Kilusang Mayo Uno

Kilusang Mayo Uno, or May First Labor Movement (KMU) is an independent labor center in the Philippines promoting militant unionism. It follows in the fighting tradition of the country's first trade union, the Union Impresores y Litografos de Filipinas (Printers' and Lithographers' Union of the Philippines) in 1892 and the Congress of Labor Organizations (CLO) of the 1950s.

KMU
Full nameMay First Labor Movement
Native nameKilusang Mayo Uno
FoundedMay 1, 1980 (1980-05-01)
AffiliationBayan, ITUC, WFTU, IMwF
Key peopleElmer Labog, Chairman
Office locationQuezon City, Metro Manila
CountryPhilippines
Websitekilusangmayouno.org

It was created on May 1, 1980 during the Marcos regime to represent progressive workers‘ organisations in the country that advocated National Democratic struggle, especially the end of what was seen as US Imperialism.

Campaigns

KMU advocates for an across-the-board-wage increase of 125. This campaign has been launched in 1999 and in December 2006, the House of Representatives approved House Bill 435 seeking a 125 legislated wage hike.

KMU is also leading a campaign against extrajudicial killings. Since 2001, more than 70 unionist and labour activists have been killed by death squads. The union president of Nestlé Philippines and PAMANTIK Chairperson Diosdado Fortuna was amongst the slain. They have also launched an international campaign against political killings and have filed a complaint to the International Labour Organization versus the government of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

They have also an ongoing campaign to boycott Nestlé, whom they accuse of labor rights violations in the company's facilities in Laguna Province.

Previous campaigns include a 2004 transport strike to protest rising oil prices, and a campaign to free the late congressman Crispin Beltran from detention by the Philippine National Police.

Other Calls

Like other militant groups, the movement also calls for the proper funding of basic social services that would ease the pains of a common labourer and the Filipinos in general. Aside from fighting for the rights of workers, KMU has also been an active critic of the Palace, citing the Aquino government as a puppet of U.S. imperialists. They have referred to the government's ultimate dependence on corporations for the rehabilitation of the areas struck by Typhoon Yolanda, a scheme to extract cheap labor from the victims of natural calamities.

References

    • ICTUR; et al., eds. (2005). Trade Unions of the World (6th ed.). London, UK: John Harper Publishing. ISBN 0-9543811-5-7.
    • KMU official site
    This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.