MANILA, Philippines — The Unyon ng mga Manggagawa sa Agrikultura (UMA) has challenged the Sugar Council’s characterization of sugarcane labor as costly, citing low wages, long working hours without overtime pay and hundreds of thousands of field workers who reportedly did not receive seasonal cash bonuses. In a statement, UMA chairperson Ariel Casilao said most sugarcane field workers continued to receive wages below the minimum rate, with no overtime pay for work extending beyond eight hours a day. Many also received no employment benefits, while the Cash Bonus Fund (CBF) intended for them was often minimal or not distributed at all, […]...

Keep on reading: Labor group disputes claims of high sugarcane labor costs