As the National
Wages and Productivity Commission (NWPC) meets today at the Manila Hotel,
Partido Manggagawa (PM) challenged the commission and the Department of Labor
and Employment (DOLE) to confront the glaring failures of the country’s
regional wage-setting system.
“Wage Orders 27
and 28: nadagdagan ang order, pero nabawasan ang wage. Mula P85, naging P60.
Hindi rin malinaw kung tuluyan nang nabura sa kasaysayan ang ‘historic’ na Wage
Order ni Tolentino,” said PM Chairperson Renato Magtubo.
It is also
historic for NCR to get two wage orders. “Dalawang wage orders na sa NCR,
habang ang mga manggagawa sa ibang regions ay nganga at naghihintay,” Magtubo
added.
For PM, this is
not simply a question of whether P60 or P85 is enough. The bigger problem is
the system itself.
The regional
wage-setting mechanism, the labor leader pointed out, has produced a patchwork
of different minimum wages and different schedules of wage adjustments across
the country. Workers face rising prices everywhere, yet their wages depend
heavily on where they work and when their regional wage board decides to act.
“Hindi regional
ang gutom. Hindi regional ang pagtaas ng presyo ng pagkain, kuryente, pamasahe
at iba pang pangunahing pangangailangan. Bakit regional at watak-watak ang
pagtaas ng sahod?” Magtubo asked.
PM said the
NWPC should use today’s meeting not simply to manage the confusion created by
the issuance of two separate wage orders, but to begin reforming the system
itself.
More
importantly, DOLE should lobby Congress for a legislated wage hike instead of
relying solely on another round of fragmented regional wage orders. It should
also support pending proposals in Congress to amend the wage-setting law and
establish a national minimum wage.
“Kung aminado
ang gobyerno na kailangang habulin ng sahod ang patuloy na pagtaas ng gastos ng
mga manggagawa, dapat suportahan ng DOLE ang legislated wage hike. At kung
malinaw nang lumilikha ng hindi makatwirang agwat at pagkaantala ang regional
wage system, panahon nang suportahan nito ang national minimum wage,” Magtubo
said.
PM called for a
comprehensive reform of the wage-setting system toward a mechanism that
guarantees regular, timely and substantial wage increases; progressively
eliminates unjustifiable regional wage gaps; and moves minimum wages toward a
genuine living wage.
PM also warned
against treating successive wage orders as proof that the present system is
working.
“Kung
nadagdagan ang wage order pero lumiit naman ang wage increase, hindi ito
resolusyon sa problema. At kung dalawang wage orders na sa NCR habang
naghihintay pa rin ang ibang rehiyon, malinaw na may problema talaga ang buong
sistema,” Magtubo said.
The issue
before the NWPC today should therefore go beyond the amount of the next wage
increase.
The group said
a fragmented and unequal regional wage-setting system should not be allowed to
continue; thus, the government should support a legislated wage hike and a
national minimum wage for Filipino workers.
Partido Manggagawa
10 September 2026
