Sentro ng mga Nagkakaisa at Progresibong Manggagawa - Sentro

06/10/2026

Recent wage increases are already losing much of their purchasing power as inflation accelerates, according to a labor group.

Labor group Sentro ng mga Nagkakaisa at Progresibong Mangagawa (SENTRO) urged the government to respond before rising prices further erode workers’ incomes.

Recent wage increases are already losing much of their purchasing power as inflation accelerates, according to a labor group. Labor group Sentro ng mga Nagkakaisa at Progresibong Mangagawa (SENTRO) urged the government to respond before rising prices further erode workers’ incomes. SENTRO said the...

06/10/2026

LABOR group Sentro ng mga Nagkakaisa at Progresibong Manggagawa (SENTRO) on Monday lamented as unacceptable workers’ wages that continue to lag behind as prices of basic commodities and services steadily rise.

This is why the labor sector is now pushing for the conduct of a stakeholders’ summit on the living wage crisis.

LABOR group Sentro ng mga Nagkakaisa at Progresibong Manggagawa (SENTRO) on Monday lamented as unacceptable workers’ wages that continue to lag behind as prices of basic commodities and services steadily rise. This is why the labor sector is now pushing for the conduct of a stakeholders’ summit ...

06/10/2026

Asuncion Binos devoted her life to the cause of the working class, especially to the struggle and dignity of women workers in the garments industry.

Let us honor her life by remembering her tireless devotion to our cause and the countless workers whose lives she touched and fought alongside. We are grateful to her family for sharing Sion with us and allowing us to be part of her remarkable journey.

Our deepest condolences to her family, loved ones, and comrades. May they find comfort in knowing that Sion’s life of service will continue to inspire us.

Rest in power, Kasamang Sion. ✊🏽✊🏽✊🏽

05/10/2026

Nagkaisa calls on the Philippine government to go beyond expressing concern over the reported airstrike in Kyauktaw, Rakhine State, that killed 50 people and injured dozens more.

The attack is the latest manifestation of a devastating conflict that has reportedly killed around 100,000 people and displaced more than 3.5 million. Reuters report

Expressing concern is not enough. Monitoring is not enough. As ASEAN chair, the Philippines must act.

Nagkaisa calls on the Philippine government to recognize the National Unity Government (NUG) as the legitimate representative of the democratic forces of Myanmar and engage it directly in shaping the regional response to the crisis.

The Philippines should also implement, on its own and together with other ASEAN member states, the measures adopted under Article 33 of the ILO Constitution concerning Myanmar. These measures were adopted after the ILO Commission of Inquiry found grave violations of freedom of association and the prohibition of forced labour.

For Nagkaisa, this means using the Philippines’ diplomatic and economic relations to ensure that they do not enable, facilitate or prolong violations of workers’ rights. It also means pressing for the protection of Myanmar’s independent trade unions and the release of detained trade unionists and labor activists.

ASEAN has repeatedly expressed concern over the violence and the lack of progress in implementing its Five-Point Consensus. The continuing bloodshed shows that statements alone are not enough.

As ASEAN chair, the Philippines should use its leadership to build regional support for democratic forces, humanitarian protection and workers’ rights—and to ensure that the ILO’s Article 33 measures are actually acted upon.

Myanmar needs more than ASEAN concern. Its people and workers need governments to take a clear stand and concrete action.

05/10/2026

05/10/2026

Filipino workers are being squeezed from all sides: prices remain elevated, transport costs are rising, wages continue to lag behind the cost of living, and households now face the prospect of higher electricity costs as Meralco seeks a new regulatory rate framework.

This is no longer a series of isolated price increases. It is a living wage crisis that demands a comprehensive government response.

Workers cannot be expected to absorb one cost increase after another while wages remain stuck in a system that adjusts them slowly, unevenly and inadequately.

