Joining workers’ groups in today’s Labor Day protests in Mendiola, a labor NGO said that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr has not done anything significant for Filipino workers in his almost four years in office, and has called on the chief executive to approve a significant wage hike and address workers’ rights issues.

The Center for Trade Union and Human Rights (CTUHR) said that the president has only made charades in advancing workers’ rights, first in legislative moves to increase workers’ wages in 2025 and second in issuing an executive order defending workers’ right to freedom of association.

“Marcos Jr has not done anything that is felt by Filipino workers and unionists. The wage hike which Congress and Senate noisily discussed last year amounted to nothing. Unionists continue to be red-tagged, harassed and worse, despite his vow of upholding the right to unionize,” said Kamz Deligente, CTUHR executive director.

After Congress’ approval of a P200 wage hike for minimum wage earners in February last year, Congress and Senate adjourned in June without approving the measure. After releasing Executive Order 97 in September last year to protect workers’ right to unionize, several unionists in Southern Tagalog and Southern Mindanao regions suffered red-tagging and harassment.

“The president must work overtime to alleviate the plight of Filipino workers. The rise in the prices of basic goods and payments for basic services is unprecedented, and he must increase workers’ wages by a significant amount. He must instruct the military and police to uphold workers’ rights, by releasing political prisoners and ordering investigations into the extrajudicial killing of unionists,” Deligente added.

CTUHR cited a study by independent think-tank Ibon Foundation showing how, from 2000 to 2024, the real value of workers’ wages has remained constant, even as workers’ productivity and the net income of the country’s top 1,000 corporations have increased dramatically. Yesterday, the Department of Labor and Employment announced that the decision on the proposed P1,200 minimum wage in Metro Manila may be released in July.

The labor NGO claims that there are currently 20 political prisoners from the labor movement, with the arrests of Julie Ann Balora, union organizer among sugar workers, on April 26, and of community health workers Dr. Ana Marie Rilloroza and Marc Arriane Mendiola on March 11. Meanwhile, none among the perpetrators of the recorded 109 cases of extrajudicial killing of unionists since 2016 has been punished.

“Job fairs insult the intelligence of Filipino workers who know how to look for jobs and even find hard-to-find jobs abroad. Marcos Jr should go beyond these pretend measures that do not really deliver the changes that Filipino workers and unionists actually need,” Deligente stated.