Various Filipino labour groups and workers marked Labor Day with protests at Mendiola, Manila to demand higher wages and full respect of fundamental labor rights. Police barricaded the Mendiola Peach Arch while protesters are staging the rally.

Workers express their dismay over what they describe as President Marcos’ disregard of their demands.

Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) secretary general Jerome Adonis said that it has been almost a year that Marcos Jr. is in office, but workers have not yet heard from him regarding his response to workers’ grievances like meager salary and no permanent jobs. “I thought ‘we will all rise together?’ But it seems that you’re the only ones progressing while we continue to sink in hunger and poverty,” Adonis added.

KMU denounced Marcos’ scheduled meeting with US President Joe Biden at the White House on May 1, which they considered an insult to workers who have long been ignored.