PSA’s 9.7% Poverty Figure Masks the Real Wage Crisis: Prosperous on Paper, Poor in Reality - Partido Manggagawa

Partido Manggagawa welcomes any genuine reduction in poverty, but the government’s celebration of a “single-digit” 9.7% poverty rate for 2025 cannot be separated from the reality millions of Filipino workers are still living: prosperous on paper, poor in reality.

 

The PSA’s own poverty threshold — P14,634 a month for a family of five — is the problem. A worker earning barely above this line is instantly reclassified as “non-poor,” even while unable to afford decent housing, transportation, healthcare, or education. This is not poverty alleviation. This is poverty redefinition.

 

And by the government’s own numbers, most regional wage boards can’t even clear that low bar. NWPC’s own summary of current wage orders, as of August 5, 2026, shows minimum wages in nearly every region outside Metro Manila falling below PSA’s national poverty threshold — even when converted to a full month’s pay for a single worker with no dependents to share the burden. 

 

In BARMM, the country’s lowest-paid region, the daily minimum wage of P411 to P436 translates to just P10,686 to P11,336 a month — up to 27% below what the government itself says a family of five needs to escape poverty. 

 

Workers in Region XII, Zamboanga Peninsula, Eastern Visayas, and Caraga fare little better, all logging wages 15-18% below the poverty line. Even Western Visayas and Davao, mid-tier regions, fall short.

 

And these are the legal minimums — the floor, not the reality for every worker. Contractualization, informal employment, and outright non-compliance mean many Filipino workers take home even less than what these wage orders mandate. 

 

Worse, even the poverty threshold itself is a low bar. IBON Foundation estimates the actual family living wage nationwide at roughly P1,305 a day, or about P28,380 a month — nearly double the government’s poverty line. By that measure, no region in the country, including NCR, pays its workers enough to live decently, only to avoid being counted as poor.

 

This is the regional wage board system working exactly as designed — and exactly as broken. Regional wage fixing under Republic Act 6727, the Wage Rationalization Act of 1989, is 37 years old this year. Nearly four decades in, the system has produced not living wages but a hierarchy of poverty wages, with entire regions officially condemned to earn less than what the government itself defines as the poverty line.

 

DEPDev Secretary Balisacan credits nominal income gains outpacing inflation for the national poverty improvement. But that national figure hides a harder truth: region after region, the minimum wage itself is a poverty wage, set by boards operating under a 37-year-old law that was never designed to keep pace with the real cost of living.

 

This is precisely why the fight over Wage Order NCR-27 matters now more than ever. While the government spins record-low poverty numbers, the Pasig RTC injunction continues to block a wage increase that workers in Metro Manila desperately need. If workers in the capital region are under siege, imagine the regions already left behind.

 

Partido Manggagawa reiterates its call: 

- Lift the injunction on Wage Order NCR-27. 

- Abolish the regional wage board system. Legislate a national minimum wage indexed to the actual cost of living.                                     

 

Numbers on a PSA table mean nothing to a mother deciding between rice and rent — whether in Metro Manila or in BARMM.

 

PRESS RELEASE

22 August 2026

Wage Hike Injunction, Metro Floods Sending Workers Deeper to a Life of Poverty

 

Photo from Manila Collegian

A combination of days without work due to flooding with the non-implementation of the ₱60 wage hike (first tranche) due to court injunction is making life harder for minimum wage workers in the National Capital Region (NCR), Partido Manggagawa (PM) said in a statement Tuesday.

 

“The 1.1 million minimum wage workers in NCR are losing ₱66,000,000.00 a day from the Pasig court’s unjust imposition of injunction against the ₱60 wage hike. Add another day without work due to flooding for the same number of workers and the loss reaches a staggering ₱764,500,000.00 (₱695 present minimum wage x 1.1 million workers),” explained PM Chair Renato Magtubo.

 

Magtubo explained further that unlike Judge Manongsong, a government employee who keeps her salary intact when work in government is suspended due to bad weather, private sector workers get no pay under the principle of ‘no-work-no pay’.

 

“Kaya nga ‘imortal’ ang tawag sa mga manggagawa sa pribadong sektor sa ganitong mga panahon dahil sinusuong nila ang panganib at mas kinatatakutan nilang mawalan ng kita sa isang araw kaysa mabasa o lumubog sa baha,” said Magtubo.

 

The group stressed that this combination of labor injustice and climate crisis is a burden both lawmakers and the President must address at the policy level as well as in program implementation as the principle of check and balance between the co-equal branches of government doesn’t undermine the worker’s right to life and the rising standard of living.

