Women Workers United

Directions

Women Workers United WWU is comprised of women workers from the private and public sectors, and from the formal and informal economy.

Women Workers United (WWU) is the broadest formation of women workers and unionists from the major labor federations and women’s organizations in the country including, among others, the Federation of Free Workers (FFW), Kilusan ng Manggagawang Kababaihan (KMK), Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU), Partido Manggagawa (PM), Public Services Labor Independent Confederation (PSLINK) and Gabriela. Born out of the broad trade union’s engagement in the ILO High Level Tripartite Mission which investigated the grave violations on the right to freedom of association of workers in the Philippines, the WWU has since expanded its priority agenda to cover women workers' rights and their full and equal economic participation in the economy. The WWU recognizes gender equality as key to achieving decent work, sustainable development and social justice. WWU believes in challenging patriarchal structures, removing institutional barriers to freedom of association and women’s equal economic access, pushing for living wage and pay equity, creating effective measures to facilitate transition of workers from the informal to the formal economy, eliminating gender-based discrimination and violence, rebuilding the social organization of care, and strengthening social protection and quality public services towards a more just and equal world of work for all. Among WWU’s legislative priorities—which are also in line with the recommendations of the Joint Workers’ Report to the HLTM—are the following:

 Passage of Security of Tenure bills for both the public and private sectors
 Enactment of the ILO Convention 151 enabling law or the Public Service Labor Relations Act
 Passage of pro-worker, pro-women wage bills
 Ratification of ILO Convention 190 on the Elimination of Violence and Harassment in the World of Work

Women workers contributed to the development of the Labor’s 15-Point Agenda Towards Building Worker and Trade Union Power in the Philippines which was launched on December 2022. WWU is committed to becoming an inclusive platform to strengthen women workers’ unities and capacities on and mobilize support for the 15-Point Labor Agenda in general, and the specific priorities on gender equality and empowerment of all women and girls & the LGBTQI+ community under Agenda item #7 in particular including the following:

 Closing the gender pay gap
 Recognition of unpaid care work as work & implementation of policies that allow greater participation of both men & women in care work
 Ratification of ILO Convention 190 on ending gender-based violence in the world of work
 Continuous strengthening of the legal frameworks & policies aimed at ending violence against women & girls & combat attempts to roll back gains
 Passage of the SOGIESC Equality Act

The WWU is a dynamic and diverse alliance initiated and led by women workers for women workers and dedicated to championing gender equality and women’s economic empowerment.

𝐖𝐎𝐌𝐄𝐍 𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐊𝐄𝐑𝐒 𝐔𝐍𝐈𝐓𝐄𝐃 𝐇𝐎𝐋𝐃𝐒 𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐒𝐎𝐋𝐈𝐃𝐀𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐘 𝐒𝐄𝐒𝐒𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐎𝐍 𝐏𝐀𝐗 𝐒𝐈𝐋𝐈𝐂𝐀✊🏽Women Workers United (WWU) brought together wo...
08/09/2026

𝐖𝐎𝐌𝐄𝐍 𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐊𝐄𝐑𝐒 𝐔𝐍𝐈𝐓𝐄𝐃 𝐇𝐎𝐋𝐃𝐒 𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐒𝐎𝐋𝐈𝐃𝐀𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐘 𝐒𝐄𝐒𝐒𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐎𝐍 𝐏𝐀𝐗 𝐒𝐈𝐋𝐈𝐂𝐀✊🏽

Women Workers United (WWU) brought together women unionists, indigenous peoples’ rights defenders, and human rights advocates in Clark, Pampanga for a Learning and Solidarity Session on Pax Silica and Defending Human and Labor Rights in Trade, Investment, and Global Supply Chains.

The session examined how emerging technologies, trade and investment, and global supply chains are transforming work, communities, the environment, and our economy—and determining who holds power, who benefits, and who bears the costs. These issues are deeply connected to workers’ rights, gender justice, climate justice, human rights, sovereignty, peace, and the kind of national development we pursue.

