Labor groups and lawmakers are pressing the new leadership of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to move quickly on long-standing demands for higher wages, stronger job security, and greater protection of workers’ rights.
The call came after the appointment of former senator Francis Tolentino as acting Labor secretary, a development welcomed with cautious optimism by labor advocates who said the agency must now deliver concrete action for workers struggling with low pay, contractual work, and rising living costs.
Among the key demands raised were urgent income support for minimum wage earners, stricter rules against contractualization, stronger enforcement of labor standards, and reforms to protect freedom of association.
Labor advocates said the new DOLE leadership must immediately confront the wage crisis, especially as workers continue to feel the impact of high inflation and weaker purchasing power.
They said many Filipino workers remain trapped in poverty wages while facing higher costs for food, transport, utilities, and other basic needs.
“Filipino workers and their families welcome Secretary Tolentino’s appointment with cautious optimism,” the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines said.
The group said the appointment should mark a “breath of fresh air” through concrete commitments to higher incomes, regular jobs, and genuine respect for workers’ rights and dignity.
Labor groups also urged the department to take a clearer position on the proposed national minimum wage increase and the abolition of the provincial wage rate system, which critics said has kept wages low in many areas outside Metro Manila.
They said workers do not need another period of technical studies and delayed action, but decisive policy direction on wages, contractualization, and labor rights.
The appointment also revived criticism of the previous DOLE leadership, with some lawmakers accusing the agency of failing to adequately respond to widespread labor violations and the growing pressure on minimum wage and middle-income earners.
Worker advocates said the new leadership should hold direct and meaningful consultations with labor groups, rather than rely only on corporate or technical perspectives in shaping labor policy.
They also raised concern over the country’s labor rights record, citing the Philippines’ continued inclusion among the world’s worst countries for workers in the International Trade Union Confederation Global Rights Index.
The labor sector said it is prepared to work with the new DOLE leadership, but warned that cooperation would depend on whether the agency takes a firm pro-worker direction.
Advocates said the challenge is not simply to change the person leading the department, but to reverse policies and practices they believe have weakened workers’ bargaining power and delayed meaningful wage and employment reforms.
They said the new labor chief’s first major test will be whether DOLE can help deliver immediate wage relief, protect workers from abusive contracting arrangements, and restore confidence that the agency stands with the people who keep the economy running.