Female senators push for higher, decent pay on Labor Day
Senate of the Philippines. — File photo
MANILA, Philippines — On Labor Day, female senators joined together in calling for higher and a decent living wage, with one focusing on the plight of women “who carry this burden in silence.”
For Sen. Pia Cayetano, the long-standing call for better pay is also a gender issue.
“Women continue to face lower pay, fewer opportunities, and a heavier load of unpaid care work. A fair wage helps ease that burden and honors the labor they give—both inside and outside the home,” she said in a statement on Thursday.
She then recalled meeting many women, particularly mothers who skip meals so their children can eat, or who delay medical care “because there simply isn’t enough.”
According to her, “No one knows better what it’s like to stretch every peso just to get through the day—budgeting for food, school expenses, and daily needs, than a mother.”
“We cannot talk about progress and leave behind those who carry the weight of our homes and our economy,” Cayetano said.
“ If we truly aim to become an upper-middle income country, our workers—and especially our women and mothers—must be at the center of that vision,” she stressed.
She ended her Labor Day message by calling on the immediate passage of a legislated wage increase, which remains pending in the House of Representatives.
In February last year, the Senate approved the proposed P100 daily wage hike for workers in the private sector.
READ: Senate approves P100 daily wage hike bill
But it was just last February when a counterpart measure in the House of Representatives reached its plenary, still waiting to be approved on second and final reading.
READ:House OKs P200 minimum wage hike bill on 2nd reading
Opposition Sen. Risa Hontiveros, during a Labor Day observance in Lipa City, Batangas, renewed her call for Malacañang to certify the wage hike bill as urgent so the 19th Congress can approve it before it adjourns sine die on June 13.
Congress is currently on break and will resume session on June 2.
“If the 19th Congress ends without passing the wage hike bill, we’ll go back to zero,” she said.
Sen. Grace Poe likewise pressed for a wage increase, calling it a “timely and meaningful gift” to workers specially amid the soaring prices.
“Our fellow citizens are tightening their belts in every possible way just to make ends meet for their families. Let’s give them a chance to breathe and feel the fruits of their hard work,” Poe said in Filipino in a separate statement.
But it is not just about raising the workers’ pay, it is also about upholding their dignity and protecting their rights, Sen. Loren Legarda said.
“Labor Day reminds us that decent work is the foundation of a just society,” Legarda said in another statement.
“Every worker must have the opportunity not only to earn a living, but to thrive in conditions where dignity is upheld, rights are protected, and opportunities for advancement are accessible,” she added.
