01/05/2026
OFFICIAL STATEMENT ON LABOR DAY 2026
The Alpha Phi Omega Fraternity - Eta Chapter raises its fist in solidarity with every Filipino worker this Labor Day.
Labor Day exists and is commemorated across the world because workers bled for it through generations of struggle. The eight-hour workday, humane conditions of labor, and the right to organize were not granted, instead they were fought for, and in many cases, died for. Behind each of these gains lies the blood and sacrifice of those who refused to have their labor exploited as the natural order of things. We don’t just celebrate that history today. We remind ourselves that the fight isn’t over.
This year gave us proof that workers still win when they stand together. After a six-day strike beginning April 15, the workers of Kowloon House in West Avenue, Quezon City, won a historic victory against management’s years-long refusal to honor their Collective Bargaining Agreement. The workers of Glowhrain - Kilusang Mayo Uno secured a P40 wage increase over two years, recovery of unpaid service charges, and a full package of benefits including signing bonus, leave benefits, and educational aid. The workers proved that their unity is not merely symbolic, but the very concrete mechanism that brings capital to the table.
But the victory at Kowloon does not dissolve the larger crisis of a broken system.
DOLE just announced it won't be pushing for a minimum wage increase this Labor Day, even as oil prices rise and everyday goods get more expensive. Right now, the average Filipino worker earns Php 470 a day. Against the monthly poverty threshold of roughly P14,000 for a family of five, the Php 1,200 living wage demand is not a radical ask. It is the bare minimum for human survival — yet it still remains unacted upon.
At the same time, the Philippine Statistics Authority reported that unemployment hit its highest point since 2022 earlier this year. The available jobs are increasingly becoming contractual, unstable, and poorly paid. IBON estimates that eight out of ten Filipino families are considered highly vulnerable to price shocks, meaning one bad month could push them under precarity. This was already true before the current oil crisis. It has become exponentially worse now.
The Marcos Jr. administration must answer for this. Neoliberal policies like the Oil Deregulation Law, the Rice Tariffication Law, and the historical protection of elite ruling-class interests in government have compounded the structural failures that keep Filipino workers poor. The bureaucrat-capitalists and corrupt legislators who block reform while raiding the public treasury must be held to account.
The Alpha Phi Omega Fraternity - Eta Chapter stands with the working class not as a gesture but as a commitment. The struggles of workers are inseparable from the struggles of youth, peasants, and all the oppressed.
SAHOD ITAAS, PRESYO IBABA!
DEFEND WORKERS!
WORKERS OF THE WORLD UNITE!
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Sources:
Bulatlat. (2026, April 17). Kowloon House workers’ strike vs management’s insistence on pittance wage hike. https://www.bulatlat.com/2026/04/17/kowloon-house-workers-strike-vs-managements-insistence-on-pittance-wage-hike/
IBON Foundation. (2025, March). Minimum wage and family living wage per region as of March 2025. https://www.ibon.org/minimum-wage-and-family-living-wage-per-region-as-of-march-2025/
IBON Foundation. (2026, April 8). Most Filipinos trapped in precarious work. https://www.ibon.org/most-filipinos-trapped-in-precarious-work/
Philippine Daily Inquirer. (2026, May 1). DOLE: No minimum wage hike for May 1. https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/2205502/dole-no-minimum-wage-hike-for-may-1