 

Magtubo added: “This life and injustice completely escaped the mind of Judge Manongsong when she did the unimaginable issuance of TRO and injunction against the P85 wage hike.”

 

“Hindi kayang i-dismiss ni Judge Manongsong and pagbuhos ng ulan at baha, pero kaya nitong i-dismiss ang petisyon ng dalawang kapitalista lalo na at walang hurisdiksyon ang kanyang korte sa usapin ng sweldo,” said Magtubo.

 

Labor groups were pressing for the lifting of the court injunction against the ₱85 wage hike injunction before the Supreme Court, at the same time calling for Congress to rectify decades of labor injustice by abolishing the provincial rate system with the enactment of the ₱200 wage hike and the National Minimum Wage Law. 

 

PRESS RELEASE

18 August 2026

EMPLOYERS HAVE NO RIGHT TO CRY “DUE PROCESS” AFTER SKIPPING WAGE BOARD HEARINGS

 

Partido Manggagawa (PM) Chairperson Renato “Ka Rene” Magtubo today condemned the Pasig Regional Trial Court’s injunction against NCR Wage Order No. 27, calling it an illegal intrusion into a process that belongs solely to the wage boards. 

 

“Absent sa hearing ng NCR Wage Board, tapos kay Judge Manongsong nagpakanlong?” complained Magtubo.

 

Magtubo, former PM partylist representative and now a Marikina City Councilor, also slammed petitioner-employers — Readycon Trading and Construction Corp and R-II Builders - for skipping RTWPB consultations and public hearings, then running to court. 

 

“They skipped the venue the law required them to attend. They bypassed the NWPC, their proper forum. Now they claim due process and forum-shop in the regular courts. You cannot refuse to speak, then cry you were not heard,” he said. 

 

Citing Articles 123 and 126 of the Labor Code, Magtubo said the law bars regular courts from stopping wage order proceedings. Exclusive jurisdiction lies with the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board and the National Wages and Productivity Commission. 

 

“The law is clear. The Pasig RTC injunction is a plain jurisdictional defect, not a legal remedy,” he said. 

 

Magtubo argued further that Wage Order No. 27 gives workers only an ₱85 increase — ₱60 in July 25 and ₱20 in January 2027. Even with this, wages remain far below the ₱1,300 a day a family of five needs in NCR. And yet even this meager relief is being strangled in the regular courts,” he said. 

 

He warned that the delay directly hurts workers who followed the legal process. “Every month this injunction drags on is a month of stolen wages. If employers can use regular courts to indefinitely suspend a wage board decision, where do workers go to claim a right the law already granted?” 

 

Magtubo also urged Congress to amend Articles 123 and 126 to penalize courts that entertain such injunctions and to fast-track their dismissal. 

 

“Beyond patching the law, this proves the regional wage board system is too slow and too vulnerable. It is time Congress legislates a national minimum wage indexed to the cost of living — insulated from legal harassment and court interference,” concluded Magtubo.

 

PRESS RELEASE 

August 14, 2026 

 

Partido Manggagawa to Tolentino: Bawiin ang ₱85 sa kamay ni Judge!

The TROs issued against the ₱85 NCR wage increase have become a direct challenge not only to workers but to the labor chief and his entire department. The true test now is whether Labor Secretary Francis Tolentino can reclaim the lost ground, or he will simply allow the process to stall the wage order in favor of few employers. 

 

As Labor Secretary, Tolentino carries far greater responsibility than any trial court judge in protecting workers’ rights. The Secretary is mandated by the Constitution and the Labor Code to promote workers’ welfare and exercise primary jurisdiction over wage policies. A judge merely resolves the case before the court. The Labor Secretary must defend the order and ensure that lawful wage increases are not defeated by legal maneuvers.

 

PM therefore calls on Secretary Tolentino to personally lead DOLE’s legal effort to immediately lift the TRO and vigorously defend the ₱85 wage order before the courts. Passivity will only embolden employers to weaponize TROs against every future wage increase.

 

If wage orders can be suspended so easily, then workers are left with rights only on paper, while the NWPC-DOLE ends up making the P85 wage hike story history rather than “historic”. 

 

Secretary Tolentino must prove that DOLE is not a mere issuer of wage orders but their strongest defender.

 

Workers need a Labor Secretary who will fight for their wages—not simply administer the process.

