MEMBERS OF THE Kilusang Mayo Uno conducted a #PayDayProtest on July 15, a week before Rodrigo Duterte’s State of the Nation Address. They condemned the regime’s continuing policy of wage repression, contractualization and the overarching jobs crisis in the country.

Farm workers from Hacien­da Buencon­sejoa in E.B. Ma­ga­lo­na, Neg­ros Occi­den­tal participated in the campaign. They said that their pockets are already empty because of the hacienda’s illegal closure and its management’s termination of workers. Their Their ₱150-daily wage is way below the legislated ₱365-daily minimum wage for workers in Neg­ros. Majority of them have worked in the hacienda for three up to 24 years.

In Cebu, drivers protested to condemn the bogus jeepney modernization program which is essentially a scheme to kill their livelihood. In Davao City, police elements illegally searched through the personal belongings of activists protesting in front of the regional office of the De­partment of La­bor and Employ­ment.

Earlier, workers spearheaded by the Pep­si Co­la Wor­kers Unity protested in front of the factory gates in Mun­tin­lu­pa City last July 12. They condemned the management for turning a deaf ear to the demands, including wage increase and the regularization of 1,000 contractuals, which they raised during negotiations for their col­lective bar­gai­ning agree­ment.