Structural reforms needed as free market policies collide with public interest

 

Partido Manggagawa finds the decision of President Marcos to place the country under a state of energy emergency an attempt to show the people that the government is in control. The truth is, it is not.

 

In the midst of the current price shocks, it is becoming clearer that the Philippine government is incapable of protecting the Filipino people because of the limitations imposed by the free market framework of the Oil Deregulation Law (RA 8479).

 

It is not because the Philippine State lacked powers to deal with any emergency. Its problem now is how to extricate itself from the dilemma of trying to demonstrate control against the fact that it is deregulation and privatization policies that truly commands the economy.

 

Despite Palace’s assurances that they are “closely monitoring” price movements, the stark reality is that it has very limited capacity to directly influence fuel prices or stabilize supply. Under full deregulation, oil importation, pricing, and distribution are almost entirely in the hands of private companies.

 

Even the Price Act (RA 7581) which provides for the imposition of price ceilings in times of emergencies, cannot provide meaningful relief because oil and related products are not part of prime commodities covered under the law.

 

Another example is the Electric Power Reform Act (EPIRA). Its Sec. 71 provided the President emergency powers during a crisis. Yet it is hardly exercised against the power oligarchs who exercise total control of the privatized power industry. We also have very strong climate commitments, yet our planned transition is very dependent on private investments and the leadership of the private sector.    

 

The State is well aware of the need for emergency intervention to prevent profiteering by private companies and protect consumers, however, market liberalization remains an overarching economic policy, thus, discourages or even disables such intervention. This situation exposes workers and farmers to the full impact of global price shocks.

 

The government must, thus, address the contradiction between emergency response and its free market policy.

 

The government must therefore consider reforming or replacing the Oil Deregulation Law an immediate agenda. Energy is a strategic necessity that should not be left to the full discretion of market forces because it would undermine both economic stability and social justice. It is time to reclaim the State’s role in ensuring affordable and accessible energy for all.

 

In addition, it should address the chronic vulnerabilities of many sectors like in the case of ordinary workers whose life of poverty and insecurity are compounded by low wages, suppressed rights, and inadequate social protection.

 

This crisis situation likewise calls for the passage of the bill for wage hike and establishing the National Minimum Wage Law.

 

PRESS STATEMENT

25 March 2026

Dinanas ng mga Manggagawa ang Krisis sa Gastusin at Katiwalian nitong 2025

Dalawampu’t tatlong bagyo ang tumama sa bansa noong 2025, at ang bagyong Tino ang pinaka-makapinsala lalo na sa dami ng nasawing buhay. Milyun-milyon ang naapektuhan ng matitinding pagbaha sa iba’t ibang lugar dahil sa sunod-sunod na bagyo at ulan. Malinaw itong sumalungat sa ipinagyabang ni Pangulong Bongbong Marcos sa kanyang State of the Nation Address na mahigit 5,000 flood control projects umano ang naipatupad ng kanyang administrasyon. Ang banggaan ng realidad at yabang ang nagpasiklab ng galit ng mamamayan. At sumiklab ang malawakang pagkundena sa korapsyong bumabalot sa pekeng o substandard na flood control projects.

 

Ang iskandalong ito ang nagbunsod ng sunod-sunod na malalaking rali noong Setyembre 21 at Nobyembre 30. Bagama’t mas maliit ang kilos-protesta noong Nobyembre sa NCR kumpara noong Setyembre, mas malawak naman ito dahil maraming lungsod ang nagsagawa ng mga pagkilos. Iba’t ibang sektor ng mamamayan ang galit laban sa korupsiyon ngunit malaking bahagi ng mga pagkilos ay likha ng kilos ng mga estudyante. Sa ganitong diwa, maihahalintulad ang Pilipinas sa mga kilusan sa Indonesia at Nepal kung saan simbolo ang One Piece at isyu ang nepo babies. Natatangi naman ang papel ng Simbahang Katoliko bilang isa sa mga pangunahing tagapag-ugnay at tagapagpakilos ng mga nagpoprotesta—isang kaibahan sa mga anti-korupsiyong pagkilos sa ibang bansa.

