On International Workers’ Day: Mindanao is Rich—So Why Are Its People Poor?
On this International Workers’ Day, Mindanao Climate Justice (MCJ) stands in solidarity with all workers and communities across Mindanao—farmers, fisherfolk, transport workers, factory and service workers, women, youth, Indigenous Peoples, Moro communities, and environmental defenders—who continue to sustain life amid rising prices, low wages, insecure work, and worsening climate impacts.
Labor Day is not simply a celebration. It is rooted in struggle. From the Haymarket movement in 1886, workers around the world fought for the eight-hour workday, safer working conditions, and the right to organize. Over time, these struggles secured minimum wage protections, social benefits, limits on child labor, and other rights that many now take for granted. These were not freely given—they were won through collective action, sacrifice, and unity.
Today, that struggle continues—and in Mindanao, it is alive.
We draw strength from the recent victory of the 95 workers of Newtech Pulp in Baloi, Lanao del Norte, who, after 50 days of steadfast resistance, successfully secured a settlement in their Collective Bargaining Agreement with management. Their strike, which began on March 6, 2026, marked the first strike in the plant’s 35-year history and was driven by demands for fair wages against a multinational corporation seeking to drastically reduce negotiated increases.
These workers endured immense hardship. Families dependent on their income faced the suspension of subsidies, rising costs of living, and relentless pressure from management through ultimatums and prolonged negotiations. Many were also recovering from recent climate-related disasters while navigating the broader economic shocks caused by global crises. Yet they held the line—supported by fellow unions, faith groups, farmers, and communities who provided food and solidarity.
Their victory sends a clear message: when workers unite, they are not powerless—they are unshakable.
But their struggle is not isolated. It reflects a broader pattern affecting workers across Mindanao and the Philippines. The Newtech workers were confronted not only with wage suppression, but also with systemic tactics—delays, legal pressure, and attempts to weaken union unity—that mirror a growing trend in labor relations.
Across the country, 49.43 million people are employed, yet 5.84 million remain underemployed, forced to take on additional work just to survive. Around 9.2 million Filipino families consider themselves poor.
In Mindanao, the situation is even more severe. Fifty-six percent of families identify themselves as poor, the highest in the country. This raises a fundamental question: if Mindanao is rich in land, water, and natural resources, why do so many of its people remain poor?
Part of the answer lies in wages and unequal opportunities. Workers in Mindanao receive some of the lowest wages nationwide, with daily minimum wages ranging from ₱366–₱411 in BARMM, ₱443–₱460 in SOCCSKSARGEN, and still below ₱500 in many areas. These wages cannot meet the real cost of living, leaving families struggling to afford basic needs.
Workers also face contractualization, job insecurity, layoffs, and rising prices of goods. In many cases, organizing for better conditions is met with resistance—and increasingly, with legal pressure and intimidation. The experience of the Newtech workers demonstrates how labor struggles are often met with efforts to divide unions and weaken collective action.
In rural communities, the crisis is even more urgent. Child labor persists, with an estimated 597,000 children working nationwide, most of them in agriculture. When adult wages are too low to support families, children are pushed into labor. This is not simply poverty—it is a systemic failure to ensure dignity for workers and their families.
At the same time, rising fuel prices and global crises continue to deepen economic hardship. Many transport workers spend most of their earnings on fuel, with some drivers reportedly taking home as little as ₱200 a day after expenses. Farmers and fisherfolk face increasing production costs while their incomes remain uncertain.
This situation is further intensified by climate and environmental crises. In Mindanao, communities continue to recover from disasters while also facing displacement due to mining, plantation, and energy projects. These projects generate profit, but the benefits rarely reach local communities. Instead, profits flow to large corporations while workers and communities struggle to survive.
For MCJ, labor justice and climate justice are inseparable. The ability to work with dignity depends on secure land, healthy ecosystems, and resilient communities. For Indigenous Peoples, land is life—when land is taken, so too is their culture, identity, and future.
These realities show that the issue is not a lack of resources, but how these resources are controlled and who benefits from them.
On this Labor Day, we affirm the demands of workers in Mindanao and beyond. We call for the abolition of unfair wage systems and the establishment of a nationwide living wage. We call for an end to contractualization and all forms of insecure labor. We call for stronger support for farmers, fisherfolk, and local livelihoods through agroecology and sustainable, people-centered industries. We call for protection and meaningful support for overseas workers and their families.
We also call for economic relief for the working class, including the reduction of taxes that burden the poor and the review of policies that prioritize corporate profit over public welfare. We demand accountability from those who exploit workers, degrade the environment, and misuse public resources.
Above all, we call on the government and its institutions to uphold their responsibility: to protect workers’ rights, defend the integrity of unions, and ensure that the law is never used as a tool of intimidation against those who organize.
The victory of the Newtech workers reminds us that the struggle continues—and that it can be won.
Workers do not only deserve to survive. They deserve to live with dignity—and to shape a just and sustainable future.
Mindanao is rich. The question is: for whom?
When workers and communities stand together, they are unshakable. Through unity and collective action, genuine change is possible.
Stand together. Speak out. Organize for change.
#MayoUno2026
#LaborDay2026
#ParaSaManggagawa
#ParaSaMindanao
References:
Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA). Labor Force Survey, February 2026.
https://psa.gov.ph/statistics/labor-force-survey
OCTA Research. Self-Rated Poverty Survey, 2026.
Reported via Cebu Daily News:
https://cebudailynews.inquirer.net/722024/survey-9-2m-filipino-families-still-see-themselves-as-poor
National Wages and Productivity Commission (NWPC). Regional Minimum Wage Rates.
https://nwpc.dole.gov.ph/
Center for Trade Union and Human Rights (CTUHR). Child Labor in Palm Oil Plantations (2012).
Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA). Working Children Situation (2020).
https://psa.gov.ph/
Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE). Labor and Employment Situation Reports.
https://www.dole.gov.ph/
Reuters. Philippines Fuel Price Developments, 2026.
https://www.reuters.com/
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