Women’s participation in the course of history has been invisible and largely unnoticed. This motivated Prof. Judy Taguiwalo to focus her doctoral dissertation on the role that women workers played in the labor movement. Her findings? “Andun sila sa iba’t-ibang anyo, sumasama sa pagkilos, sumasama sa mga welga at iginigiit ang karapatan ng manggagawa” (They were there participating in different forms of protest. They joined rallies and workers’ strikes to asset the rights and welfare of workers.)
BY JANESS ANN J. ELLAO
BULATLAT
Vol. VIII, No. 13, May 4-10, 2008
The shy, unassuming, and submissive Maria Clara, as an image of the Filipino woman, does not accurately portray the role that women played in the country’s history. The Filipino woman as Maria Clara was a creation of the Spanish colonizers in an attempt to subjugate and downplay the role of women. Women, in fact, played a highly influential role in Philippine society during pre-colonial times.
The babaylan (priestess) mediated between people and the gods. When the Spanish colonizers came, babaylans were labeled as witches and were persecuted. As a matter of fact, one of our national heroes, Princess Urduja, revolted against the Spaniards after she was exiled for being a babaylan. There were other revolts in the country’s history that were led by women such as Gabriela Silang and Teresa Magbanua. But apart from these outstanding cases, women’s participation in the course of history has been invisible and largely unnoticed.
This motivated Prof. Judy Taguiwalo of the University of the Philippines to study the history and situation of women workers in the Philippines. Taguiwalo said that the objective of her research, which was part of her dissertation for her doctorate in Women and Development, is to fill the gap in the writings on Philippine history about women’s participation in nation building specifically with regards the labor movement.
“Andun sila sa iba’t-ibang anyo, sumasama sa pagkilos, sumasama sa mga welga at iginigiit ang karapatan ng manggagawa” (They were there participating in different forms of protest. They joined rallies and workers’ strikes to asset the rights and welfare of workers), said Taguiwalo. She added that the workers’ movement has always put forward women specific issues such as equal pay for equal work, provisions for maternity leave, and penalties for sexual harassment.
Taguiwalo added that even the struggle for maternity leave benefits was long and arduous. She recounted that in 1923, the Supreme Court declared that the provisions for maternity leave were unconstitutional because it interfered with the employer-employee contract. After a long, hard struggle by women workers, a law providing for maternity leave benefits was subsequently passed in 1953. However, Taguiwalo said, the 60 days leave for women who underwent normal birth procedures and the 78 days for those who underwent a caesarian operation are still too short. Worse, in the public sector, only married women could avail of maternity leave. Taguiwalo explained that unmarried government employees who become pregnant could take a leave but without pay. They could even be fired from work on the grounds of moral turpitude. Government employees have been asserting that the purpose of maternity leave benefits is to provide time for the woman to recover and to care for her child. Thus, it has nothing to do with morality.
Women workers in the struggle
Taguiwalo related the story of Narcisa Pagiditan, a labor union leader in1934. She led her co-workers in staging a strike, which lasted for two months, after the tobacco factory that they were working for reduced their daily wage from P1.00 to 80 centavos. She led and spoke for her co-workers during the strike and other protest actions. She also led the negotiations with the Governor-General in Malacañang.
According to Taguiwalo, rallies are usually the form of protest that women participate in. Taguiwalo added that during rallies where women participated in the past, they brought sugarcane for their snacks and to defend themselves whenever police officers try to disperse them.
Nita Gonzaga, a vice president of the Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU or May 1st Movement) and head of its women’s committee, said that women workers are currently facing more difficult challenges and struggles. Garment factories, where majority of the workers are women, are closing down. However, Gonzaga said, a lot of these factories are not really closing down but are doing “close-open” maneuvers to deceive their workers. She explained that some factories close down, only to open in another place. This way, Gonzaga explained, garment factories are able to maximize their profits by getting rid of their regular employees and hiring contractual workers to take their place. Another reason, said Gonzaga, is to avoid paying retirement benefits to their regular employees.
These are the same struggles that workers of Dole Plantation, comprised mostly by women, are going through. Of the over 30,000 workers, only 6,000 are unionized. The non-unionized workers are organized into cooperatives, which were formed and are controlled by management of the plantation. Women workers of the banana plantation in Davao del Norte, on the other hand, suffer from skin diseases, which they acquired from constant exposure to chemical fertilizers.
Josephine Katando has been a regular factory worker for Paper Tech for the past 12 years. She is married and has two children. Her whole family, including her mother, youngest sibling and three other relatives whom she sends to school, depends on the income that she and her husband receive from their jobs. At the time of the birth of her first child in 2004, her salary increased by P50 after the cost of living allowance was integrated into her salary. But since then, after so many of increases in the prices of basic goods, services, and utilities, her salary remained the same. This motivated Katando to affiliate with the National Federation of Labor Unions (NaFLU), a member-federation of the Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU).
The first issue that Katando and her co-workers struggled against was the strict regulation of their break hours by the company management. They work from 8:00 in the morning until 8:00 in the evening but are not allowed to take their breaks from 3:00 in the afternoon until 8:00 in the evening. They were also not allowed to eat within the factory premises. Moreover, restrooms for male and female workers were not segregated. As if to add insult to injury, management provided employees who work in the administration department a separate cubicle in the restroom.
“Sa loob ng planta, wala kaming karapatan magtanong o mag-usisa. Hindi ko naman sinasabi na dapat kami ang maghari, y'ung pakinggan lang kami at tratuhin kami nang makatao” (In the factory, we do not have the right to question the decisions of management. I am not saying that we should take over the management of the factory. All we are asking for is to be heard and to be treated humanely.) said Katando Despite the changes in the ownership and management of Paper Tech, Katando said, the people in management who oppressed them are still employed in the administration of the factory.
The struggle for a P125-across-the-board increase
“Zero,” said Gonzaga, when asked to rate the response of the government to the needs of workers, especially during these difficult times. Despite the non-monetary benefits that some employees receive, Gonzaga asserted, workers still prefer an increase in their wages. This, said Gonzaga, gives workers the leeway to budget their expenses.
Only a P125 across the board increase in their daily wages, said Zaida Cayetano, member of the Council of Leaders of the Kilusan ng Manggagawang Kababaihan (KMK or Movement of Women Workers), would mitigate the effects of the recent increases in the prices of rice and other foods, oil, and electricity rates. She said that they have been pushing for a P125 across the board increase for almost ten years already but to no avail, while prices have increased tremendously. She added that the current P362 ($8.55 at an exchange rate of $1=P42.34) daily minimum wage is not enough for an average Filipino family.
Cayetano added that the P125 across the board increase that workers are demanding for are not too much. It would barely enable them to buy the basic needs of their families. Bulatlat