Despite P50 NCR wage order: Labor vows to push P200 legislated wage bill in new Congress

 

Image from Dakila

The labor group Partido Manggagawa (PM) stated that labor groups are united in pushing a legislated wage increase as a pathway to improving the living conditions of workers and a step towards reforming the wage fixing system.

 

 “It is the high-profile campaign of the labor movement for a P200 legislated increase that nudged the NCR wage board to enact the highest ever amount of minimum hike in the region lest it be criticized by workers for being stingy and useless,” Lawrence Cusipag, one of PM’s spokespersons, asserted.

 

“With the 20^th Congress convening by July 28 and despite the P50 wage order in Metro Manila yesterday, we reiterate out demand for a P200 salary adjustment that is nationwide and across-the-board so that all workers benefit. Even informal workers and micro entrepreneurs will also gain from this measure through the multiplier effects of a robust purchasing power of formal workers,” explained Cusipag.

 

Labor groups will join multisectoral organizations in the planned mobilization on the State of the Nation speech of President Bong Bong Marcos, Jr. which is also the official opening of the new Congress.

 

“Labor will raise the demand for a legislated wage hike in opposition to the provincial rates which is an instrument to cheapen wages of workers. Labor productivity has risen continuously for the past two decades even as real wages have stagnated. Employers have monopolized the fruits of so-called economic progress,” Cusipag ended. ###

 

PHP 50/day minimum wage increase is a drop in the bucket

 

Image from ABS-CBN

Five P10 coins may be the biggest alms that the NCR wage board ever gave workers, but it is still barya (small change). The PHP 50/day minimum wage increase, bringing the new minimum wage to PHP 695, is woefully inadequate in addressing the skyrocketing cost of living in Metro Manila. With a daily living wage of over PHP 1,200 for a family of five, this increase barely makes a dent in the poverty faced by workers.

 

Working poor despite wage hike

 

The new minimum wage of PHP 695 translates to a monthly salary of PHP 15,290 (based on 22 working days). However, this is still below the regional poverty threshold of PHP 15,713 as of 2023. Given the rising cost of living, the poverty threshold is likely even higher now, making workers in Metro Manila even poorer.

 

Call to action

 

The labor movement recognizes that the current wage system perpetuates cheap wages. That's why we're fighting for real change through a legislated wage increase of PHP 200 in the upcoming 20th Congress. We urge all workers to unite and join the fight for a legislated wage hike that will genuinely improve our standard of living. Together, we can demand a fair wage that allows us to live with dignity.