Jr continues to support the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC), despite the recommendations of United Nations Special Rapporteurs and the 2023 International Labour Organization High-Level Tripartite Mission to abolish it. While the NTF-ELCAC is not as noisy as it was during Duterte’s rule, it has stepped up its interference in labor affairs by forming management unions.