QUEZON CITY, Philippines – Workers and employees from private and public sectors gathered this lunch at Welcome Rotonda, Quezon City to express opposition to the Salary Standardization Law 2015. They said it reveals Liberal Party-dominated gov’t.’s compliance to APEC’s inhumane policies on wages and salaries.
Broad campaign network All Workers’ Unity said House Bill 6268, shows a wage policy that favors the few while keeping the majority poor and hungry. The bill seeks to enact a mere P20.00 increase in the salaries of government employees while increasing top government officials’ salaries by 333%.
“SSL 2015 perfectly illustrates the Liberal Party’s ‘Tuwid na Daan’ and APEC’s unjust policy on wages and salaries: high for the few on top, low for the majority at the bottom. That’s the same policy for the private and public sectors, and for agricultural workers,” said Rea Alegre, AWU spokesperson.
AWU is supporting calls for a significant wage hike for private- and public-sector workers and employees and for agricultural workers and is calling for the enactment of a National Minimum Wage of P750 daily for the private sector and P16,000 monthly for the public sector.
In its protest, workers, employees and professionals from private public sectors tossed coins in tin cans which they used in the noise barrage to show disgust over the ‘Barya-barya’ wage and salary hikes.
AWU carried placards with photos of Pres. Noynoy Aquino, Budget Secretary Abad, and DOLE Secretary Baldoz on top and with the words “APEC = lower wages, Junk APEC, Fight for Higher Wages, Fight for National Minimum Wage, P750daily, P16,000monthly!”
They also carried streamers that read “Itaas ang Sahod ng Obrero, Hindi ng Pulitiko (Increase the wages of workers, not of politicians)” written on them.
“Those who work hard and are suffering from the record-breaking hunger, poverty & debt are given smaller hikes. Those who work less and are already enjoying so much wealth are given huge corporate salary increases. That is simply unjust and must be opposed,” Alegre added.
AWU, which is composed of formations of workers from the private sector, government employees, teachers, doctors and health workers, vowed to join protests on the resumption of the House of Representatives on November 23.
ACT Teachers Partylist Rep. Antonio L. Tinio Tinio also joined the lunch ‘barya-barya noise barrage protest. AWU also supports the teachers and nurses call for the P25,000 starting salary not the SSL 2015.
It also said that the upcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit will further impose more inhumane policies on wages and salaries of workers, employees and even professionals in all sectors.
“We have no doubt that APEC Summit 2015 will uphold and expand the government’s unjust policy on wages and salaries. We’ve seen the effects of APEC 1996, and APEC’s current goals and agenda shows worse,” Alegre said

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