May 1 - International Workers’ Day and May Day.
We, the KASAMMAKo alliance of Filipino Migrant workers in Korea, salute and raise our fist in solidarity with all workers in the world as well as workers here in South Korea. Today we are celebrating “Labor Day also known as International Workers’ Day and May Day.”
We commemorate the historic struggles and gains made by workers and the labor movement.
“The origins of Labor Day can be traced back to the late 19th century when workers across the globe began demanding better working conditions, fair wages, and shorter working hours.
International Labor Day is celebrated in more than 80 countries… People in different parts of the world hold marches on this day to promote the rights of working-class people and to protect them from exploitation.”
Labor Day reminds us of the vital role of workers as a working force behind the economic growth of every country, but the sad reality, we are treated like a machine - work more than 10 to 12 hours a day, overworked but underpaid; capitalists getting richer but workers become poorer, aside from the fact of poor working condition, and high-risk job, criminalized and now under massive arrest and deportations … the situation is similar a 100 years ago, where some workers died while working and their insurance does not guarantee a good future for their family, especially for their children.
The workers' condition now is aggravated by state policies' such as “domestic companies have even called for a dual minimum wage system, and other various forms of discrimination particularly for “Migrant workers are forced to endure low-paid, highly-intense, and dangerous labor for long hours, they are frequently exposed to offensive words and more vulnerable to industrial accidents” according to MTU
Our general situations either the local workers or migrant workers are the same, we remain oppressed and exploited – instead of bickering with each other, let us unite and let our voices be heard. Remember this …“The ruling elite who pass policies that favor neoliberalism and the global capitalist system, as well as the business owners who seek deregulation and amass super-profits, are the enemies of the people.“The challenge for us today is to keep ourselves organized as workers (migrant or local), let us continue to be vigilant, and show our collective strength through our unity in asserting and fighting for our rights!
Dear fellow workers let us unite and fight for our labor rights!“Our victory comes from our collective strength as workers struggling against the systems that oppress and exploit us.”
NO! TO CONTRACTUALIZATION AND LIBERALIZATION, YES! RIGHT TO UNIONIZATION AND WORKERS' ORGANIZATIONS FAIR AND EQUAL WAGES FOR ALL WORKERS
NO! CRIMINALIZATION OF NON-DOCUMENTED MIGRANTS, YES! LEGALIZED THE NON-DOCUMENTED MIGRANTS
CARLO OLIVER
