(Photo from the Facebook account of the MEPZ Workers Alliance)
MANILA, Philippines — The Federation of Free Workers (FFW) labor group on Sunday renewed its call to the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) to back its campaign for a P150 daily minimum wage increase across the country.
In a statement, FFW said that its advocacy for a wage hike seeks to “rejuvenate” the workers’ purchasing power, thereby addressing the critical need for stability among Filipino laborers.
The group explained that implementing a legislated wage increase of such magnitude will help workers “to enjoy the fullness of life,” highlighting the principle that no worker who works a full-time job should suffer from poverty.
“The phenomenon of the ‘working poor,’ who must undertake multiple jobs just to compile a semblance of a living wage, starkly infringes upon their right to family and a decent family life,” FFW said in a statement.
This reality, the group added, violates the core principles of dignity and fairness which are pillars of Catholic social teaching.
“It is worth noting, however, that this issue is not universally recognized as a religious concern among many Catholics in the Philippines and elsewhere,” it said.
“As the country enters the Holy Week, the FFW underscores that the trade unions’ campaign for wage hike echoes the teachings of Pope Leo XIII’s 1891 encyclical, ‘Rerum Novarum.’ This seminal text, advocating for just wages, remains a foundational aspect of the Church’s social doctrine, championing the rights and dignity of the labor force,” FFW continued.
It then called on employers to remember the Pope’s encyclical and support the wage increase bid.
A P100 daily minimum wage increase bill was approved in the Senate in February while the House of Representatives is yet to pass a counterpart bill.