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 Lithographers' and Printers' Union of the Philippines (Spanish: Unión de Litógrafos e Impresores de Filipinas) in 1892 and the Congress of Labor Organizations (CLO) of the 1950s.
May First Labor Movement | |
| Kilusang Mayo Uno | |
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| Founded | May 1, 1980 |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Quezon City, Metro Manila |
| Location | |
Key people | Elmer Labog, Chairman |
| Affiliations | National democratic movement, Bayan, ITUC, WFTU, IMwF |
KMU 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 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.
For the first time since its founding, on April 22 2022, The labor group Kilusang Mayo Uno announced their support on May 9 election in Presidential candidate Leni Robredo and Vice Presidential candidate senator Francis Pangilinan on their Facebook page.
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.