KMU demands wage hike with P1 jeepney fare hike

Labor group Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) on Friday demanded that minimum wage be increased to P750 a day following the approval of a provisional P1 fare hike for jeepneys.

The fare hike, KMU said, showed that the government was passing to commuters the burden of paying “overpriced” and “overtaxed” fuel reportedly brought by its inclusion in the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) law.

“The fare hike is not intended to help workers in the transport sector. A P1 fare hike won’t help drivers and operators put food on the table, or send their children to school, or pay rent or utility bills,” KMU chair Bong Labog said in a statement.

“Instead, the fare hike is intended to pass on to commuters the burden of paying for overpriced and overtaxed fuel, which the Duterte administration brought on itself through anti-people measures such as TRAIN and oil deregulation laws,” he said.

Likewise, Labog called for the junking of the TRAIN law and the passage of a law that would instead increase the minimum wage of all workers across the country to P750.

“It is enraging that the Duterte administration has responded to the plight of the Filipino people with a fare hike instead of a wage hike,” Labog said.

READ: P9 jeepney minimum fare starts July 6

The provisional P1-increase in the minimum jeepney fare took effect on Friday, July 6, after the LTFRB released the order that effectively implements the fare hike.

LTFRB has approved to raise the fare from the current P8 minimum to P9 in Metro Manila, Central Luzon, and Calabarzon, according to the order released Friday. /muf