Workers from Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU), the National Wage Coalition, All Workers Unity, and various groups trooped to Congress on June 2 to demand anew the immediate enactment of a nationwide wage increase for all workers. They timed their protest with the opening of the last session of the 19th Congress, and before the opening of the 20th Congress in July.

“Workers have every reason to fight… because we are society’s wealth creators and movers of development,” Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) official and recent elections’ former Senate candidate Jerome Adonis, declared. “A ₱200 initial wage increase is reasonable and just, and it is the first step toward an eventual living wage of ₱1,200.”

Workers called the enactment of the ₱200 per day wage increase proposals, pending in Congress and the Senate, “long overdue.” They said that even if the ₱200 increase remains far from the ₱1,200 living wage, the government must urgently approve and sign it into law.

Gabriela Women’s Party Rep. Arlene Brosas joined the call and delivered a priviledge speech inside the House to bring the demands of the workers into the chamber. Rep. France Castro of ACT Teachers Party and Rep. Raoul Manuel of Kabataan Party participated in the protest.

Private sector and government employees also joined the protest, calling for a ₱33,000 monthly minimum salary for Salary Grade 1; ₱36,000 entry-level salary for BPO workers; and ₱50,000 entry-level salary for teachers, nurses, and health sector professionals.