 

Natapos ang taon na walang napanagot sa multi-bilyong pisong iskandalo sa flood control. Bagama’t may naibalik na ilang milyong piso at ilang mamahaling sasakyan sa kaban ng bayan, patak lang ito kumpara sa ₱546 bilyon na ginastos para sa halos 10,000 walang kwentang flood control projects mula Hulyo 2022 hanggang Mayo 2025.

 

Ang pagsabog ng isyu ng korapsyon ay nagdulot ng krisis pampulitika sa administrasyon, na nauwi sa pagbibitiw ng House Speaker na si Martin Romualdez, pinsan ng pangulo. Ibinunyag din ng AFP Chief ang umano’y tangkang suhulan ang ilang heneral upang bawiin ang kanilang suporta sa administrasyon sa gitna ng malawakang anti-korupsiyong pagkilos. Lalong tumindi ang bangayan sa pagitan ng pangulo at bise presidente, habang kapwa sila nasasangkot sa kani-kanilang iskandalo. Para sa maraming Pilipino, ang hidwaang pampulitika ay hindi usapin ng uri o ideolohiya, kundi labanan ng mga dinastiyang pulitikal.

 

Bagama’t may mga manggagawang lumahok sa mga anti-korupsiyong protesta, ito ay bilang mga indibidwal at hindi bilang organisadong puwersa. May inisyatiba naman ang ilang unyon na manawagan ng anti-korupsiyong protesta sa Makati noong unang bahagi ng Nobyembre. Ang mga manggagawa ang labis na nag-aambag ng buwis sa kaban ng bayan—kaya sila rin ang dapat pinaka-apektado ng pagnanakaw at pag-aaksaya sa pambansang badyet. Higit pa rito, ang manggagawa at maralita ang direktang tinatamaan ng epekto ng climate change—mula sa kawalan ng sahod dahil sa bagyo hanggang sa matinding init sa lugar ng trabaho. Gayunman, nananatiling hindi pa ganap na naipapakita ng masa ang kanilang galit sa korupsiyon sa anyo ng lantad at malawakang pagkilos.

 

Habang nananatiling mabibigat na usapin ang tradisyunal na mga kahilingan ng manggagawa gaya ng pagtaas ng sahod at pagwawakas ng kontraktuwalisasyon, hindi pa rin sumasabog ang malawakang pakikibaka, taliwas sa nangyari sa anti-korupsiyong protesta. Kasabay nito, hinarap ng mga Pilipino ang matinding krisis sa gastusin, na sumiklab sa galit ng publiko sa kontrobersiyal na pahayag ng Department of Trade and Industry na sapat na diumano ang ₱500 para sa noche buena. Para sa karaniwang Pilipino, ipinakita ng isyung ito na di kayang sabayan ng sahod at kita ang patuloy na pagtaas ng presyo ng bilihin.

 

Ang krisis sa gastusin ang nagpasulong sa kampanya ng kilusang paggawa para sa legislated wage increase. Sa huling sandali, nagbunga ang panawagan ng paggawa nang ipasa ng Kamara ang panukalang ₱200 dagdag-sahod, ngunit sumalungat ito sa ₱100 na bersyon ng Senado na nakabinbin pa mula 2024. Nabigong pag-isahin ng Kamara at Senado ang dalawang panukala, kaya muling napako sa wala ang mga manggagawa nang magsara ang Kongreso upang magbigay-daan sa bagong halal na lehislatura.

 

Matapos mabigo ang legislated salary hike, nagpatupad ang pitong regional wage boards ng umentong minimum wage na mula ₱20 hanggang ₱60 sa ikalawang kalahati ng 2025. Ngunit kahit ang pinakamataas na buwanang minimum wage sa Metro Manila—batay sa karaniwang 22 araw ng trabaho—ay kulang pa sa kalahati ng tinatayang ₱36,200 living wage ng Asia Floor Wage Alliance, na nakabatay sa 3,000-calorie na pang-araw-araw na pangangailangan. Higit pa rito, ang minimum wage sa lahat ng rehiyon ay mas mababa pa sa mismong poverty threshold ng gobyerno. Ibig sabihin, ang mga minimum wage earner ay nananatiling mahihirap kahit nagtatrabaho. Kaya hindi na kataka-takang sumiklab ang galit ng mga Pilipino nang igiit ng mga awtoridad na sapat na ang ₱500 para sa isang simpleng handang pampasko.

