UP community joins workers' struggle for rights, welfare on Labor Day

Philip Jamilla

April 30

Every first of May, Labor Day is commemorated around the world in honor of workers' immeasurable contributions to society and the continuing struggle to uphold labor rights and welfare.

May 1 is important rallying point for the mobilizations of labor groups and unions around the world. Filipino workers first marked Labor Day in 1903 as the Union Obrera Democratica de Filipinas led a 10,000-strong march through the streets of Manila to demand not only fair pay and better working conditions but also Philippine independence from American colonial rule.

The University of the Philippines (UP) community has been a significant part of this rich and historical tradition—and it has stood with workers in their calls for higher wages, humane labor practices, and social protection. This year, in the weeks leading up to Labor Day, members of the UP community led various activities to amplify and further register their solidarity with these calls.

From unions to student organizations, to offices and constituent units, here is a rundown of some of the UP community's initiatives throughout April in support of our workers.

Workers' initiatives

For the past weeks, unions and labor groups have initiated forums and spearheaded campaigns to assert their calls for better pay and working conditions.

*Photos courtesy of Fred Dabu, UP MPRO.*

The UP Salary Fight Network, a broad network of faculty and academic and non-academic staff throughout the UP System, submitted before the Board of Regents meeting on April 3 the following 10 demands that call for the increase of workers' salaries, timely pay and delivery of benefits, and the regularization of the university's contractual staff and personnel. The network continues to gain ground in the grassroots with its tireless house-to-house and office-hopping campaigns over the past few weeks to garner support from members of the UP community.

Chapters of the AUPAEU from all over the UP System flocked to Baguio City from April 20 to 22 for the union's National Council. Alongside situationers on the ongoing campaigns for salary increases and regularization of contractual workers in the university, the National Council also registered their opposition to proposals for Charter Change as well as the current framework of the PUV modernization program.

In commemoration of the International Workers' Memorial Day last April 28, national labor federation Kilusang Mayo Uno partnered with the UP College of Mass Communication for the Talakayang K4: Kalusugan, Kaligtasan, Klima, Kalikasan, a forum on workers' occupational health and safety amid the climate crisis.

On the eve of Labor Day, more than 100 workers from across the UP System joined an online forum led by the AUPWU's National Education Committee to discuss the urgency of increasing workers' wages and of addressing other concerns faced by workers in the public and private sectors.

Santiago Dasmariñas Jr., president of the Confederation for Unity, Recognition, and Advancement of Government Employees (COURAGE), and Edgardo Gado, secretary general of KMU's chapter in the National Capital Region, led the forum in asserting the passage of a nationwide 33,000-peso minimum wage for all government employees alongside measures to uphold security of tenure, end contractualization, and protect workers' rights to self-organize.

Empowering workers

A total of 39 trade unionists completed the six-day Paralegal Training Program on Labor Rights and Remedies conducted by the UP Law Center's Workers and Employees Program in collaboration with the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) from April 11 to 12 and 17 to 20.

In line with UP's mandate as a public service university to address urgent societal problems and advance national development, the six-day training program provided trade unionists with an immersive learning experience designed not only to help navigate the labor laws and legal issues, but to empower them with the tools to protect their rights and for documenting and responding to reported violations.

On April 11, the UP College of Nursing hosted the Advanced Nursing Practice through Transnational Education seminar. Through a partnership with the Edinburgh Napier University in Scotland, the seminar aims to strengthen the practice of nursing and expand the knowledge and skills of our country's nurses by exposing them to the advanced practices in other countries.

Close encounters

Cultural programs and educational discussions led UP's student organizations and unions also became platforms for encounters with workers—allowing members of the UP community to have close encounters and discussions with workers themselves.

On April 16, as part of the activities for this year's UP Visayas Fair, the UP Visayas University Student Council together with the Iloilo chapters of the All UP Workers Union (AUPWU) and the All UP Academic Employees Union (AUPAEU) led a series of educational discussions, including a primer on the issues faced by transport sector such as the Public Utility Vehicle (PUV) modernization program.

The third and final night of the UP Visayas Fair last April 25 also spotlighted their community's local sectors—particularly the tricycle drivers of the Bolho, Sapa, UPV Tricycle Operators and Drivers Association (BSUTODA) which, for decades, have served and provided transportation to the members of UP Visayas' Miagao campus.

Meanwhile, the UP Writers Club's Lit UP 2024: Versus featured a roundtable discussion with various cultural workers on the literature and literary production of the working class. To ground these discussions, Lit UP 2024: Versus also involved discussion groups on the PUV modernization program with UP Diliman's jeepney drivers from the UP Transport Group.