P20 wage hike won’t make a dent in P1,300 daily cost of living

A labor group has slammed the P20 wage offer by employers as “an insult to hard working Filipinos.” The Partido Manggagawa (PM) said that the proposed wage hike will not make a dent in group’s daily cost of living estimate of P1,300.

A cost of living survey by PM found that a family of five in the National Capital Region needs P1,300 daily or P39,000 monthly to live decently as of May.

PM chair Magtubo criticized the regional wage board hearings as a “moro-moro” as Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello and the Employers Confederation of the Philippines have already agreed on “a P20 alms to workers.” The regional wage boards are composed of three representatives from the government, two from employers and two from labor.

“Wage regionalization has been weaponized in the employers’ war to cheapen wages and increase profits. An evaluation of the policy performance of wage regionalization that started in 1989 will show that it has consistently resulted in measly salary hikes that are below inflation rates and disregards economic growth,” Magtubo explained.

In PM’s own study, P3,150 monthly are needed to buy daily 2.5 kilos of the cheapest commercial rice at P42. Of the P39,000 monthly budget, 44% is earmarked for food and 56% for non-food. Utilities like electricity, water and cooking gas make up 8%, house rent 15%, transportation expenses 11% and education needs 13% of the total budget.

“Our cost of living study is in fact an underestimation as it does not provide for leisure and recreation, savings or social security which should comprise 10% as a standard or for a house help which is a necessity if the government insists that both parents must work to sustain the family,” Magtubo averred.

He insisted that “The focus now is on worsening inflation that has eroded workers nominal wages. But hardly noticed is growing inequality due to the stagnation of real wages while productivity is booming. From 2001 to 2016, labor productivity grew by at least 50 percent, yet the real wages did not grow at all. Workers have been denied their fair share in the fruits of production.” 

Items	Volume/Cost	Daily Cost	Monthly Cost	% share
Food & Beverages			17,446.50	44.33
rice	2.5kg/day x P42 (sinandomeng)	105	3,150
ulam & gulay	3 servings (P82/pax/day x 5 pax)	410	12,300
seasoning	2kg onion (P97/kilo), 1kg garlic (P110/kilo)	10.13	304
fruits	4kg  x P60 (banana)	8	240
cooking oil	2 liters x P106	7.07	212
sugar	2kg x P56.25	3.75	112.5
soy sauce	1 liter P42	1.40	42
vinegar	1 liter P34.50	1.15	34.50
fish sauce	1 liter P53	1.77	53
coffee	2 (100g) x P76.25	5.08	152.50
milk	3 (900g) x P282	28.20	846
Utilities			3,358	8.53
electricity	200kwh (P10.90/kwh)	72.67	2,180
water	20cu.m. (P23.95/cu.m)	15.97	479
LPG	1 cylinder	23.30	699
House rental			6,000	15.25
	1 month rent	200	6,000
Toiletries			1,027.05	2.61
soap	6 bars (135g) x P40.50	8.10	243
shampoo	2 (180ml ) x P101.90	6.79	203.80
sanitary napkins	3 (packs of 8) x P42.75	4.28	128.25
toothpaste	2 (150ml) x P77.50	5.17	155
laundry soap	24 (70g pack) x P5.50	4.40	132
deodorant	2 (40ml) x P82.50	5.50	165
Education			5,170.83	13.14
miscellaneous fees	3 pax x P750 = P2250/schoolyear	6.25	187.50
school allowance	100 x 2 pax & 50 x 1 pax/day x 22 days x 10 months = P55,000/yr	152.78	4583.33
theatre tickets	1 ticket x P200/grading x 4 periods x 3 pax/schoolyear = P2,400	6.67	200
school projects	2 subjects x P100 /grading x 4 periods x 3 pax = P2,400/schoolyear	6.67	200
Health			450	1.14
ascorbic acid	5 (1 tablet ascorbic acid generic) X P3	15	450
Communications			1,500	3.81
phone or cellphone	at least P25/day load x 2	50	1,500
Transpo expenses			4,400	11.18
fare to and from work	2 pax x P100/day x 22days	146.67	4,400
Total		P1,311.77	P39,352.38

October 25, 2018