 

Magpapatuloy ang inflation hanggang 2026 at uuk-ukin nito ang sahod ng mga manggagawa at kita ng mga maralita. Mananatiling mataas ang presyo ng langis dahil sa digmaan ng Russia sa Ukraine at sa bagong tensiyong binubuo ng US sa Venezuela. Samantala, patuloy na bubulabugin ng climate change ang produksyon sa agrikultura at industriya, na magtutulak paitaas sa gastos sa produksyon. Dahil dito, mananatiling maiinit na usapin para sa mga manggagawa sa 2026 ang kisis sa korapsyon at gastusin. Kung nais ng tunay na pagbabago, kailangang itaas ng mga manggagawa ang antas ng kanilang kolektibong pagkilos sa darating na taon.

 

Paano papanagutin ang mga opisyal, mambabatas at kontratista sa multi-bilyong pisong katiwalian sa flood control projects? Paano ito mangyayari sa ilalim ng kasalukuyang administrasyong kasabwat din sa iskandalo? Ito ang patuloy na hamon sa kilusang anti-korupsiyon.

 

Paano malalampasan ng mga manggagawa ang pag-aalinlangan sa bisa ng sama-samang pagkilos? Magagawa bang pukawin at pakilusin ng kilusang paggawa ang milyun-milyong di-organisadong manggagawa upang ipaglaban ang mga kahilingang tulad ng dagdag-sahod at regular na trabaho? Ito ang nananatiling malaking tanong para sa kilusang paggawa.

 

Ipinapakita ng mga anti-korapsyong protesta na hindi sapat ang ingay sa social media—ang malawakang pagkilos sa lansangan lamang ang papansinin ng gobyerno. Tulad ng napatunayan ng mga pakikibaka sa iba’t ibang panig ng mundo, tanging tuluy-tuloy at sama-samang pakikibaka ang makapagdudulot ng pagbabago ng sistema. Ipinapakita ng mga surbey na umaasa ang mga Pilipino sa mas maayos na 2026. Upang maging totoo ang pag-asang ito, kailangan nating gawing new year’s resolution ang sama-samang pagkilos.

Labor year ender 2025: Workers faced corruption and affordability issues

 

Twenty three typhoons hit the country in 2025, of which Tino was the most damaging in terms of loss of lives. Millions were affected by the heavy flooding in many areas due to the frequent typhoons and rains. This contrasted with the boast of President Bongbong Marcos in his State of the Nation Address about more than 5,000 flood control projects implemented by his administration. The disconnect between expectation and reality unleashed a perfect storm of outrage over the corruption attending ghost or substandard flood control projects.

 

The controversy sparked back-to-back massive rallies on September 21 and November 30. While the November protests were smaller in the NCR compared to that of September, it was, however, more widespread with many cities holding activities. The anger over corruption cut across different classes but much of the energy for the mass actions came from students. In this, the Philippines had parallels to movements in Indonesia and Nepal with symbols like One Piece and triggers like nepo babies. The Catholic Church was also a key coordinator of the movement aside from a major mobilizer of protesters. In this, the Philippines differed from other anti-corruption protests elsewhere.

 

The year ended with no one found guilty for the multi-billion flood control scandal. While several millions and a few luxury cars have been returned to the national treasury, such are a drop in the bucket compared to the P546 billion spent for almost 10,000 ineffective flood control projects from July 2022 to May 2025.

 

The explosion of corruption controversy sparked a political crisis for the administration, with presidential cousin House Speaker Martin Romualdez resigning. The chief of the armed forces exposed alleged attempts to entice generals to withdraw their support for the administration amid the anti-corruption mass actions. The political infighting between the president and vice president escalated even as both were embroiled in their own corruption scandals. For many Filipinos, the polarization is along dynastic lines, not economic class or political ideology.

 

Even though workers joined the anti-corruption protests, they did so as individuals and not as an organized force. Unions did take the initiative in calling for an anti-corruption protest in Makati in early November. Workers in the formal sector disproportionately contribute taxes to the public coffers so they should be among the most affected by leakage and waste in the national budget. Further, workers, both formal and informal, bear the brunt of the impact of climate change—from loss of pay due to typhoons to extreme heat in the workplace. And yet, for workers, pervasive outrage over corruption has yet to be expressed as visible protest.

