Jinggoy Estrada backs wage hike petitions

By: Dennis Gutierrez - 3 years ago

Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino president and senatorial aspirant Jinggoy Estrada joins the UniTeam Alliance in their sortie in Bulacan.

MANILA, Philippines — Former Senator Jinggoy Estrada on Monday called on the National Wages and Productivity Commission (NWPC) to hasten deliberations on various wage hike petitions filed by big labor groups in the country.

In a statement, Estrada said millions of Filipino workers are suffering from the double whammy of the COVID-19 pandemic and soaring fuel and food prices amidst Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

As former chairman of the Senate labor committee, Estrada backed the wage hike petitions filed by the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines. Earlier, the group said it will ask the NWPC for a wage increase “of not less than P200 a day.”

“Filipinos who have long been suffering due to the pandemic are in an even worse situation now with soaring fuel and food prices. The daily take home pay of workers is insufficient to meet Filipino families’ daily needs. Given the circumstances and to prevent widespread hunger, a wage hike is justified,” Estrada stressed.

Aside from seeking a wage increase in Metro Manila, the TUCP bared plans to file a series of wage hike petitions in Central Luzon, Central Visayas, Northern Mindanao, Calabarzon, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon and Davao region.

“NWCP must study and act on these petitions with dispatch. It’s unfair, even inhuman, to delay a decision that could mean life or death for thousands of Filipino workers and their families,” Estrada said.

As former chairman of the Senate labor committee, he said Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has caused the price of fuel to soar to unprecented levels. It also has a direct impact on the price of food, transportation and other services.

“While deliberating on the wage hike petions, the NWCP must strike a delicate balance between the interests of workers and their employers who are also suffering amidst low demand and unfavorable business conditions due to the pandemic,” he stressed.

Estrada, the president of Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino, is seeking to return to the Senate under the UniTeam Alliance.