In solidarity with workers across the globe, the National Union of Building and Construction Workers (NUBCW) marked International Workers’ Memorial Day (IWMD) with a powerful gathering centered on the theme: “Health and Safety is Our Right — We Work to Live, Not to Die.”
Held with solemn respect and passionate advocacy, the event featured distinguished guests: Dr. RJ Naguit of AKBAYAN Partylist, a long-time health rights advocate, and Atty. Sonny Matula, National President of the Federation of Free Workers (FFW) and a senatorial candidate known for championing labor rights.
Dr. Naguit delivered an urgent reminder that health and safety are not privileges but basic human rights. Drawing from his experience as a health advocate, he emphasized that no worker should be forced to choose between livelihood and life itself. “Every death due to unsafe workplaces is preventable,” he stressed. “It is a symptom of a system that values profit over people — a system we must change.”
Atty. Matula followed with a rousing call for stronger protections, sharing the ongoing struggles of labor unions nationwide. He reaffirmed the need to pass and enforce laws that ensure safe working conditions, regular employment, and just compensation. “We must fight for a future where workers’ lives are valued more than corporate greed,” Matula said. “NUBCW stands at the frontlines of this battle.”
In a unified statement, NUBCW reaffirmed its commitment to championing safe, healthy, and dignified workplaces for all Filipino workers. These commitments will result in the launching of new Department Order series of 2025 titled “Guidelines for the Standard Design and Specification for Temporary Welfare Facilities for Construction Workers”, a new law that will ensure not just the health and safety of construction workers in their respective accomodation but the said DO will also protect workers from abusive treatment, exploitation, harassment and discrimination of any form through creation of grievance redress mechanism inside the accommodation area.
The event closed with a collective pledge to intensify campaigns for occupational health and safety, union rights, and fair labor practices — echoing the call: “We work to live, not to die.”
The commemoration concluded with the NUBCW National Council Meeting, where council members convened to align their strategies in preparation for the upcoming 3rd Regular Congress scheduled on May 25, 2025. The meeting emphasized the organization’s renewed vigor to strengthen union work, broaden alliances, and advance the fight for workers’ rights nationwide.
As NUBCW Secretary General Santiago Nolla said, “Remembering is not enough. Organizing, mobilizing, and fighting for change — that is the true tribute to our fallen heroes and comrades.”