Sugar worker appeals for fair wages over alleged unfair labor practices

Marywin Julito

“Ang matabo tani sa amon, Sir, nga ihatag ang amon tsakto nga sweldo.” (What we hope will happen for us, Sir, is that we will be given the wages we rightfully deserve.)

These were the words of Raffy Valentin, a 43-year-old worker who has spent 18 years at Hacienda Lolita in Cadiz City, Negros Occidental, as he appealed for fair wages for sugar farm workers during a meeting with the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), July 18.

“[Ang] ginapangayo ko ya sakto nga sweldo bala, gin-ubra mana namon ya ma’am. Gina-ubra mana namon sang insakto. (I am only asking for the right wages because we do our work, ma’am, and we do it properly),” Valentin said, adding that workers only want to receive the compensation they believe they have earned through their labor.

According to Valentin, workers are paid every two weeks. “Duha ka semana ma’am, kung galing, Php 2,500, pinakatayog Php 2,600. Kung magseason ni hu, magnubo pa gid sa Php 2,000. (Every two weeks, ma’am, usually during milling its Php 2,500 or at most Php 2,600, but during the season, it can drop to Php 2,000,)” he said. 

When asked about his family, Valentin said he has three children—one in Grade 12, another in Grade 7, and the youngest in Grade 4, and that his current wages are not enough to support their daily needs.

“Oo Sir, kay biskan manuweldo kami, amo lang na, biskan bakal namon sud-an ya hu, tabagak amon ibakal kay indi na kaigo sa amon pang-sulod balay. (Yes, Sir, because even when we receive our wages, that’s all we get. Even the food we can afford is only dried fish because the money is no longer enough for our household),” Valentin noted.

The appeal was made to landowner Aurelio Valderrama, urging him to provide workers with the compensation they said they rightfully deserve.

Valderrama is the national president of the Confederation of Sugar Producers Associations (CONFED) and a former board member of the Sugar Regulatory Administration.