IMAGE: Daniella Marie Agacer
Labor groups led by the Unity for Wage Increase Now (U4WIN) on Tuesday protested before the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board to demand a P530 minimum wage increase in Metro Manila to match the living wage for Filipino families.
The petition was signed by representatives of national and local unions, workers’ federations and other progressive organizations.
“There is an urgent and compelling ground for the review of the last wage order and petitioners’ demand for the implementation of the living wage enumerated in this petition of P1,140.
Wherefore, premises considered, it is respectfully prayed by the herein petitioners that the much-needed living wage in the region of P1,140 be implemented as the new minimum wage,” the petition read.
U4WIN said the rising prices of commodities have made it difficult for workers to meet their families’ basic needs.
With inflation easing to 8.6 percent last February after spiking for five straight months, the real wage in Metro Manila has sunk to P482. This is less than half of the P1,161 living wage prescribed by independent research group IBON Foundation.
The daily minimum wage in Metro Manila was last raised by P33 by the National Capital Region wage board in 2022.
As per the Labor Code, wage boards may only approve petitions a year after the previous order. They must also consider the demand for a living wage, the consumer price index and the economic situation of the country.
The group stated that it is about time that the board issues a new wage hike order, given that no petition has been granted since then.
“The petition was made so that the workers/employees in the region can eventually enjoy to live [according to] their appropriate living wage and to enjoy the fruits of their labor as embodied in the Philippine Constitution,” said U4WIN.
Last week, the Makabayan bloc lawmakers proposed a resolution seeking to implement a nationwide P750 daily wage increase for all private sector workers.