We heard from movements and communities at the frontline. Dr. Giovanni Tapang of AGHAM and the Network Opposed to Pax Silica unpacked the technological, economic, and geopolitical dimensions of Pax Silica. Sr. Mary John Mananzan of the Movement Against Tyranny emphasized people’s resistance and democratic action. Mansaway Ayta Organization and ALAB Against Pax Silica shared the struggles of Ayta communities defending their ancestral lands, livelihoods, and rights. The Philippine Movement for Climate Justice connected the discussion to the climate crisis and our demands for just transition and climate justice. Labor Alliance for National Development discussed the US-China tech war, the role of Pax Silica in “de-risking” US supply chains, and the implications for Filipino workers, particularly women workers. We also invited representatives from the International Labour Organization who shared perspectives on just transition and existing international instruments on business, human, and labor rights.

Representatives from Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino, Federation of Free Workers, Kilusang Mayo Uno, Kilusan ng Manggagawang Kababaihan, Kilos na Manggagawa, Public Services Labor Independent Confederation, and Gabriela brought forward the perspectives, experiences, and concerns of women workers from different sectors.

Women are disproportionately concentrated in low-paid, insecure, and vulnerable work in global supply chains, carry a disproportionate share of unpaid care work, and face discrimination and violence at work and in communities. Militarization, geopolitical tensions, and armed conflict further deepen these inequalities, while resources that should fund healthcare, education, social protection, decent work, and public services are instead directed toward weapons, military spending, and war.

The growing competition over technologies, strategic resources, markets, and supply chains is not simply an economic or technological issue. It is also a question of power, sovereignty, and peace.

Women workers say no to a development model that exploits workers and communities, destroys the environment, and sacrifices people’s rights in the name of investment, strategic competition, and technological transformation. Women workers say no to militarism and imperialist wars.

Through the learning and solidarity session, we affirmed our commitment to advance the Women Workers Agenda that puts people and planet over profit and challenges systems of inequality and oppression.




Drop the Charges Against Sis. Jacq Ruiz! Defend Women Workers’ Rights and Human Rights Defenders!Women Workers United (W...
14/08/2026

Drop the Charges Against Sis. Jacq Ruiz! Defend Women Workers’ Rights and Human Rights Defenders!

Women Workers United (WWU) strongly condemns the filing of what we believe are baseless and politically motivated charges against Sis. Jacq Ruiz, WWU Co-Convenor, Spokesperson of the Kilusan ng Manggagawang Kababaihan (KMK), and a woman worker human rights defender, in connection with the Labor Day 2026 protest.

The issuance of an arrest warrant and the filing of charges against Jacq Ruiz for allegedly violating Article 153 of the Revised Penal Code constitute a disturbing form of judicial harassment and an attempt to criminalize the legitimate exercise of workers’ rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly, and protest. Labor Day is a historic occasion when workers around the world collectively raise their demands for decent work, living wages, job security, freedom of association, and social justice. Participating in such democratic action must never be treated as a crime.

As a woman worker leader and human rights defender, Jacq Ruiz has consistently stood with workers, particularly women workers, in advancing their rights and dignity. Her targeting sends a chilling message to women workers and women leaders who speak out against injustice, inequality, exploitation, and violations of workers’ rights. The harassment and persecution of women worker leaders must stop. Women workers must be protected—not silenced—for exercising their fundamental rights.

WWU calls on the government and concerned authorities to immediately drop all charges against Jacq Ruiz and end all forms of judicial harassment and intimidation against her and other labor leaders including Kilusang Mayo Uno Chairperson Jerome Adonis and Joseph Mallari. We likewise call for respect for the constitutional rights to freedom of speech, peaceful assembly, association, and collective action, as well as the Philippines’ commitments to fundamental labor and human rights standards.
Instead of prosecuting workers who raise legitimate concerns, the government must address the worsening conditions that compel workers to take to the streets: inadequate wages, precarious employment, violations of freedom of association, unsafe workplaces, discrimination, violence and harassment, and the continuing erosion of workers’ rights.

Women Workers United stands firmly with Sister Jacq Ruiz and all workers and human rights defenders facing harassment and persecution. We will not be silenced.

Drop the charges against Jacq Ruiz!

Defend women worker leaders and human rights defenders!