“Prices are rising, fares are rising, electricity costs are under pressure, but wages are lagging behind. Government keeps telling workers to tighten their belts. The problem is, prices are already pulling the belt tight around their necks. This is not simply a wage problem. This is a living wage crisis, and government needs a comprehensive response,” said SENTRO Secretary General Josua Mata.

The coming El Niño makes the situation even more urgent.

Government has announced preparations for a potentially very strong El Niño, including interventions for agriculture, irrigation, water supply, food and social protection. But where is the worker in the government’s El Niño plan?

Millions of workers—construction workers, delivery riders, transport workers, agricultural workers, street vendors and other outdoor workers—will be directly exposed to extreme heat and climate-related disruptions to their livelihoods.

Government cannot simply ask workers to prepare while leaving them to shoulder the economic consequences.

“We need a summit on the living wage crisis—not another piecemeal response to each price increase as it happens. Bring together labor, government, employers and the agencies regulating wages, transport, power, food and energy. The question is simple: how do we make sure that working people can actually afford to live on the wages they earn?” Mata said.

SENTRO reiterates its call for an immediate summit on the living wage crisis to develop a coherent package of measures covering wages, prices, transport, electricity, food security, employment and climate protection.

The summit should produce concrete measures, including:
- A legislated ₱200 across-the-board wage increase nationwide to restore workers’ purchasing power;

- Transport relief for workers and commuters, while addressing the operating-cost crisis facing transport workers;

- An independent audit of the power sector and Meralco’s charges, amid allegations of excessive and unjustified collections amounting to hundreds of billions of pesos. No audit, no rate increase.

- A funded El Niño employment and livelihood program for workers whose jobs and incomes are disrupted by drought and extreme heat;

- Food and agricultural interventions to prevent climate shocks from triggering another round of food-price increases; and

- A long-term industrial and public-investment strategy to reduce the economy’s vulnerability to imported fuel, food and energy shocks.

The government cannot continue treating wages, inflation, transport, electricity, food and climate as separate policy problems when they converge in the household budget of every Filipino worker.

SENTRO calls on the government to convene the living wage summit before the crisis deepens further.

Workers need more than assurances that government is preparing. They need wages they can live on, affordable basic services, protection from climate shocks—and, above all, leadership.

At a time when workers are being squeezed from every side, the country needs a government that leads, acts and delivers.

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04/10/2026

WAFID: HEALTH CHECK, OR DISCRIMINATION?

SENTRO and PIN@Y Careworkers Transnational express grave concern over the Wafid digital platform for medical examinations imposed on Filipino and other migrant workers seeking employment in the Gulf.

A Discriminatory System
And Wafid is not simply a health check. Its own rules explicitly identify conditions that can result in a worker being declared “unfit” for work or residence, including HIV, pregnancy, diabetes, among others.

Several of these criteria are contrary to, or raise serious concerns under, established International Labor Organization (ILO) standards.

ILO Recommendation No. 200 states that workers, including migrant workers and job applicants, should not be required to undergo HIV testing and should not be excluded from migration on the basis of actual or perceived HIV status. ILO standards also recognize that medical screening of migrant workers should be linked to genuine occupational requirements, not become a blanket mechanism for excluding people from employment.

This raises a fundamental question for the Gulf Health Council and the governments of the GCC: Are these same medical requirements imposed on workers who are nationals of the Gulf countries? If not, why should migrant workers be subjected to medical exclusion criteria that do not apply equally to national workers?

If the distinction is based simply on migrant status, it raises a serious question of discrimination.

Rising costs, and a circumvention of the Zero Placement Fee Policy
The DMW acknowledged the “financial and logistical burdens” the Wafid system imposes on prospective migrants. Workers will spend at least P12,000 just to use the platform and complete the tests. In order to schedule their screenings, workers must go online and pay the Wafid registration fee of USD 10-25 with a credit or debit card. They are then forced to travel and spend on accommodations to reach accredited clinics arbitrarily assigned — not chosen — to them. As of August, there are only 24 accredited clinics across the country, and it is an algorithm, not a person, which chooses which clinic a prospective worker should go to.

