Working people remember Ka Bel and his struggle for a P125 legislated wage hike
Given the growing number of lawmakers supporting the legislation of a substantial wage hike, workers remembering Ka Bel today are hoping that finally, the bill which he first authored and filed may be enacted at last.By MARYA SALAMAT
Bulatlat.com
MANILA – Today marks the third death anniversary of Crispin ‘Ka Bel’ Beltran, a staunch labor leader whose death called attention to his remaining as poor and pang-masa, despite having been a barong-clad party-list congressman for more than two terms.
His family and members of labor organizations announced they will hold a short program today at his commemorative bust at Plaza Miranda in Quiapo, Manila. After that they will hold a rally from Plaza Miranda to Mendiola Bridge (now Chino Roces) with other sectors to press their demand for the passage of the P125 ($2.90) wage hike bill. In the evening they will hold a film showing about the life of Ka Bel as well as a program giving him tribute at the Bantayog ng mga Bayani in Quezon City.
Roger Soluta, secretary-general of labor center KMU which Ka Bel chaired for years since the late 80s, said their vow to advance the people’s struggle for their basic rights and for a significant wage hike is, in their belief, the highest tribute they can give Ka Bel.
The P125 wage hike bill was first filed by Ka Bel in 2001 when he was a Bayan Muna party-list representative. He subsequently refiled the bill in the succeeding reopening of Congress since then. Today, ten years after its first filing and three years after Ka Bel’s death, it still remains a bill.
Removing barriers to legislating a wage hike
More than a week after the Aquino government through the regional wage boards started granting emergency cost-of-living allowances in lieu of a wage hike, the demand for a legislated substantial wage hike remains firm on the workers’ agenda. This week, the progressive labor center KMU picketed the offices of the labor department in Manila to condemn what they call as the department’s acting as “spokesperson” of the big capitalists. The KMU said DOLE demonstrated that when it defended the widely condemned P22 ($0.51) emergency COLA..... MORE
Source: The Daily Tribune
URL: http://bulatlat.com/main/2011/05/20/working-people-remember-ka-bel-and-his-struggle-for-a-p125-legislated-wage-hike/
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