BAWI labor groups not endorsing candidates Clarification on the issue of endorsement

Clarification on the issue of endorsement
As the expression of unity of the broad labor movement we wish to make clear three points:

First, contrary to news reports that have appeared in print, the Broad Alliance for Wage Increase has not endorsed any candidate for president and vice-president. From the very start we have issued a challenge to the administration and its rivals to respond positively to the demand of the workers for a P65 hike in wages. None have made any categorical commitment of support for the workers struggle for wage recovery and wage increase.

In order to advance the fight for the P65 wage recovery and wage increase, some 500 leaders of BAWI held a rally at Mendiola and we submitted a petition to Malacanang weeks before May 1. We have likewise opened ourselves to discussions with all presidentiables with the aim of seeking broad support for the campaign for wage recovery and wage increase.

Thus representatives of BAWI held a dialogue with the Koalisyon ng Nagkakaisang Pilipino on the eve of May 1. We reiterate that what transpired was a dialogue and no endorsement of the opposition slate was ever solicited nor granted. Members of the media in attendance can testify to this fact as representatives of BAWI explicitly stated this clarification.

Second, even as we agree to the proposal of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in her Labor Day speech that the regional wage boards be abolished, we however feel that such a move is not enough. What is needed is a complete overhaul of the country's labor relations to allow workers to fully enjoy their basic right to organize, to strike, and to collectively bargain not only in the enterprise level but also in the industry, territorial and even national levels. This should be the stepping-stone towards the reorganization of the labor movement along the lines of one industry-one union and the establishment of full-blown industry unions of workers that will bargain with industry associations of capitalists.

Third, without any illusions that the coming elections would ever express the true will of the people and lead to much needed fundamental changes in society, we nonetheless join the clamor for clean and honest elections. In a bloody and fraudulent election, it will always be the people who will be the pawns and the victims. We summon the Filipino working class to exercise labor power by expressing the labor vote in this elections.

The Broad Alliance for Wage Increase or BAWI is composed of six national labor centers and its affiliates, joined by 14 federations and independent national unions. BAWI represents more than half of organized labor in the country.