 

While traditional workers’ issues such as wage hikes and labor contractualization remain pressing concerns, popular struggles have yet to erupt, unlike the anti-corruption protests. Filipinos faced their own affordability crisis as exemplified in the pervasive indignation over Department of Trade and Industry’s provocative P500 budget for a noche buena. The controversy expressed the popular perception that wages and income for ordinary Filipinos have not coped up with inflation.

 

The affordability crisis sustained organized labor’s campaign for a legislated wage hike. At the last minute, labor’s demand succeeded led to the House of Representatives passing a P200 bill which however conflicted with a P100 version in the Senate, which had been pending since 2024. The House and Senate did not reconcile the two wage bills and thus workers were again left with nothing as Congress closed to give way to the newly elected one.

 

In the wake of the defeat of the legislated salary increase, regional wage boards ordered minimum wage hikes ranging from P20 to P60 in the latter half of 2025. Yet, the highest monthly minimum wage in Metro Manila—using the mean of 22 workdays—is still less than half of the Asia Floor Wage Alliance’s estimate of P36,200 living wage based on a 3,000-calorie daily diet per adult. Moreover, the minimum wage in all regions fall below the government’s own poverty threshold. This means that minimum wage earners are working poor. It was thus no surprise that Filipinos flared up in disbelief when authorities insisted that P500 was enough to cover a simple Christmas feast.

 

Inflation will persist into 2026 and will erode the purchasing power of formal and informal workers. High oil prices will be sustained by the war by Russia in Ukraine and a new one brewing in Venezuela by the US. Meanwhile climate change will continue to disrupt agricultural and manufacturing supply chains, pushing production costs up.  Thus, affordability and corruption will remain hot button concerns for workers in 2026. Workers will need to scale up their game if they want change to happen next year.

 

How can officials, legislators and contractors be held accountable for the multibillion-peso corruption in flood control projects? How can this happen under the current administration which is alleged to be complicit in the scandal? This continues to be a challenge for the anti-corruption movement.

 

How can workers surmount their doubts about the efficacy of collective action? Can labor groups inspire and mobilize the millions of unorganized workers to fight for popular demands like a wage hike and regular jobs? This remains the question for the labor movement.

 

As the anti-corruption protests show, only visible mass actions in the streets, not noise on social media, can nudge the government to do something. As protests elsewhere bare, only sustained mass struggles can bring about systemic change. Surveys reveal that Filipinos are hoping for better times in 2026. To make those hopes real, we need to make collective action among our new year’s resolutions. 

31 December 2025

Dapat parehong happy--Kapatiran

 

The Kapatiran ng mga Unyon at Samahang Manggagawa (Kapatiran) finds it unfair seeing the salaries of soldiers and all uniformed service personnel increasing by 15% in the next three years, while workers in the private sector were left stretching a P500 noche-buena package this holiday season.

 

“While Kapatiran is not against raising the salaries of our security personnel, leaving the private sector workers stretching out their current low wages under the same economic condition faced by soldiers’ families is simply unfair,” said Kapatiran Chair Rey Almendras.

 

He added that “Hindi man kayang gawing pantay ang sahod ng manggagawa sa sektor ng seguridad at sektor ng ekonomiya, huwag namang happy ang sa government side kahit may problema sa korapsyon, habang sad ang nasa private sector na ang kaunting wage hike ay saglit lang kinakain ng implasyon.”

 

Kapatiran has been asking for a wage increase for wage recovery of not less than P100 since 2024, both at the regional wage board levels and in Congress for a legislated wage hike.

 

Private sector workers could have been happier if alongside the Palace announcement of a pay hike for soldiers is a Presidential certification to expedite passage of pending legislated wage hike bills.

 

Inflation-adjusted wages were 19.7%-26.1% lower than the current minimum wage in November, according to the latest computations prepared by Business World. In peso terms, the current minimum wage of P695 in NCR has a real value of P546.71 only.

 

Multiplied by 22 days, a private sector worker in NCR receives P15,290 of minimum wage in a month. On the other hand, the basic salary for an entry level member of PNP is P29,668.

