Jonathan Frederic De Santos

Article (news)

Marilag Odtohan

Marilyn Cahatol

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1777628920949684112617_1493017239540194_4922671622542356344_n.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Labor rights advocates join workers as they march along España Boulevard in Manila to mark Labor Day. The group pushed for higher wages, job security, and the protection of workers’ rights. <em>Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News</em></span></span></span>MANILA — Working behind the kitchen through stacks of plates slick with oil and sauce. For Arnel Diwa, this once defined his days at the Kowloon Noodle House on West Avenue in Quezon City.</div><p>But in the span of a week, his routine shifted—from standing at a sink to standing on a picket line, calling not only for a livable wage but also for the reinstatement of terminated co-workers.</p><p>On April 15, his co-workers voted to strike over at least P100 more they said they should be getting paid under wage orders and their collective bargaining agreement (CBA), which they said remained unimplemented. </p><p>Workers, in compromise, proposed a P25 wage increase—an amount smaller than the price of a single siopao, yet, for them, a step toward making ends meet.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/business/2026/4/18/dimsum-workers-seek-understanding-support-amid-strike-over-unpaid-pay-hikes-1324">Dimsum workers seek understanding, support amid strike over unpaid pay hikes</a></div><p>Diwa was not among those who initially walked out. He was employed under KMN, a separate entity from Katipunan Food Services Inc. (KFSI), which manages the production workers who launched the strike. </p><p>With part of the workforce on the picket line and others continuing operations, the usual coordination inside the restaurant became difficult to sustain and operations eventually ground to a halt.</p><p>Diwa described the strike as more intense than a similar action in 2008, when workers also protested the management’s failure to implement three wage orders.</p><p>&quot;Ngayon, &#x27;yong pinakahuling welga, na-paralyze &#x27;yong kompanya kasi nga wala na siyang lahat ng tao sa loob,&quot; Diwa shared.</p><p>(Now, the most recent strike paralyzed the company because everyone inside was on the picket line.)</p><p>Negotiations ensued between KFSI and its workers’ union, Genuine Labor Organization of Workers in Hotel, Restaurant, and Allied Industries (GLOWHRAIN) Kowloon House West Chapter, part of the bigger Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU).</p><p>By April 20, striking workers secured an agreement: a P20 wage increase, the implementation of six provisions under their CBA, and the return of service charges in the form of staggered payments.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/business/2026/4/22/dimsum-workers-secure-wage-hike-share-of-service-charge-after-6-day-strike-1526">Dimsum workers secure wage hike, share of service charge after 6-day strike</a></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>BRANCH CLOSURE, TERMINATION OF WORKERS</strong></div><p>But just two days later, on April 22, management released a memo announcing the termination of at least 70 workers, citing the impending closure of the restaurant due to the owner’s illness. </p><p>Workers said the announcement of the closure was done without prior consultation or formal notice to the union. </p><p>The union also asserted that the move violated the memorandum of agreement signed after the strike, which guaranteed that no retaliatory actions would be taken by either party.</p><p>Workers have since questioned the reasons given for the closure. They said the owner’s illness was not sufficient justification to cease operations, and also disputed claims of financial losses. </p><p>KMU estimates that based on production of between 6,000 and 7,000 items daily, earnings could reach up to P400,000 a day.</p><div style="text-align:left"><br/></div><div style="text-align:left"><strong>MANAGEMENT: CONSULTATION ONGOING</strong></div><p style="text-align:left">In an online exchange with ABS-CBN News, management said “[t]here is an ongoing consultation between the union and KFSI management.”</p><p>Its legal team underscored that the closure is not a retaliatory action, but due to the owner’s poor health.</p><p>It added: “The law requires separation pay of one-half month salary for every year of service but KMN is offering 22.5 month for every year of service.”</p><p>Diwa recalled the moment two management representatives arrived to read the memo, saying they would still be paid until May 22 even if they no longer report to work.</p><p>But the assurance was given only . With nothing in writing, the group decided to seek assistance from the union.</p><p>&quot;Na-shock lahat, hindi na sila nakapagsalita. Wala mang paliwanag ng maayos ang management. Binasahan lang kami ng memo nila...and then wala na. Wala nang pag-uusap, umalis na sila,&quot; he recalled.</p><p>(&quot;Everyone was shocked, they couldn&#x27;t speak. The management didn&#x27;t give a proper explanation. They just handed us their memo...and then nothing. No more discussion, they just left,&quot; he recalled.)