Protect freedom of association, expression, and peaceful assembly!�Stop the criminalization of workers’ legitimate struggles!

Respect and uphold workers’ and women’s human rights!



🏳️‍🌈 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭.✊Women Workers United proudly stood in solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community and other allies at th...
28/06/2026

🏳️‍🌈 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭.✊
Women Workers United proudly stood in solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community and other allies at the Stonewall Philippines Pride Protest held at Liwasang Bonifacio last June 26, and at the Metro Manila Pride March and Festival yesterday.

Pride is not just a celebration—it is a protest for rights, equality, and justice. It is a powerful reminder that the fight against discrimination, exploitation, violence, and harassment continues, in our workplaces, in our communities, and in our society.

As workers, we affirm: Pride is about Decent Work. Pride is about a Safe and Healthy World of Work for All.

LGBTQ+ workers continue to face discrimination in hiring, wages, promotion, and job security. Many are pushed into precarious work, low-wage jobs, or unsafe working conditions simply because of who they are. While workers struggle, corruption persists, accountability is absent, and regressive taxes continue to burden the poor.

During the Metro Manila Pride stage, the Women Workers United (WWU) advanced the Labor and Women Workers Agenda, calling for the:

📢 Passage of the SOGIESC Equality Bill, National Minimum Wage Hike Bill, and Safe World of Work Bill
📢 Ratification of ILO Convention 193 on Decent Work in the Platform Economy

We stand with freelance workers, delivery riders, ride-hailing drivers, and all platform workers who deserve rights, protection, and dignity at work.

The fight for LGBTQ+ rights is inseparable from the fight for labor rights.

WWU will continue to organize, resist, and demand a world where all workers, regardless of s*xual orientation, gender identity, expression, or s*x characteristics, can live and work with dignity.

🏳️‍🌈 Ang Pride ay Protesta!
MAKIBEKI, WAG MASHOKOT! ✊







11/06/2026

Women Workers United Co-Convenor and KMU Deputy Secretary General address at the 114th International Labour Conference.

On the last day of the celebration of National Women's Month, Women Workers United (WWU) continues to push forward in ou...
31/03/2026

On the last day of the celebration of National Women's Month, Women Workers United (WWU) continues to push forward in our 4th year of meaningful engagement with DOLE officials—tackling key updates on ILO C190, the FOA Roadmap, labor cases, and programs that directly impact women workers.

This dialogue is more than a meeting—it’s a space where women workers are heard, where issues are raised, and where solutions are shaped together. ✊



Nakiisa ang Women Workers United sa transport strike ngayong araw—buo ang aming pakikiisa sa laban ng mga tsuper at mang...
19/03/2026

Nakiisa ang Women Workers United sa transport strike ngayong araw—buo ang aming pakikiisa sa laban ng mga tsuper at manggagawa sa gitna ng walang tigil na pagtaas ng presyo ng langis at bilihin. Bilang kababaihang manggagawa, kami ang unang sumasalo sa bigat ng krisis—sa mahal na pamasahe, kulang na sahod, at araw-araw na pagba-budget para maitawid ang pamilya, habang patuloy kaming nagtatrabaho sa loob at labas ng tahanan.

Hindi makatarungan na habang lumalaki ang kita ng malalaking kumpanya ng langis, ang mga manggagawa at kanilang pamilya ang nagdurusa. Hindi katanggaptanggap ang kabiguan ng administrasyon na tugunan ang mga hinaing ng tsuper at manggagawa. Ang pagtaas ng presyo ng langis ay direktang tumatama sa kabuhayan, sa pagkain sa hapag, at sa kakayahan naming buhayin ang aming mga anak.

Kaya malinaw ang aming panawagan: VAT at Excise Tax sa Langis Tanggalin! Sahod Taasin! Oil Deregulation Law Ibasura!

Panahon na para unahin ang kapakanan ng mamamayan—lalo na ng kababaihang manggagawa na patuloy na lumalaban at nag-aalaga sa gitna ng krisis.

