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.

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