</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>INCONSISTENT DESIGNATIONS AND ROLES</strong></div><p>Diwa has spent 13 years working at Kowloon House.</p><p>He started as a waiter and was reassigned to packaging sauce for siopao.</p><p>After the pandemic, he moved to the gulaman section, and eventually to production as a dishwasher.</p><p>Indy Lazaro, a member of the negotiating panel for GLOWHRAIN-Kowloon West Chapter, noted that Diwa’s experience reflects a broader pattern among workers, many of whom were transferred across roles over the years with little consistency in designation. </p><p>This practice, she said, points to gaps in management systems, including the absence of clear processes for job assignment, evaluation, and labor allocation.</p><p>Before the wage increase, Diwa earned P709 a day. Even with the additional P20 secured through negotiations, he believes that still falls short of a livable wage—especially as fuel prices and basic goods continue to rise.</p><p>For Diwa, the stakes are deeply personal.</p><p>He is the sole breadwinner for his family in Pampanga, supporting two children—one in Grade 5 and another in college. The job has kept them afloat, even if it meant distance and sacrifice. He rarely goes home, choosing instead to save what he can for the family.</p><p>If money were not an issue, he said, he would not have to leave his family behind to work in Manila.</p><p>Now, instead of the kitchen, he spends his days attending hearings, hoping for resolution—for reinstatement, for fair wages, for stability. Still, Diwa holds on to hope that their demands will not be reduced to empty promises.</p><p>That, like the siopao they prepare with care, their calls for justice will not end up as “asado”—sweetened but uncertain—or turn into “bola-bola,” flowery words without substance.</p><div><br/></div><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1777629140952679360310_946336597990199_4079360575505349132_n.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" spellcheck="false" style="text-align:left">Workers of Kowloon House West and its Noodle House protest along West Avenue on Friday, April 24, over the closure of operations and termination of its workers. <em>Photo courtesy of Glowhrain KMU </em></span></span></span></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>PUSH TO INCREASE WAGES</strong></div><p>KMU Chair Jerome Adonis highlighted that it is a worker&#x27;s right to be part of a union that ensures their job security and protection from possible exploitation by companies. </p><p>“Ito po ay ginagarantiya ng ating Saligang Batas — right to organize, right to living wage, and the right to strike. Ang sinasabi, yung karapatan na &#x27;yan, walang maaaring gawing batas na pumipigil sa mga &#x27;yan,” he said. </p><p>(This is guaranteed by the Constitution — right to organize, right to living wage and the right to strike. It says that no law can violate that right.)</p><p>Labor groups, including KMU, have been calling to increase the minimum wage to the Constitutionally-mandated “living wage,” which they said is at P1,200, without companies making retaliatory actions by closing down or laying off workers. </p><p>On Thursday, DOLE said it may decide on pending wage hike petitions by July. </p><p>Before this, a labor group for business process outsourcing (BPO) employees, BPO Industry Employees Network (BIEN) Pilipinas, filed a petition to increase the minimum wage to P1,200 in the National Capital Region. </p><p>At present, the minimum wage in NCR for non-agricultural is at P695, while P658 for agricultural. This lowers from P300 to P500 in regions. </p><p>The <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/business/2025/6/30/ncr-wage-board-approves-p50-minimum-wage-hike-1205">last wage hike</a> of P50 in NCR took effect on July 18, 2025.</p><p>Labor activists have also been calling for the abolition of the Regional Wages Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board, which sets the minimum wage per regions, saying it has become “obsolete” and created a massive wage disparity. </p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/business/2026/4/28/labor-groups-ask-gov-t-for-wage-hike-amid-middle-east-conflict-1732">‘Wag kami i-ghost’: Labor groups ask gov’t for wage increase, show leadership amid Middle East conflict</a></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>LABOR ISSUES NOT LIMITED TO PRODUCTION LINE</strong></div><p>Desk-based industries are not spared from labor issues. BIEN Pilipinas is demanding several policy changes to benefit over a million BPO employees in the country. </p><p>The group is calling for the implementation of an expanded Work from Home with Utilities Allowance, following the government’s directive mandating government offices and encouraging private companies to implement at least one WFH day per week to cushion the impact of the oil crisis. </p><p>“WFH is not free. While companies cut costs, workers absorb rising expenses for electricity, internet, and home office needs,” BIEN Secretary-General Renso Bajala said.