Church official: Don’t forget private workers

A day after President Benigno Aquino announced a “substantial” salary adjustment for state workers, an official of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) Monday asked Malacañang not to forget the workers in the private sector.

Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo, chairman of the CBCP’s National Secretariat for Social Action (NASSA), issued the appeal in time for today’s observance of Labor Day.

The prelate said the administration should also grant a wage increase to ordinary workers and not just to government workers in view of the rising prices of basic commodities and fuel.

“I hope it’s not only the government workers… the ordinary workers should get something because they are the backbone of our society,” said Pabillo.

“We continue to appeal for a wage increase. The prices of basic commodities and fuel continue to rise yet the wage that the people are getting remains stagnant. The people are already hard-up,” he added.

In Malacañang, Presidential Spokesman Edwin Lacierda said: “There will be good news, definitely.”

However, Lacierda said he will leave it up to the president to announce the good news to the workers, possibly in a dialogue with labor groups set at the Heroes’ Hall of Malacañang at 10 a.m. today.

“I don’t want to preempt the President. There’s a plan (for Labor Day). Let’s just wait for the meeting to happen and he will lay out what’s in store for them,” he said.

He said the meeting of the President with various labor groups would be an avenue to hear about the plight of Filipino workers.

“It is always good to dialogue with the groups. Definitely, the President will hear out what their concerns are,” Lacierda said.

Report from Manila Bulletin