 

Yet both live under the same economic conditions and share the same dreams of a joyful celebration of the holiday season.

 

“Kaya naman naming pagkasyahin ang P500 na noche buena, pero ang mas sigurado kami ay DTI family lang ang happy sa diskarteng Pinoy sa larangan ng pagtitipid at pagtitiis,” Almendras concluded. 

 

PRESS RELEASE

9 December 2025

KAPATIRAN

Kapatiran ng mga Unyon at Samahang Manggagawa

Nagkaisa calls on workers to up the pressure on pending wage hike bills in Congress

 

The Nagkaisa Labor Coalition on Wednesday urged workers to keep up the pressure on both the Labor Committee and their respective district representatives, demanding swift action on the long-pending P150 wage hike bill before Congress adjourns sine die next week in preparation for the 2025 national and local elections.

 

The group issued the call as it welcomes the commitment made by House Speaker Martin Romualdez in a meeting with labor leaders to act on the pending wage hike bills.

 

Affirmatively the labor committee has calendared a public hearing on Thursday, January 30, to wrap up its deliberations on the wage hike proposals.

 

Nagkaisa said the P150 wage hike bill has been stalled in the Labor Committee since March 2024, while wage orders from regional boards remain insufficient against the ever-increasing cost of living.

 

The coalition stressed the urgency of the situation, urging Congress and Malacañang not to delay further action. “We cannot afford to wait any longer. With every passing day, the value of our wages continues to diminish as inflation continues to rise,” the statement said.

 

With less than a week left in the 19th Congress’ session before the long election break, labor groups remain hopeful that the wage hike bill may still beat the red light.

PRESS RELEASE

Nagkaisa Labor Coalition

29 January 2025

 

Government or employers asked to shoulder hike in SSS employee share

Amid the criticism over the scheduled 1% hike in Social Security System (SSS) contributions starting this year, the labor group Partido Manggagawa (PM) called on either the government or employers to shoulder the increase in employee share for the current year.

 

“The increase in employee share for SSS contributions will result in lower take-home pay at a time when workers face extreme economic difficulties due to the cost-of-living crisis. In contrast, the government and capitalists have the capacity to pay. The least they could do is to lighten the burden for workers in the new year,” stated Rene Magtubo, PM national chair and a Marikina City councilor.

 

Several groups and individuals have called for the suspension of the scheduled SSS contribution adjustment in view of the economic burden on workers and pending reforms in SSS, such as the failure to collect unpaid remittances from employers.

 

It was reported yesterday that the Commission on Audit (COA) cited SSS for its inability to gather some PhP 89 billion in collectibles from almost half a million employers. The COA called this “weak performance by the SSS in collecting premiums.”

 

Magtubo said that “These employers who deduct social security contributions but do not remit them to the SSS are misbehaving and criminal, or pasaway. Simply, it is wage theft. It is time that SSS wage a war on pasaway employers.”

 

He added that “Capitalists are more than solvent as they have increased their share in the fruits of production in the last 15 years of robust economic growth. Real wages have been stagnant in that period of 50% labor productivity rise. This implies an expansion of capital share, or profit in other words.”

 

Magtubo concluded that “Alternatively, the government can also subsidize the employee share in the meantime. A large share of government revenues come from workers’ withholding taxes anyway. Formal workers disproportionately bear the burden of taxation in the country. Workers’ payroll taxes are automatically deducted while corporate taxes are dependent on the declaration of capitalists. This is a double standard.”

January 6, 2025

2024 in Review: Workers caught between economic difficulties and political intramurals

In 2024, workers faced severe challenges in their wages, benefits and working conditions as they were caught in the vise of economic difficulties brought about by the cost-of-living crisis and escalating intramurals between the two leading political dynasties in the country.

 

While the average inflation of 3.2% in 2024 was almost half compared to 2023, it continued to erode the purchasing power of wages. Relatively higher price increases in food and utilities also disproportionately hit the bottom rungs of the income deciles, meaning the formal and informal workers. Thus, the demand for another round of minimum wage increases in 2024 was a recurring theme for organized labor. The campaign for a wage hike was two-pronged with wage bills for a P150 increase filed at Congress and at the wage boards.

