NAGKAISA! STANDS WITH SENTRO AND DUWU: RESPECT WORKERS’ RIGHTS, END UNION-BUSTING

MANILA — NAGKAISA! Labor Coalition and its affiliate labor organizations stand in full solidarity with SENTRO and its local union, the DHL United Workers Union (DUWU), as DUWU workers continue their strike in pursuit of good-faith negotiations, fair compensation, wage increases, respect for freedom of association, and a meaningful Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).

On Friday, 21 August 2026 at 10:00 AM, NAGKAISA! and allied workers’ organizations will hold a second wave of nationwide solidarity actions at DHL outlets across the regions, including a solidarity presence at the DUWU strike site in Muntinlupa City.

“This is not simply a dispute between a company and its workers. This is a test of whether workers’ basic rights to organize, bargain collectively, and demand fair treatment will be respected,” said Atty. Sonny G. Matula, Chairperson of NAGKAISA!

“We urge DHL: huwag labagin ang karapatan ng mga manggagawa na mag-unyon. Ang freedom of association ay hindi pribilehiyo ng management kundi batayang karapatan na dapat igalang at protektahan ng DHL.

“Kung tunay na global company ang DHL, dapat global din ang respeto nito sa workers’ rights. Itigil ang union-busting. Kilalanin ang unyon at makipag-bargain in good faith,” Matula added.

For DUWU, the issue is straightforward: workers are demanding respect for their rights and a genuine process for resolving their concerns.

“DUWU workers are not asking for special treatment. We are asking DHL to respect our rights as workers and as a legitimate union. We are ready to negotiate. What we need from management is good faith, respect, and a genuine commitment to reach a fair CBA,” said Nap Aromin, DUWU Union President.

SENTRO likewise emphasized that the right to organize and bargain collectively must be protected in practice, not merely recognized in principle.

“SENTRO stands firmly with DUWU. The right to organize and bargain collectively cannot be respected only when it is convenient for management. We call on DHL to engage the union sincerely, address the workers’ legitimate demands, and end actions that undermine their freedom of association,” said Nice Coronacion, SENTRO Deputy Secretary-General.

NAGKAISA! calls on DHL management to respect the workers’ right to organize, end union-busting, recognize the legitimate role of DUWU, and return to the negotiating table in good faith. A company operating across borders must also uphold universal labor rights wherever it operates.

The nationwide solidarity actions demonstrate that DUWU workers are not alone. NAGKAISA!, SENTRO, and allied labor organizations will continue to stand with workers defending their fundamental rights to organize, bargain collectively, and secure decent and fair working conditions.

Workers’ rights are not negotiable. Respect the union. Stop union-busting. Negotiate the CBA now.

NAGKAISA! TO SUPREME COURT: ACT WITH URGENCY ON ₱85 WAGE CASE

“Defend the ₱85, advance the ₱200 national wage hike”

MANILA — NAGKAISA! labor alliances and networks today filed a Manifestation before the Supreme Court, formally informing the High Court of the Writ of Preliminary Injunction issued by Pasig RTC Branch 152 that continues to restrain the implementation of NCR Wage Order No. 27 and its ₱85 wage adjustment.

For NAGKAISA!, the injunction makes urgent Supreme Court action even more necessary. Workers cannot be made to fight for the same Wage Order courtroom by courtroom, RTC by RTC, while their wage increase remains out of reach.

“Workers have waited long enough. Every day the wage increase remains restrained is another day that money for food, pamasahe, kuryente, gamot and other necessities does not reach the worker,” said Atty. Sonny Matula, NAGKAISA! Chairperson.

The first tranche of the ₱85 adjustment is ₱60 on the previous ₱695 NCR minimum wage. While modest, NAGKAISA! stressed that it is real and immediate relief for minimum-wage workers.

“Hindi ito wage na malaking putok ng bulkang Mayon. Maliit siguro sa spreadsheet, pero hindi maliit kapag nasa palengke ka na.”

NAGKAISA! said the case raises a fundamental question requiring an authoritative answer from the Supreme Court: How far may regular courts intervene in a wage-setting process specifically established by labor law?

“Huwag gawing bola ang ₱60. Workers should not be benched while their wage increase is passed from one courtroom to another. Pasig today, Navotas tomorrow—where does it end? One Wage Order deserves one clear and authoritative answer from the Supreme Court,” Matula said.

The coalition emphasized that its campaign has two interconnected fronts: defend the immediate ₱85 NCR wage adjustment and advance a ₱200 nationally legislated wage increase.

