Groups push P132 wage adjustment

A coalition of 50 labor groups will push the petition for a P132 wage hike in Central Visayas.

Michael Valle, secretary general for Cebu of the Alliance of Progressive Labor (APL), said that the wage adjustment petition will be stronger if all labor unions and federations will come together to push it. Thus the Living Wage Coalition was formed.

The P132 wage adjustment petition will be filed with the regional office of the Department of Labor and Employment (Dole-7) on Friday. Valle said that in the light of the pork barrel scam, workers feel that it is time for them to ask what is due them. He said that the workers, no matter how small their monthly wages are, pay taxes religiously only to learn that their hard-earned money are pocketed by corrupt politicians. “If P-Noy really believes that there is ‘tuwid na daan,’ he will support our call for wage adjustment. We are the right people to be helped,” says Valle. He explained that their petition is not even for an increase in their daily salary, but rather, an “adjustment for them to have enough income.”

According to the group, the increase in the prices of basic commodities, affected the purchasing power of the workers and this has been worsened by inflation. The coalition cited data from the National Statistics Office as basis of their P132 wage adjustment petition.

The average inflation rate from January to July this year is 5.4, which means that the purchasing power of the peso declined to P0.74. The real value of the current P327 daily wage of Metro Cebu workers is only P241.98. The National Economic Development Authority’s (Neda) determined living wage at P725.

Valle said a wage hike petition will be filed separately.