Women's group demands livable wage, elimination of gender pay gap

A day before Labor Day, a women's group demanded for living wages and the elimination of the gender pay gap in both the private and public sectors.

Women Workers United (WWU), in a statement, said it supports the P150 across-the-board legislated increase for wage recovery as the first step towards living wages, as well as the P750 daily wage increase for private sector workers.

It also pushed for the passage of a new Salary Standardization Law, which is anchored on the proposed P33,000 monthly minimum wage for public sector workers.

Thinktank IBON Foundation estimated that the Family Living Wage should be at P1,207 per day.

"Women workers stand to gain a great deal from a significant increase in the minimum wage, considering women are often found in low-paying and elementary occupations," WWU Co-convenor Jacq Ruiz said.

"The persistence of gender-based discrimination in labor and employment, including gender wage gap and occupational gender segregation, leaves women performing jobs that are poorly renumerated for being considered 'pambabae' or extensions of the reproductive work," Ruiz added.

WWU cited cases of workers in food and manufacturing where men are paid more because they are usually employed as machine operators; whereas women are relegated to equally important tasks in the line of production but for which wages are lower, like packing and sorting.

Meanwhile, in the agriculture sector, women fisherfolk in Panay reported that men received twice as much share as women in the net income from their fishing trips.

In the case of public sector employees whose salaries are standardized based on positions, WWU highlighted the difference in the pay of and state support to women-dominated fields like education and healthcare, and that of male-led and dominated armed forces and law enforcement, with the former receiving lower salaries and government funding compared to the latter.

"A substantial increase in minimum wages will also induce upward pressure on wages in the informal sector, benefiting women workers who largely comprise it. Increasing the income of informal workers is especially important as they do not enjoy benefits and social protection measures that formally employed workers do, nor do they have the option to form unions and collectively bargain with employers," WWU co-convenor Jillian Roque added.

"They not only have to ensure their health and welfare but also that of their families, since women bear the brunt of care work. In fact, women’s meager income often goes to healthcare and other basic needs of the family, while their own welfare is left neglected," Roque continued.

Roque continued, "As such, making public services accessible should also be part of ensuring women workers' bigger share in the products of her labor."

Ultimately, the WWU added, increasing wages across the board and raising the standards of living of women workers across different sectors will greatly contribute to achieving gender equality.

"Lastly, as we work towards addressing depressed wages and wage disparity, it is crucial that the government finally heed our demand for a national minimum wage that will afford all workers a decent standard of living," Ruiz added.

"Filipino workers—women and men alike—deserve dignified wages and work, wherever they may be in the country."