 

The Senate approved a P100 increase in the minimum wage in February 2024. This advance was a result of organized labor successfully leveraging the rift between the upper and lower house of Congress over the latest move to amend the Constitution. The Senate stood pat against charter change and instead pushed for the wage bill’s passage. However, the reverse was the case in the House of Representatives. Despite conducting hearings on the P150 wage hike bill, the House Labor Committee sat on the proposal and basically killed it. In contrast with this inaction on the workers’ demand for a wage hike, the House was fast and furious with the quadcomm hearings on the drug war and extra-judicial killings during former President Rodrigo Duterte’s administration and the investigation on the controversial budget of the Office of Vice President Sara Duterte and the Department of Education during her tenure.

 

The year ended with no legislated wage hike but with wage orders for several regions. Notwithstanding the wage orders, minimum wages in all the regions—including those which increased, like Metro Manila, Calabarzon, Cebu and Central Luzon—remained below the official poverty line. Even though the threshold was assailed for being too low—as the controversy over the P64 daily food budget revealed. With the wage boards perpetuating a system of poverty wages, calls for the abolition of provincial rates became popular.

 

On another front, organized labor and civil society allies fought a defensive war to keep Philhealth funds devoted to improving benefits services to members and providing services for indigents as mandated by the Universal Health Care Act. P60 billion of Philhealth’s funds were transferred by President Bong Bong Marcos Jr. to fund unprogrammed items in the national budget before the Supreme Court stopped in October the last tranche of P29.9 billion.

 

Another battle erupted in December when the Congressional bicameral conference committee removed the subsidy for Philhealth along with cuts in other social services. The labor coalition Nagkaisa led protests in Metro Manila and Cebu—including a big rally in Mendiola—to call for the restoration of the Philhealth subsidy and social services budget. But President Marcos Jr. did not heed the popular clamor as he signed the national budget by year end with the much-assailed budget insertions for ayuda kept intact. Among these was the P26 billion unprogrammed budget for AKAP which has been criticized as funding for electoral patronage. As if on cue, the COMELEC allowed the distribution of ayuda even during the midterm elections this year—breaking with long-established rule of prohibiting the use of public money for vote buying. This means that formal and informal workers will now have to beg trapos for assistance for medical and other emergencies instead of getting health insurance as a right.

 

Even as demands for higher pay, lower prices, more jobs and decent work remain very popular issues during the election period, prospects are bleak that the polls will result in positive outcomes for workers given that political dynasties—which are evolving from fat to obese—dominate the landscape. Workers have no allies either in the two main political dynasties—the House of Polvoron and the House of Fentanyl—which will be fighting for supremacy in May 2025.

 

Workers will have to endure worse economic difficulties as political infighting heightens in 2025 and the remaining years of the Marcos, Jr. administration. Nonetheless, this situation also motivates organized labor to engage with public outrage over wanton government corruption and dynastic political dominance. A big multi-sectoral rally this month promises to jumpstart a robust movement for good governance, in which workers’ demands should be embedded and integral. 

Press Statement

January 4, 2025

Grupo, tinuligsa ang bagong wage orders na nagpapalalim ng “poverty wages”

Photo from Philstar

Tinuligsa ng grupong Partido Manggagawa (PM) ang wage boards ng Rehiyon 2, 3, at 12 sa “pagpapatuloy ng cheap labor policy” dahil ang kanilang mga minimum wage order ay malayo sa mga hinihingi ng mga manggagawa na P150 dagdag sahod upang maibalik ang kanilang nawalang purchasing power.

 “Ang mga bagong minimum wage ay napakababa para sa pantawid ng mga pormal na manggagawa at kanilang pamilya. Ang trabaho ay hanapbuhay, ibig sabihin, ang layunin ng pagtatrabaho ay upang kumita ng sapat para sa isang disenteng buhay. Sa halip, ang sistema ng wage regionalization ay lumilikha ng isang hukbo ng mga nagtatrabahong mahihirap or ‘working poor,’” sabi ni Judy Ann Miranda, secretary-general ng PM.

Dagdag pa niya, “Nagtatrabaho ang mga tao ngunit nananatiling mahirap. Kung ibabatay sa kalkulasyon na 26 na araw na trabaho kada buwan (kahit na sinasabi ng PSA na ang karaniwang araw ng trabaho ay 22 lamang sa halip na 26), ang mga buwanang minimum wage ay hindi umaabot sa antas ng kahirapan. Alalahanin pa nating kontrobersyal ang poverty threshold dahil sa pagiging labis na mababa.”