If Filipino migrant workers are required to spend additional money for Wafid examinations, repeat examinations, or other Wafid-related requirements simply to access employment, the government must explain whether these costs are consistent with its commitment to protect workers from recruitment and placement costs. A “no placement fee” policy means little if workers are effectively made to shoulder the cost of getting through an increasingly expensive recruitment and migration processes.

The need for transparency
SENTRO and PIN@Y call for full transparency on the Wafid system: its scientific and occupational-health basis, the application of its “unfit” criteria, the treatment of GCC nationals under their own medical requirements, the confidentiality of workers’ medical information, and the availability of an effective appeal and review process.

Protecting public health is legitimate. Using health status to shut migrant workers out of decent work is another matter.

Migrant workers are workers—not medical categories to be screened out.

Their health must be protected. Their dignity must be respected. Their rights must be upheld.

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04/10/2026

₱500 MILLION IS NOT ENOUGH: SENTRO-NCTU DEMANDS FULL ₱5-BILLION SERVICE CONTRACTING FUND

SENTRO and the National Confederation of Transport Workers’ Union (NCTU) welcome the insertion of funding for the Service Contracting Program in the proposed 2027 national budget, but say the ₱500 million provided is woefully inadequate. They call on Congress to restore the full ₱5 billion requested by the Department of Transportation (DOTr).

The Executive’s 2027 National Expenditure Program initially provided zero funding for service contracting. The House Budget Amendments Review Subcommittee (BARSc) subsequently inserted ₱500 million for the program. SENTRO and NCTU welcome the insertion as recognition that service contracting needs to continue, but the amount is woefully inadequate: ₱500 million is only 10 percent of the ₱5 billion requested by DOTr.

₱5 BILLION IS ONLY A START

The ₱5-billion proposal comes from DOTr itself, reflecting government’s recognition that service contracting is needed to sustain public transport amid rising fuel and operating costs.

But even ₱5 billion is only a drop in the bucket compared with the scale of what is needed.

In its 2026 budget advocacy, the Move As One Coalition proposed more than ₱101 billion for service contracting—roughly 20 times DOTr’s current proposal.

The contrast is stark: ₱500 million is only a fraction of what DOTr itself requested, while even the ₱5 billion request remains far below what transport advocates have identified as necessary.

TRANSPORT WORKERS ARE ALREADY CARRYING THE COST

The urgency is evident on the ground.

A September study by the Congressional Policy and Budget Research Department found that rising diesel prices reduced the average daily take-home pay of public utility jeepney drivers in Quezon City by 46.7 percent, from ₱1,278 to just ₱681—below Metro Manila’s ₱695 daily minimum wage at the time.

Meanwhile, transport cooperatives that invested in modernized jeepneys are struggling with the combined burden of fuel, maintenance and financing costs amid inadequate and unstable revenues.

Workers and cooperatives cannot be expected to absorb the cost of maintaining a public transport system.

Service contracting shifts part of that burden to government, allowing public funds to support reliable transport while providing drivers and operators with more predictable incomes.

It should therefore be treated as a public investment in affordable mobility, decent livelihoods and a just transition in public transportation.

PILOT, PROVE AND SCALE UP

SENTRO and NCTU call for the ₱5-billion fund to be used strategically.

The program should pilot worker-centered service contracting models in partnership with transport workers, cooperatives and LGUs. Workers should have a meaningful role in designing and monitoring the program, while LGUs help identify routes and communities where it can address mobility gaps.

The program must ensure clear eligibility rules, transparent contracts, timely payments and accountability, so that public funds deliver both actual transport services and decent, predictable incomes.

Successful pilots should then become the basis for substantially expanding and institutionalizing service contracting in succeeding national budgets.