</p><p>“There must be additional allowances for WFH. We refuse to subsidize corporate profits with our own wages,” he added. </p><p>The group also warned companies against using return-to-office policies as a tool for constructive dismissal. </p><p>BIEN also calls for a P36,000 entry-level salary and security of tenure for BPO workers.</p><p>Labor leaders have previously stressed that a salary increase will not harm businesses, but will increase Filipinos’ purchasing power and eventually improve the economy. </p><p>Adonis, however, noted that the government must subsidize micro, small, and medium enterprises to help them pay their workers a living wage.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/business/2026/5/1/marcos-says-nearly-p2-t-worth-of-investments-approved-in-2025-to-generate-150k-jobs-1257">Marcos says nearly P2-trillion investments to generate 150,000 jobs</a></div><p>He said these are long-standing calls but that the government often chooses policies that are “against workers, farmers, the youth and others.”</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>CHALLENGES</strong></div><p>According to Bureau of Labor Relations data, there were 162,542 registered labor organizations — workers&#x27; associations and unions — in the country as of the first quarter of 2026. They account for a total reported membership of 7.01 million.</p><p>That number is about 14% of an estimated workforce of 49.43 million, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority data.</p><p>The <a href="https://rplumber.ilo.org/data/indicator?id=ILR_TUMT_NOC_RT_A&amp;ref_area=PHL&amp;timefrom=2010&amp;timeto=2020&amp;type=label&amp;format=.csv">International Labor Organization </a>meanwhile recorded that as of 2018, only 1.4 percent of the workforce is covered by collective bargaining agreements. </p><p>In 2024, the ILO gave the Philippines a score of five out of ten in terms of national compliance with labor rights.</p><p>Adonis said some companies personally block their own employees’ unionization by “making up stories leading to, or directly, terminating their contracts.”</p><p>“So talo siya yung manggagawa. Kaya kami ay nagtatayo ng union, sikreto, lihim. Hindi dahil illegal, kung hindi iniiwasan namin yung elite,” Adonis said. </p><p>(So the workers lose. That’s why we establish unions discretely, not because it’s illegal but to avoid the elite’s radar.)</p><p>The union leader also said that “the government itself is at the forefront of blocking workers from unionizing”, saying police and military personnel have approached workers to pressure them to disaffiliate from unions and from KMU.</p><p>Red-tagging among labor activists is also rampant, Adonis said.</p><p>“Kapag ikaw ay unyonista o individual na tao, kahit hindi ka unyonista, nag-critic ka sa kapalpakan ng gobyerno, mataas ang presyo, madaming walang trabaho, ang tindi ng traffic, ang tingin nila terorista ka,” Adonis said. </p><p>(Regardless of whether your are a union member or not, if you critique the failure of the government, high prices, unemployment, heavy traffic congestion, they see you as a terrorist.)</p><p>According to KMU data, 72 workers and labor leaders were killed during the previous administration. Six individuals have been forcibly disappeared under the current one.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/5/1/marcos-says-workers-backbone-of-our-republic-0911">Marcos honors Filipino workers on Labor Day, promises ‘more and better jobs’</a></div><p>Despite the broader attempts to silence workers&#x27; voices, the fight for stable and decent jobs continues for Kowloon workers. </p><p>&quot;Hindi po ako maghahanap ng trabaho. Ilalaban po namin ito. Kasi karapatan namin itong ilaban. Kasi unang-una, wala naman kaming nilabag na batas do&#x27;n sa kompanya. Sila ang lumabag, hindi kami,&quot; Diwa pointed out.</p><p>(I will not be looking for a job. We will fight for this. Because it is our right to fight for it. Because first of all, we did not violate any law in that company. They are the ones who violated, not us.)</p><p>He said he will continue to carry protest placards until his hands can again hold restaurant trays.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO:</strong></div><div style="text-align:center"><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Ez4uyADNm8E?si=8LTi326mGqGrUbuH" title="YouTube video player" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div>

<p>Working behind the kitchen through stacks of plates slick with oil and sauce. For Arnel Diwa, this once defined his days at the Kowloon Noodle House on West Avenue in Quezon City.</p>

Working behind the kitchen through stacks of plates slick with oil and sauce. For Arnel Diwa, this once defined his days at the Kowloon Noodle House on West Avenue in Quezon City.

Soft buns, hard lives: Inside the struggles of dimsum workers

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Soft buns, hard lives: Inside the struggles of dimsum workers

Marilag Odtohan,

Marilyn Cahatol,

ABS-CBN News

Published May 01, 2026 07:36 PM PHT

Read More:

Labor Day

Dimsum

workforce

minimum wage

workers' rights

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