“We defend the ₱85 because workers need relief today. But ₱85 is not the finish line. The bigger fight is for a meaningful ₱200 national legislated wage increase and genuine reform of our wage-setting system,” said NAGKAISA! Spokesperson Ka Rene Magtubo.

“We cannot build an economy on poverty wages. Workers are producers, but they are consumers too. Put additional wages in a worker’s pocket and that money goes to the palengke, carinderia, jeepney, pharmacy and sari-sari store. Increasing workers’ purchasing power also helps move the economy,” Magtubo added.

NAGKAISA! Convenor Josua Mata emphasized that the coalition is asking the Supreme Court for prompt judicial action.

“Why should workers have to fight this hard just to receive a wage increase that the wage-setting system has already granted? This is a call for urgency, not interference. We respect the Court and its processes. But workers’ bills do not observe judicial calendars. Rice, rent and electricity do not file motions for extension.”

For NAGKAISA!, the issue goes beyond ₱60 or ₱85. It concerns who the law entrusts to fix wages, who reviews those decisions, and when regular courts may stop their implementation.

NAGKAISA! will continue mobilizing its federations, unions, alliances and networks to defend Wage Order No. 27, while pressing Congress and the administration to pursue a ₱200 national legislated wage increase and comprehensive wage-system reform.

NAGKAISA!’S CALL

DEFEND THE ₱85.

SUPREME COURT: ACT WITH URGENCY.

₱200 NATIONAL LEGISLATED WAGE INCREASE — NEXT.

REFORM THE WAGE SYSTEM.

NAGKAISA: Mr. Secretary, The Country Has Spoken. It Is Time for DOLE to Lead

A broad national consensus has emerged: the Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) suspending the NCR wage increase must be lifted.

The Office of the Solicitor General has asked the court to lift the TRO. Malacañang has publicly supported its immediate lifting. Twenty-one senators have done the same. The labor movement stands united in defending the lawful wage increase.

The question now is no longer whether the TRO should be lifted. The question is whether Labor Secretary Francis Tolentino will personally lead the fight to lift it.

This is DOLE’s wage order. It is DOLE’s responsibility to defend it—not only in court but also in the court of public opinion.

NAGKAISA challenges Secretary Tolentino to answer the questions that matter to millions of Filipino workers:

Will he personally lead the fight to lift the TRO issued by the Pasig Regional Trial Court?

How does he intend to prevent more employers from filing copycat petitions to stop future wage increases?

What concrete measures will DOLE pursue to plug the legal loopholes now being exploited to deny workers even the measly wage increases granted by the Regional Wage Boards?

And when will DOLE finally acknowledge that the regional wage-fixing system is broken and abandon its hold on this failed mechanism in favor of genuine wage reform?

“The President has spoken. The government’s chief lawyer has acted. The Senate has taken a stand. Workers have united. Mr. Secretary, this is your moment to lead. Defend the wage order your Department issued, close the loopholes that allow employers to frustrate lawful wage increases, and stop treating every wage order as an invitation for endless litigation.”

NAGKAISA reiterates its calls to immediately lift the TRO issued by the Pasig Regional Trial Court, dismiss the petition pending before the Navotas Regional Trial Court, enact a legislated ₱200 across-the-board wage increase, and replace the failed regional wage-fixing system with a national wage-setting mechanism that delivers timely, meaningful, and enforceable wage increases for all workers.

Workers have waited long enough. Justice delayed is justice denied.

NAGKAISA Welcomes ICJ Opinion: Right to Strike Is Protected, Not Silenced

The biggest labor coalition in the coubtry welcomes the landmark advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice affirming that the right to strike is protected under ILO Convention No. 87 on Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise.

By a 10-4 vote, the World Court confirmed what workers have long known: the right to organize must include the right to act together.

In our Constitution, the right to strike is clear, express, and recognized. What is the value of the right to organize and collectively negotiate if workers have no right to strike? It would be like a bell without a sound — visible, perhaps even decorative, but powerless to ring when justice must be heard.

“The right to strike is not a crime, not a tantrum, and not a nuisance. Kaya wag i-redtag ang mga manggagawa exercising collective right to stop eorking due to a labor dispute. It is a democratic safety valve when dialogue breaks down and workers are pushed to the wall,” NAGKAISA Labor Coslition said.

Freedom of association without the right to strike is like a union with a mouth but no voice, a bell with no sound, and a Constitution with labor rights written in ink but denied in practice.

NAGKAISA calls on government and employers to respect workers’ right to organize, collectively bargain, and, when necessary, peacefully strike in defense of discrimination and harassment for organizing union, union busting, wages, dignity, and justice.

Workers are not machines, algorithms, or disposable manpower. When workers ring the bell of justice, the law must not mute the sound.