Four unions staged protests and collective actions this week to advance their rights to collective bargaining and demand a fair increase in wages.

In Quezon City, Kowloon House restaurant workers staged a protest action during their lunchbreak on November 3. They demanded the company to comply with the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) order in May raising minimum wages from ₱537 to ₱570. They also called for a national minimum wage based on the living wage of ₱1,119. They are set to negotiate their collective bargaining agreement (CBA) before the end of the year.

On the same day, workers of the Technol Eight Workers Union staged a picket in front of the National Conciliation and Mediation Board while their petition for the CBA negotiations to continue was being heard. Negotiations have been held 15 times in the plant but no headway has been achieved. This is because the company refuses to increase wages beyond ₱24/day.

The University Hotel Workers Union (UHWU) announced on the same day that the management and their union have agreed on a new CBA. The union fought decisively for higher wages and extra benefits beyond the previous CBA. As a result of their fight, workers salaries have been increased by ₱7,000 a month since 2005. The UHWU is the union of workers in the University Hotel of the University of the University of the Philippines in Diliman, Quezon City.

On October 25, contractual workers of TS Tech Trim Philippines staged a protest in front of the DOLE national office. They called for the agency to release its decision to make them regular workers in the factory. As early as 2018, the DOLE favored the workers demand for TS Tech and the Yashima Sangyo Philippines Inc. management agency to have an agreement for regularization. They also complained against Yashima’s violations of labor laws such as forced leave, lack of adequate benefits and incentives, and excessive overtime work.