Humane working hours, consideration for workers’ health, and sufficient salaries for laborers.
Sen. Robinhood “Robin” C. Padilla pushed for these rights as he aired support for a resolution seeking to remove violence and harassment from the workplace, and a bill safeguarding the rights of showbiz workers.
Padilla supported a Senate resolution concurring with the International Labor Organization (ILO) Convention 190, outlawing violence and harassment in the workplace.
“Sana po ito po ang panimula at dito sa ating bulwagan alam ko po na tayo ay inip na inip na ring itaas ang sweldo ng ating manggagawa. Pagkatapos po nating ipaglaban ang kanilang karapatan na mawala ang karahasan at panliligalig sa mga workplaces, ito naman po sana ang isunod natin (I hope this is the start. I also know that workers want to have just wages. After we fight for their rights to be free from harassment and violence in the workplace, I hope we work on their wages next),” he said.
Padilla added, “buhay na buhay pa rin ang espiritu ng rebolusyon sa ating puso at ang pagnanais natin na mabigyan ng tamang karapatan ang ating mga manggagawa (the spirit of the revolution is alive in our hearts, in the sense that we want to uphold the rights of our workers).”
In his co-sponsorship speech for Senate Bill 2505 (Eddie Garcia Act) that seeks humane working conditions for those in the TV and movie industries, Padilla stressed the need to continue the fight of Andres Bonifacio, Macario Sakay and Emilio Jacinto, who he said also worked as actors on the stage.
“Ito po ay tuloy-tuloy na pakikibaka ng mga artista para po magkaroon ng napakagandang environment naman sa amin pong pinagtatrabahuhan. Dahil nabanggit kanina ni Sen. Jinggoy Estrada at Sen. Bong Revilla minsan umaabot kami ng 36 hours diretso. Una po ang masama na sa kalusugan (This bill is part of artists’ fight for a humane working environment. Senators Jinggoy Estrada and Bong Revilla have mentioned workers in the movie and TV industry work 36 hours straight. That is bad for health),” he said.
“Sabi nga po nila, ito raw pong ita-translate ko sa Tagalog, ang sabi po nila, ang pag-asa ay nakalagak sa mga panaginip, imahinasyon at lakas ng loob upang gawing realidad ang isang pangarap. Ito po ay isang pangarap hindi lang ng mga artista kundi lahat ng nagtatrabaho sa TV, pelikula, maging mga sabihin natin sa entablado. Ito po ang kanilang pangarap, magkaroon po ng tamang oras ng pagtatrabaho (As they say, our hopes stem from our dreams, imagination, and courage to make dreams come true. This would be a dream come true for artists and workers in the TV and movie industries. This is their dream, to have humane working hours),” he added.