Anang grupong PM, ang real wage, o kung ano ang mabibili ng mga manggagawa sa kanilang suweldo, ay hindi tumutugma sa produktibidad ng paggawa. Isang pag-aaral ng gobyerno ang nagpakita na ang real wages ay nananatiling stagnant habang ang produktibidad ay tumaas ng 50% mula 2001-2016. Para kay Miranda, “Kayang magbigay ng mas magandang sahod ang mga kumpanya ngunit ang sistema sa pagtatakda ng sahod ay patuloy na nambabarat sa mga manggagawa.”

Binanggit sa Wage Rationalization Act ang apat (mula sa sampu) na pamantayan tungkol sa isang living wage ngunit ang mga wage order tuwinang nakabatay lamang sa inflation—sa pinakamainam na sitwasyon. “Ang mga minimum wage ay naging isang ceiling, hindi isang floor. Nangangahulugan ito na ginagamit ng mga employer ang minimum wage bilang pinakamataas na handa nilang ialok sa mga manggagawa. Oras na para buwagin ang wage boards,” paliwanag ni Miranda. 

	New Daily Wage	Monthly Wage (x22)	Monthly Wage (x26)	PSA Poverty Threshold
Region 2	480	10,560	12,480	13,400
Region 3	550	12,100	14,300	16,046
Region 12	430	9,460	11,180	12,241

October 2, 2024

STATEMENT ON THE CONSULTATION BY THE NCR WAGE BOARD

STATEMENT ON THE ONGOING CONSULTATION BY THE NCR WAGE BOARD TO REVIEW MATTERS RELATED TO WAGES

Held at the Occupational Safety and Health Center, Quezon City

 

We came here not because we wanted a review of the wage orders issued by the NCR wage board as directed by the president on Labor Day, but to straightly express our collective sentiments regarding the failure of this body to lift millions of minimum wage earners out of poverty over the past 35 years!

 

Our position:

 

1. There is nothing to review about the Php40 wage increase received by NCR workers in July 2023 because everybody knows it is not even half of the value of wages eroded by inflation. In fact, Business World already released a calculation of the real wage of the nominal wage adjusted for inflation this April, where the Php610 minimum wage in NCR, the highest in the country, is now only worth Php502.60.

 

2. Your review, no matter how serious, cannot correct the failures and shortcomings of the regional wage boards over the past 35 years in raising the minimum wage nationwide above the poverty line, and especially not in achieving at least one thousand pesos of the estimated family living wage per day as mandated by our Constitution.

 

3. On the contrary, we collectively believe that what needs to be reviewed are the wage boards in all regions and the law that created them, RA 6727 or the Wage Rationalization Act of 1989. This review should be conducted by the Congress that created this law, with the aim of rectifying the injustice suffered by workers over the past 35 years!

 

4. We have already approached Congress to legislate a Php150 wage increase to help workers recover their take-home pay affected by rising prices of goods and services, and to review the wage setting mechanisms in the country. The Senate has already passed a Php100 wage increase, and public hearings are ongoing in the House Committee on Labor for a Php150 increase. We rather urge the wage board to support our efforts in convincing Congress if you truly wish to help alleviate the difficult lives of workers and their families due to low wages and high prices of goods and services.

 

5. Lastly, we came here to say directly that it is likely that you were simply instructed by DOLE Secretary Laguesma to expedite the process to preempt and derail the impending action of Congress to legislate a wage increase, which he and ECOP vehemently oppose. The Secretary, to us, acts as a spokesperson for the capitalists by joining business groups in propagating the “catastrophic” blackmail that a P150 legislated wage hike will lead to company closures, price hikes, and drive away investors – issues that were effectively debunked by labor leaders, economists, and academe in recent public hearings conducted by the Labor Committee of the House of Representatives.

 

Nonetheless, we thank the RWPB-NCR for your invitation, allowing us to express our long-held anger and grievances against a system deliberately designed in a capitalist manner to keep workers in perpetual poverty. We apologize if we have nothing more to say that will please the Board.

23 May 2024