The topic of Living Wages has consistently been a focal point in both international and national discussions, especially in relation to attaining the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). It is becoming increasingly recognised that while businesses have a right to focus on making profits, sustainable profitability is just as important. Achieving the SDG goals and their associated targets, many of which rely on decent liveable wages, requires a multi-stakeholder focus – concerted and sustained action from global organisations, governments, civil society, and the private sector.
Today we launch a report which will help document the approach being taken in the Philippines to implement a Living Wage through a worker-led approach. Our report ‘Implementing a Living Wage in the Philippines: A Worker-Led Approach’ shares how the Living Wage Philippines grew from a worker-led campaign into a multisectoral movement involving a range of other stakeholders. This follows similar successful models by other national movements, including here in the UK. This model aligns with the recent International Labour Organisation’s (ILO) conclusions and principles which emphasise the importance of social dialogue (the process of trade unions and employer organisations negotiating) and national ownership in Living Wage work globally.
The report looks at two things:
- Part I – Implementing a Living Wage in the Philippine context; and
- Part II – A toolkit to develop a worker-led Living Wage movement.
You can read the full report here.
However, if you’ve only got 5 mins, we thought we’d share some of the key takeaways from this report for civil society organisations, multi-national Living Wage Employers working in the Philippines and others engaged in Living Wage discussions globally.
What is a worker-led approach?
A worker-led approach is where a union or organisation representing the views of workers or workers' voice is leading the Living Wage movement. Below we discuss two examples of worker-led campaigns in the Philippines and the UK.
What’s happening in the Philippines?
The Living Wage Philippines initiative is part of the Global Living Wage Network and is one of the few times that a worker-led Living Wage movement is being initiated by a union.
However, this is taking place in the context of a decline of trade union movements in terms of their “membership, bargaining power, political power and influence, and institutional vitality” in the Philippines . Out of the 5.29 million paid employees, only 6% are union members and only 6.3% are covered by collective bargaining agreements (CBAs).However this is taking place in the context of a decline of trade union movements in terms of their “membership, bargaining power, political power and influence, and institutional vitality” in the Philippines
In the Philippines, aside from company policy and individual contracts, wage and salary workers often depend on unions and collective bargaining to fight for higher wages. However, there is not currently enough union coverage across employers to influence the wage setting. NFL recognised that they needed to develop a Living Wage movement and engage with other stakeholders to build the power to make change.
Why the National Federation of Labour (NFL) wanted to take ownership of the Living Wage campaign in the Philippines?
National Federation of Labour (NFL) is one of the oldest and largest labour organisations in the Philippines with more than 10,000 members all over the country and 28 local unions across multiple industries. NFL advocates for the strengthening of labour unions in the country and ensuring democratic governance in the workplace.
Achieving decent wages has been a long-standing goal for the labour movement in the Philippines, and the NFL has been at the forefront of this. For NFL, the advocacy around Living Wage has a clear potential for supporting collective bargaining on liveable wages:
“Historically, our efforts have been national in scope, primarily focused on legislative lobbying. The Living Wage Campaign represents an innovative and crucial step forward in our mission to secure liveable wages. By adopting a multi-stakeholder approach, this campaign ensures that all sectors—not just the labour movement—work together to achieve Living Wages for all”
- Atty. General Du, President, National Federation of Labour (NFL)
In 2023, NFL partnered with Caritas Philippines, the humanitarian, development, and advocacy arm of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) (collectively referred to as Living Wage Philippines), and the Living Wage Foundation to introduce a Living Wage in the Philippines through the campaign entitled “A Fair Day’s Pay for a Fair Day’s Work.” The campaign aimed to champion a just wage that is in line with the current context of the country, and allows individuals and families to afford a decent standard of living.
Introducing a Living Wage in the Philippines through a multi-sector approach, based on the experience of workers and unions, aligns with Citizens UK’s (our sister organisation) theory of change of building power at a community, corporate and political level, and the Living Wage Foundation advocating for fair wages and social justice globally.
You can find out more about the work of Living Wage Philippines here.
Community organising in the UK:
Another example of a worker-led approach that has been incredibly successful, is the Living Wage movement here in the UK. However, instead of starting from a union, it started with a local listening campaign.
“One of the dynamics of the UK movement – and I think probably one of its reasons for success is that it wasn’t set up to be a national Living Wage movement… as in [keeping with] the method of community organising, it was really a local listening campaign in East London off the back of local experiences of low pay that led to a local campaign to persuade hospitals and banks initially to pay the Living Wage because that is where local people worked cleaning and catering and so on.”
– Matthew Bolton, Executive Director, Citizen UK
From the worker-led listening, it became evident that low pay was the biggest and most persistent issue that these communities faced. It has since evolved into a national certification function. Aside from community and corporate engagement, UK’s Living Wage movement also made sure to engage with local and national political leaders with a range of affiliations. Since then, the Living Wage Foundation has certified over 15,000 Living Wage Employers, putting £3 billion back into the pockets of low paid workers.
Living Wage requires a multi-sectoral approach
A multi-stakeholder approach (i.e. working across global organisations, governments, civil society and the private sector) to introducing a Living Wage is crucial for several reasons: representation, legitimacy and acceptance, collaborative solutions, a balanced approach, and long-term sustainability. The report looks at each of these in depth and also looks at how this is important for other national movements too.
For example, with the Living Wage Movement Aotearoa New Zealand, trade unions initially pushed back, saying the Movement undermined legitimate industrial relations bargaining, but later understood that it is necessary to work together to have enough leverage to win for workers.
“We can’t create a new model of winning unless we step back from our own power as unions and recognise that multiple sources of power are necessary to have enough leverage to win for workers.” - Annie Newman, Treasurer of Living Wage Movement and Assistant National Secretary of E tū union
Within our report, part two focuses on a toolkit for developing a worker-led and multi-sectoral approach, so wherever you are on your Living Wage journey you can adopt approaches and lessons learned from others in the Global Living Wage Network.
A global movement for living wages
Global organisations also play an instrumental role in advancing the Living Wage movement. Their efforts help to establish global norms that can support different national Living Wage initiatives, bridge the gap from global principles to local ownership through networks, reach wider audiences to influence organisations to pay a Living Wage and help empower local networks through alignment and pooling of resources.
Since 2021, the Living Wage Foundation has connected with Living Wage movements around the world to establish a Global Living Wage Network dedicated to developing a holistic approach that is appropriate to local contexts. Recognising that efforts cannot be progressed in isolation; we do this to increase collaboration and action to end in work poverty.
You can find out more about the Global Living Wage work here.