FUND THE SOLUTION

SENTRO and NCTU therefore demand:

Restore the full ₱5 billion requested by DOTr for Service Contracting in the 2027 national budget;
Implement worker-centered pilots with transport workers, cooperatives and LGUs;
Guarantee transparency, timely payments and accountability; and
Institutionalize and expand service contracting as a permanent pillar of reliable, affordable and worker-centered public transport.

The insertion of service contracting is a welcome step. But with drivers’ incomes under pressure and transport cooperatives struggling to survive, government must match the scale of the crisis with the scale of its investment.

₱500 MILLION IS NOT ENOUGH. RESTORE THE FULL ₱5 BILLION.

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04/10/2026

The government’s new El Niño plan leaves workers out

Where Is the El Niño Plan for Workers?

SENTRO today questioned the government’s newly announced El Niño response, saying the plan lays out measures for crops, water, power and public health—but leaves unanswered the most basic question for workers:

Where is the plan for jobs, incomes and working conditions?

“The government has a plan for crops, water, power and public health. But where is the El Niño plan for workers?” said Josua Mata, SENTRO secretary general.

The government’s announcement comes as PAGASA warns that El Niño could become Very Strong and persist into the first half of 2027. The government is preparing for drought, water shortages, crop losses, power problems and health emergencies.

But workers are also on the front line of this crisis.

When crops fail, farm workers lose work. When fishing is disrupted, fisherfolk lose income. When the heat becomes unbearable, construction workers, delivery riders, street vendors and other outdoor workers lose working hours—or are forced to choose between their health and their income.

The damage does not end there. When farmers and other workers lose income, local businesses lose customers. Transport workers, market vendors, food workers and other informal workers feel the squeeze.

And when food prices rise while workers are losing hours and income, workers get hit twice.

The government knows the employment consequences of El Niño. During the last episode, DOLE had to deploy TUPAD and livelihood assistance to workers whose livelihoods were disrupted.

Yet in the new El Niño preparations just announced, there is still no clear, comprehensive labor and employment component.

Where is the employment early-warning system? Where is the emergency employment program? Where is the income support for workers who lose work because of drought? Where is the comprehensive protection against extreme heat?

SENTRO is calling for a dedicated El Niño Labor and Employment Action Plan—one that anticipates the impact on workers instead of waiting for livelihoods to collapse.

The government must identify the workers and sectors most exposed to job losses, reduced working hours and income shocks—not just the areas where crops are likely to fail. It must pre-position funds for emergency employment and income support, including climate-resilience work such as irrigation rehabilitation, water harvesting, reforestation and fire prevention.

Workers must also be protected from extreme heat. Employers should provide water, adequate rest, shade or cooling and appropriate work schedules, backed by stronger enforcement of occupational safety and health standards.

The government must measure the real labor impact of El Niño by tracking lost working hours, underemployment, and wage and income losses—not simply waiting for the unemployment rate to rise.

And workers must have a seat at the table. DOLE should convene government, employers and trade unions to plan, implement and monitor the labor response to El Niño.

But SENTRO said the question is not only what the government plans to do. It must also say how much it is prepared to spend.

SENTRO has questioned the funding for El Niño interventions, particularly after the Department of Budget and Management said that existing programs and funds are being tapped for the response, while the amount specifically attributable to El Niño still needs to be disaggregated.

SENTRO called for an updated El Niño plan. And this is the government’s response?

“A serious crisis requires more than a list of existing programs that can potentially be tapped. We need a clear plan, clear targets and clear funding. The workers who will bear the cost of this crisis deserve to know where they stand in the government’s response,” Mata said.

“TUPAD after the harvest is lost is not a plan. Relief after workers have lost their income is not preparedness,” Mata said. “If the government has a plan for El Niño, it must have a plan—and a budget—for workers.”

The government cannot call its response comprehensive if it counts damaged crops and depleted reservoirs but does not count jobs lost, hours cut and wages foregone.

Protect the crops. Secure the water. Keep the lights on. Protect public health. And protect the people who work.

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03/10/2026