Ang laban ng mga manggagawa sa transportasyon ay laban din ng mga kababaihan. ✊🚗🔥

PRESS RELEASEMarch 17, 2026Women Workers United Backs Safe World of Work Bill, Pushes for Elimination of Violence and Ha...
17/03/2026

PRESS RELEASE

March 17, 2026

Women Workers United Backs Safe World of Work Bill, Pushes for Elimination of Violence and Harassment in Workplaces

Women Workers United expressed its full support for House Bill No. 8068, or the Safe World of Work Bill, a landmark measure that seeks to eliminate violence and harassment in all spheres of work. Filed a day before the session break of the 20th House of Representatives, women workers joined the offices of Cong. Sarah Elago, Cong. Renee Co, and Cong. Antonio Tinio in formally filing the bill, underscoring the urgency of institutionalizing protections for workers across sectors.

The proposed measure serves as the enabling law of ILO Convention 190, the first international labor standard that comprehensively addresses violence and harassment in the world of work. The Philippines ratified the Convention in February 2025, signaling its commitment to uphold safe, inclusive, and dignified workplaces for all. House Bill 8068 operationalizes this commitment by providing clear mechanisms, protections, and accountability measures.

“It is timely that House Bill 8608 was filed today as we celebrate National Women’s Month. This is a concrete step toward ensuring that workplaces are safe spaces where dignity, respect, and equality are upheld,” Women Workers United stated.

“Violence and harassment are not just individual issues—they are systemic barriers to decent work and gender equality.”

The bill outlines comprehensive provisions, including the definition of violence and harassment, identification of prohibited acts in the world of work, and robust prevention strategies. It establishes accessible reporting mechanisms, guarantees rights of persons in the world of work, and clearly delineates employer responsibilities. Importantly, it covers violence and harassment in both formal and informal economies, extends protection to Filipino workers overseas, and includes safeguards for victims of domestic violence whose safety affects their work.

Women Workers United emphasized that the bill ensures inclusive protection: “This measure recognizes that violence and harassment can affect anyone—regardless of gender, s*x, age, or employment status. It covers workers in the formal and informal economy, in public and private sectors, and includes migrant workers. No one should be left behind.”

The group also called on employers to take a proactive stance: “Companies should clearly declare and enforce a zero-tolerance policy on violence and harassment in the workplace. This must go beyond compliance—it should be embedded in workplace culture, policies, and everyday practice.”

Highlighting the broader implications, Women Workers United added: “Protecting workers from violence and harassment is essential to achieving gender equality and empowering women in the workforce. Safe workplaces enable participation, productivity, and leadership, especially for women and marginalized groups.”
Finally, the group raised concern over persistent threats faced by labor organizers: “We also call for an end to red-tagging and attacks against trade unionists and worker advocates. A truly safe world of work cannot exist where workers are intimidated or silenced for asserting their rights.”

Women Workers United urged lawmakers to prioritize the swift passage of the Safe World of Work Bill and reaffirm the country’s commitment to dignity, safety, and justice for all workers.



08/03/2026

Martsa ng Kababaihang Manggagawa mula sa Women Workers United upang ipagdiwang ang Pandaigdigang Araw ng Kababaihang Manggagawa.

Sahod, itaas!
Presyo, ibaba!
VAT, tanggalin!
Korap, panagutin!

Women Workers Rise: VAT Tanggalin, Sahod Pataasin, Kurakot Panagutin! On International Working Women’s Day, Women Worker...
08/03/2026

Women Workers Rise: VAT Tanggalin, Sahod Pataasin, Kurakot Panagutin!

On International Working Women’s Day, Women Workers United (WWU) joins women across the Philippines in raising a militant and united call: VAT Tanggalin, Sahod Pataasin, Kurakot Panagutin!

This year’s commemoration takes place amid intensifying global and domestic crises that deepen the exploitation and hardship faced by women workers. The escalating conflict in the Middle East triggered by the military aggression of the United States and Israel against Iran has driven global oil prices upward, threatening to unleash another wave of increases in fuel costs, electricity rates, transport fares, and the prices of basic commodities. Once again, it is workers—especially women workers and poor families—who are forced to bear the heaviest burden of global crises they did not create.

