Labor Day Rituals

Today’s news report in another daily highlights the annual ritual of the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) of calling for renewed promises and protests, a signal that Labor Day celebrations have begun. The discredited proposal for a legislated P200 minimum wage hike is once again resurrected across multimedia platforms to rejuvenate the hopes of union members, albeit with unrealistic expectations.

Understandably, union leaders have to issue such annual obligatory calls to rally their members, but most of all to stay relevant.

Partylist supporters in Congress will expectedly join in and refile dormant, old and contentious bills for a legislated minimum wage hike, more holidays, more paid leaves, more punitive measures against erring employers, and more atrocious demands which would only rattle or impoverish employers.

Militant labor unions will strongly push for the passing of anti-employer bills to fulfill Karl Marx’s dream of a monoclass world where both workers and employers are co-equal in an egalitarian society.

If those demands should fortuitously be granted then it will be the end of free enterprise and will demotivate hardworking employees aspiring for promotions based on their meritorious job performance.

Historically, militant Labor leaders routinely tailor their labor Day messages to coerce legislators, policymakers and regulators to pass regulations that would compel business owners to grant their incredible demands, which singly or in toto will definitely be beyond the employers’ capacity to pay.

Such demands will be predictably orchestrated and amplified on Labor Day, calling employers who are “in cahoots” with government “insensitively greedy, selfish, heartless, callous” and many other undeserved pejorative descriptions.

The sympathetic legislators and policymakers will be easily swayed by the emotional and heart-rending screams from the supposedly “abused” and “exploited” working class and will swallow hook, line and sinker many or all labor demands and try to enact laws prejudicial to employers, unmindful of the unintended negative consequences to business and the economy.

Labor unions view Labor Day eve as a crucial time to mobilize, negotiate, and magnify workers’ voices to catch the attention of the entire nation.

As in years past, labor groups will routinely march from a designated place then proceed to Mendiola carrying placards with their usual demands for job security, wage hikes and safer working conditions. To complete the protest march there will be calls for the resignation of perceived unsupportive government officials followed by the burning of their effigies.

Then after 1 May, like a stage play, the drama ends and the streets will again be empty, the placards stored for reuse in future Labor Day celebrations, the airwaves and TV will be silent with all back to regular programming until the next time.

Business owners wish that Labor Day will be celebrated differently with employers and workers marching side by side, extolling the achievements of tripartism towards a solid partnership among labor, business, and government. Such a march would serve as a powerful statement that collective prosperity is not built on hostility but on collaboration, dialogue and understanding.