𝐍𝐂𝐑 𝐖𝐀𝐆𝐄 𝐁𝐎𝐀𝐑𝐃 𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐒𝐄𝐃 𝐀𝐍𝐄𝐖 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐏𝟏𝟎𝟎 𝐖𝐀𝐆𝐄 𝐇𝐈𝐊𝐄

Kapatiran leaders submit letter to NCR wage board

Leaders of the Kapatiran ng mga Unyon at Samahang Manggagawa (Kapatiran), trooped today to the office of NCR Regional Wage Board, asking the body to expedite the resolution of their demand for a P100 increase in the minimum wage for workers in the national capital region.

 

In their second follow up letter, Kapatiran asked the wage body to conduct hearings for the wage petition since none has been done since it was filed on December 5 last year.

 

“Kamakailan lamang ay may naihapag nang panukala para sa P750 dagdag-umento sa Kamara at P150 naman sa Senado. Baka naman maunahan pa ng Kongreso ang mga wage board na nauna nang nakatanggap ng wage petitions. Dereliction of duty yan,” said Kapatiran President Rey Almendras.

 

Almendras noted that a legislated wage hike is not in conflict with the P100 wage petition Kapatiran filed with the NCR wage board since the latter is simply for wage recovery due to inflation, while the former aims to narrow the gap between the minimum wage and the living wage provided under the Constitution.

 

“Gusto nga rin namin na mabago na ng Kongreso ang existing wage mechanism ngayon sa ilalim ng RA 6727 dahil ito ang isa sa mga mayor na dahilan kung bakit ang sweldo sa Pilipinas ay nabansot sa poverty o starvation level. Pero dahil bigo din ang pamahalaan na sawatain ang mataas na inflation, ang nawalang halaga ng dating sweldo ay dapat maibalik kaagad sa manggagawa,” explained Almendras.

 

Inflation in February stayed above 8%, making the demand for wage hike not only justified but urgent.

 

After their submission of the letter to the wage board, Kapatiran leaders proceeded at a nearby office of the Federation of Free Workers (FFW) to have an in-depth discussion on the economics of inflation and wages.

Photos of the event can be accessed at https://www.facebook.com/partidomanggagawa/posts/pfbid029uMRpjsbDv6pB5TVBVhpDkHtYS4grqhA2DJJapkLQiHUKgntKURLHJSnJMHwyGbxl

PRESS RELEASE

Kapatiran ng mga Unyon at Samahang Manggagawa

17 March 2023

Workers welcome DOLE review of P100 wage petition, call for tripartite talks

Labor Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma

 

The labor group Kapatiran ng mga Unyon at Samahang Manggagawa (Kapatiran) welcomed the statement by Labor Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma that the government is reviewing the P100 wage hike petition even as it asserted that it had not been consulted by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) on the matter.

 

Kapatiran is asking the DOLE to immediately convene a tripartite meeting to discuss the wage increase as a response to the cost-of-living crisis. Labor Secretary Laguesma stated the other day that the DOLE is studying the wage petition and is conducting consultations.

 

“We call on Labor Secretary Laguesma to hold a tripartite meeting on the wage hike petition,” demanded Rey Almendras, president of Kapatiran and union president of the Philip Morris Fortune Tobacco Labor Union.

 

He added that “As the petitioner for the P100 wage increase in the National Capital Region (NCR) wage board, Kapatiran expects to be among the groups consulted. Unless Secretary Laguesma is only holding dialogues with employers not workers. Especially since he seemed very concerned that the government needs to do a balancing act over the wage hike demand. Why is it that the government is overly worried about the capacity to pay of employers and not the capacity to buy of workers?”

 

Kapatiran filed a petition for a P100 minimum wage hike at the NCR wage board on December 6, 2022. The group argued that workers need to recover the eroded purchasing power of wages. “Kapatiran calls on other labor groups to link up arms in order to win war—that is, wage increase for wage recovery,” declared Almendras.

 

Runaway inflation has already cut P88 from the P570 minimum wage of NCR workers according to a computation by Partido Manggagawa (PM) based on the latest consumer price index data of the Philippine Statistics Authority. Inflation in January this year rose to 8.7%, much higher than the 8.1% in December.

