Labor senatorial bets to push for decent wages

THREE candidates for senator representing the labor sector have vowed to work for a decent living wage of at least P1,200 a day and other amendments in labor laws that are used by big business to justify the continued exploitation of workers. The decade-old labor issues were brought out again by Partido Lakas ng Masa (PLM) senatorial candidate Luke Espiritu, president of the Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino; Makabayan Coalition candidate Jerome Adonis, president of the Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU); and Workers' and Peasants' Party (Philippines) candidate Sonny Matula, president of the Federation of Free Workers (FFW) and concurrent chairman of the Nagkaisa Labor Coalition, during the recent Manila Times-DZRH Election Series. Espiritu said that if elected, he would focus on the minimum wage of the country's workers, which he described as the most aggrieved and abused in the world. "It is really an anomaly that if you are an ordinary wage earner, you live below the poverty line. It is anomalous because workers in other countries are not that aggrieved," he said. "What kind of business can thrive in a country with pauperized workers? How can we industrialize? How can there be commerce if the general public doesn't have the money to spend?" he said. Espiritu said the workers need a wage that is in the level of the minimum cost of living of P1,200 to P1,615. He said it is also time to dismantle the manpower agencies to resolve the longstanding problem of contractualization. "The manpower agency is a business that is 'non-business' because it does not contribute to production and society. It is an added layer that makes it hard for workers to unionize and violates the workers' right to security of tenure," he added. Espiritu assured that removing manpower agencies will not affect the country's economy but instead help create a production-based economy. Adonis said he would focus on comprehensive labor rights, particularly the realization of the workers' constitutional right to a living wage. According to a February 2025 study by the IBON Foundation, a family of four in the National Capital Region should receive a wage of P1,225/day or P26,638/month in order to live decently. The minimum wage in NCR is P645, the highest among all regions in the country. The Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) has the lowest at P316-P361. Adonis said that the workers deserved to get their due shares from the billions of pesos earned by big corporations and based on the government's announcement that the economy is the fastest growing in Asia. "The ordinary workers really work hard. Why is it that their wages can't provide a decent support for their families?" he said. Adonis said he would also push for amendments to Article 106-109 of the Labor Code of the Philippines which, he pointed out, provide the big business the tools to abuse the workers' rights to security of tenure through contractualization. Matula said he supports the same agenda espoused by Espiritu and Adonis, but, in addition, he would also push for the modernization of agriculture as a step forward to food sufficiency. "I will push for agro industrialization for our food security. We will help those in the countryside to establish businesses for agro industrialization," he said. Matula said the government should also give the children of farmers the chance to get a good education by providing them with scholarships, including allowance, free food, access to modern technology, and free transportation from their homes to their schools. "I will focus on amending Articles 106-109 of the Labor Code and as well review the existing Regional Tripartite and Productivity Board in wage determining the minimum wage," he added.