By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

Several labor groups in Negros Occidental will spearhead a Labor Day Solidarity Forum at the Negros Press Club building in Bacolod City on Monday, May 1.

Wennie Sancho, secretary-general of the General Alliance of Workers Association, said among the groups that will be joining them will include the National Congress of Unions in the Sugar Industry of the Philippines (NACUSIP), the Congress of Independent Organizations, and the Philippine Agricultural Commercial Industrial Workers Union.

Sancho said Roland dela Cruz of NACUSIP will participate virtually from Manila, while Benjie dela Cruz will be the lead convenor of the forum.

Among the crucial issues that would be discussed include the calls from the labor sector to scrap and reject direct sugar importation that was proposed by manufacturers in the food and beverage industries.

It can be recalled that food and beverage manufacturers forwarded a letter to President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. last March 22 asking for direct sugar importation, a move that was met with vehement opposition from various stakeholders in the sugar industry.

According to Sancho, they also oppose the proposal as it would be a death blow to the sugar industry.

Also on the list of topics to be discussed is the update on the wage increase issue and the appeal for the ratification of International Labor Organization Convention 11 by the government./DGB, WDJ