 

“We call for a new round of wage hikes to recover the lost purchasing power of workers not just in Metro Manila but in the whole country due to the surge in inflation. The P33 minimum wage hike in June 2022 has been effectively wiped out by runaway inflation and workers’ real wages have pushed back even further,” asserted Rene Magtubo, PM national chair and a city councilor of Marikina.

 

The group clarified that the wage hike demand is merely wage recovery. “We are not yet even talking of workers claiming a just share in the fruits of their labor. From 2001 to 2016, real wages stagnated but labor productivity increased by 50% and the GDP doubled,” Magtubo maintained.

February 13, 2023

Kapatiran ng mga Unyon at Samahang Manggagawa

Untamed inflation warrants immediate pay hike – Partido Manggagawa

 

                                                    

With November inflation escalating to 8.0%, the Partido Manggagawa (PM), on Tuesday, reiterated its demand for an immediate wage hike to restore lost purchasing power of workers.

 

A P100 “wage increase for wage recovery” petition was filed yesterday by the Kapatiran ng mga Unyon at Samahang Manggagawa (Kapatiran) and PM before the NCR Wage Board.

 

A wage hike, together with reforms in the country’s wage rationalization law, were part of the 5-Point Labor Agenda being pushed by Nagkaisa, a coalition to which PM is affiliated. Other agenda include, public employment program, an end to endo and trade union repression both in the private and public sector, and mechanisms for continuing dialogue to discuss industry and structural reforms. 

 

“Without an immediate pay hike, workers are left to shoulder the impacts of rising cost of living while Congress and economic managers spend their time pooling funds, including pension funds of workers, to invest in the Maharlika Investment Fund,” said PM Chair Renato Magtubo.

 

Further, added Magtubo, “without reforms in the wage fixing mechanisms, poverty wages shall be confined to where they are during the last three decades – at starvation levels.”

 

PM supports the Kapatiran petition for a wage hike and argued firmly that even without runaway inflation, workers deserve a fair share from economic growth and rising productivity.

 

“GDP and labor productivity were on the rise during the last three decades, yet real wages remained flat. So, we really don’t understand why proponents of Maharlika in Congress never thought of providing workers wealth transfers (i.e., wealth tax) and rather trained their guns at how employee pension funds can be converted into capital,” lamented Magtubo.

 

PM likewise dismisses the Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP) main argument against the wage hike petition.

 

“ECOP says only 10% of workers will benefit from a wage hike as registered enterprises are 90% MSMEs. Yet the truth is, big companies also benefit from low minimum wage by way of endo or contractualization,” asserted Magtubo.

 

The labor group said thousands of agency workers deployed in medium and large companies are paid the basic minimum wage and that is the main reason why ECOP vehemently rejects any attempt to end endo.

Partido Manggagawa

6 December 2022

Workers won’t support war despite US assurance under MDT

Photo from Rappler

 

Filipino workers will never support any war even with the renewed assurance that the US will go side-by-side with the Philippines as provided under the Mutual Defense Treaty, said Partido Manggagawa (PM) in a statement, following US Vice President Kamala Harris’ meeting with President Marcos last Monday, November 21.

 

“We are for demilitarization and de-escalation of war threats in the West Philippine Sea and other regional flashpoints,” declared PM Chair Renato Magtubo, stating that the endless warmongerings between the two superpowers on WPS and Taiwan disputes do not serve the interest of the working people.

 

Magtubo argued that in every imperialist war, only foot soldiers and workers die in battle while the emperors and their generals partake with the booty. In the case of the Philippines, a war in the region is to the delight of giants whose agenda is global hegemony and control of trade routes.

 

“Hence, we call on governments of both the US and China to back off, demilitarize the oceans and let the peace-loving people of Asia enjoy genuine cooperation in the region,” said Magtubo.

 

The group asserts that rather than annihilation, war is better waged against poverty and inequality especially at a time the world’s people are facing multiple crises in health, the economy, and climate.

 

“In fact, Filipino workers have their own war to win - a Wage Increase for Wage Recovery or WIN WAR that the government of President Marcos must seriously address,” said Magtubo.

 

PM has been calling for a wage increase of P100 across-the-board to recover lost value of wages due to soaring inflation. 

22 November 2022