The conflict also places Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) in the Middle East—most of whom are women—at grave risk of injury, displacement, and death. Among the first casualties is Mary Anne Velazquez de Vera, a migrant caregiver from Pangasinan, who lost her life protecting and guiding her elderly patient to safety during a missile strike. Her death underscores the extreme vulnerability of women OFWs, whose labor sustains families back home even as they face life‑threatening conditions abroad.

At the same time, the administration of Ferdinand Marcos Jr. continues to disregard the urgent demands of workers for a living wage and meaningful relief from soaring prices such as by immediately removing regressive taxes such as the Value Added Tax (VAT) and excise taxes on fuel, the government has pushed energy conservation measures and a four-day work week in government offices—responses widely criticized by workers as stop-gap measures that are disconnected from the real economic hardships faced by women and ordinary families.

Women workers—who are concentrated in low-paid, insecure, and undervalued jobs—are among those hardest hit by stagnant wages and rising costs of living. Moreover, women continue to shoulder the overwhelming burden of unpaid care work in households and communities: raising children, caring for the sick and elderly, and sustaining families and communities despite deepening economic hardship.

Corruption intensifies these inequalities. Public funds that should finance essential services such as health care, childcare, education, and social protection are routinely plundered or misused. Despite repeated corruption scandals and widespread public outrage, there remains a persistent failure to hold accountable those at the highest levels of power. Political and economic elites continue to enjoy impunity while workers and poor communities suffer the consequences of stolen public resources, deteriorating services, and worsening inequality.

For women workers, corruption is economic violence. Every peso stolen from public funds is a peso taken away from hospitals, schools, childcare services, social protection, and other vital programs that support working families.

Furthermore, regressive taxation continues to punish workers and poor households. The Value Added Tax (VAT) forces women workers and poor families to subsidize a system that protects the wealth of billionaires and large corporations while extracting from those who have the least.

Women Workers United demands the immediate scrapping of VAT and excise taxes on fuel and basic commodities, alongside the implementation of a wealth tax to ensure that the richest individuals and corporations finally pay their fair share. Public resources must be redirected toward strengthening public services and building a robust system of publicly funded care services.

WWU reiterates the urgent demand to abolish regional wage rates, a system that institutionalizes inequality and traps millions of workers—especially women—in poverty. Wage policies must guarantee equal and adequate pay for all workers across the country. WWU demands the implementation of a national living wage that allows workers and their families to live with dignity. Women workers cannot continue to survive on poverty wages while prices soar and corporate profits expand.

Women workers in the informal economy—including street vendors, home-based workers, domestic workers, and Barangay Health Workers—remain among the most marginalized in the labor force. They endure unstable incomes, unsafe working conditions, lack of benefits and social protection, yet continue to carry the heaviest burden of rising prices and regressive taxation.

Women Workers United underscores the urgent need for publicly funded care systems, including childcare, elder care, and community-based health services. Women’s unpaid care labor sustains households, communities, and the broader economy, yet it remains systematically ignored and unsupported by state policies.

Women Workers United strongly condemns the ongoing military aggression of the United States and Israel against Iran and calls for an immediate ceasefire. Imperialist wars and militarism devastate communities, displace families, and divert enormous resources away from public services toward military expansion.

Women workers reject imperialist wars, militarism, and the rise of authoritarian and fascist politics. The struggle for workers’ rights, gender justice, peace, and economic democracy are inseparable.

International Working Women’s Day was born from the militant struggles of women workers who organized, struck, and fought against exploitation and oppression. Today, that legacy continues as women workers rise to confront corruption, poverty wages, regressive taxes, economic injustice, fascism, and imperialism.

Women workers will continue to organize, mobilize, and fight for a society where labor is valued, corruption is punished, wages are just, and peace, justice and dignity prevail.

Nakiisa ang Women Workers United sa ika-11 taon ng Purple Action Day ng Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines. K...
02/03/2026

Nakiisa ang Women Workers United sa ika-11 taon ng Purple Action Day ng Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines. Kinilala ang mga women human rights defenders bilang mga buhay na SHEroes.

Karapatan ng Kababaihan, Ipaglaban!
Karahasan sa Kababaihan, Wakasan! Wakasan!


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