Labor groups slam ‘insulting’ P15 NCR minimum wage hike

MANILA, Philippines—Insulting and disrespectful.

That was how workers’ groups on Wednesday described the P15 increase in the minimum wage in the National Capital Region (NCR) approved by the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board last Tuesday.

In separate statements, Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) and Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) hit the minimal increment in the minimum wage as too meager for a family to live decently.

“The P15.00 increase in workers’ daily wage is not even enough to cover for the increase in fares in the country’s train systems. It’s not enough to cover for the rising prices of basic commodities, especially food items, and rising payments for basic services,” KMU Chairperson Elmer Labog said.

Labog explained the new NCR minimum wage: P481 for workers in the non-agriculture sector and P444 for workers in the agriculture sector, is too small compared to the P1,086 daily average needed to provide a decent living for families as revealed by Ibon Foundation.

In response to the wage hike, KMU will organize protests to demand President Benigno Aquino III’s resignation.

Meanwhile, TUCP spokesperson Alan Tanjusay said the “revolting” wage hike further deepened the divide between the rich and the poor.

“This amount is revolting. Rather than closing the gap between rich and poor, government officials in the Board has further widened the gaping inequality amongst Filipinos—between a few elite and a famished majority who live to survive by the day,” Tanjusay said.

The wage hike will take effect in April and is said to benefit 587,000 minimum wage earners in the metropolis.

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