 

Bawiin ang P85 sa kamay ni Judge at ibigay agad sa manggagawa.

 

Do this and history shall be our judge.

 

 

Partido Manggagawa: Pasig RTC TRO on ₱85 Wage Hike Suffers from Two Fundamental Legal Defects

 

Partido Manggagawa (PM) strongly opposes the Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) issued by the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Pasig City, Branch 152, which halted the implementation of Wage Order No. NCR-27 granting an ₱85 minimum wage increase to workers in Metro Manila.

 

Based on our legal analysis, this TRO suffers from two clear legal defects.

 

First, it violates Article 126 of the Labor Code. The law explicitly provides that no preliminary injunction, permanent injunction, or TRO may be issued by any court, tribunal, or other entity against proceedings before the National Wages and Productivity Commission (NWPC) or the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Boards (RTWPBs). Despite this prohibition, the Pasig RTC issued a TRO directly restraining the RTWPB-NCR and the NWPC from implementing the wage order—the very act that the law expressly forbids.

 

Second, and more importantly, the petitioners filed their case in the wrong venue. Under Article 123 of the Labor Code, the exclusive remedy available to any aggrieved party questioning a wage order is to appeal to the NWPC within ten (10) days from the publication of the wage order. If dissatisfied with the NWPC’s decision, the proper recourse is to file a petition with the Court of Appeals—not with a Regional Trial Court. This procedure has been the governing rule since the enactment of Republic Act No. 6727, and the Supreme Court has consistently held that the primary jurisdiction of the NWPC must first be exhausted before the regular courts may intervene.

 

Instead of following this statutory process, Readycon Trading and Construction Corp. and R-II Builders Inc. went directly to the Pasig RTC through a petition for declaratory relief—effectively engaging in forum shopping to circumvent the tripartite dispute resolution mechanism specifically established by law for wage order controversies.

 

This reveals the real strategy behind the TRO. The employers did not challenge the wage order through the legally prescribed process before the RTWPB and the NWPC. Instead, they shifted to a petition for declaratory relief to gain access to a regular court and obtain a TRO. The real issue is not the ₱85 wage increase, but the deliberate sidestepping of the proper remedy in favor of an improper venue.

 

Partido Manggagawa calls on the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) to vigorously assert these two legal arguments during the August 3 hearing: the violation of Article 126 and the failure to follow the exclusive remedy provided under Article 123. The courts must not be allowed to become instruments for delaying a workers’ benefit that has already gone through the full deliberative process of the Regional Wage Board—a process in which these same employers themselves participated as stakeholders.

 

The ₱85 wage increase is not a gift. It is a right earned by workers, supported by evidence, grounded in due process, and guaranteed by law. It must not be held hostage by a TRO that itself runs contrary to the very law it is supposed to uphold.

 

PRESS STATEMENT

August 1, 2026

 

PM REACTION TO PBBM’s SONA

The President’s address contained many technical reports, but it failed to meaningfully address the pressing concerns of workers, such as wages, wage reform, jobs, and other labor issues—even as President Marcos acknowledged that workers and the middle class should not be forgotten.

 

The proposed expansion of tax exemptions may benefit above-minimum wage earners, but it provides no relief to minimum wage workers and those earning even less, who have long been exempt from income tax. 

 

There was also no mention of the proposed P200 legislated wage hike and the abolition of provincial rate through the enactment of the proposed National Minimum Wage Law.

 

On the issue of corruption, the President reduced it to his personal grievance and the sacrifice involved in pursuing charges against Martin Romualdez. However, his speech fell short of proposing systemic reforms such as an anti-political dynasty law and electoral reforms.

 

On lowering electricity prices, removing the systems loss charge and the VAT on it will have only a minimal impact on consumers’ bills because these account for only a small portion of total electricity costs. The 12% VAT on generation, transmission, and distribution charges remains in place. Likewise, the persistence of monopolies in the power sector and the country’s continued dependence on imported fossil fuels for energy security remain the fundamental drivers of high electricity prices.

 

While the government’s endorsement of the US-led Pax Silica initiative is expected to generate high-quality jobs, the President made no mention of its potential implications for the country’s electricity and water security, nor of the risks it poses to the existing jobs of Filipino workers in the platform economy.

PRESS STATEMENT

Partido Manggagawa

07.28.2026

Workers to Remolona: Why is P85 wage hike inflationary and your P52-M per year is not?

Photo from Business World

 

The labor group Partido Manggagawa (PM), on Monday asked Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Eli Remolona on why he raises high alarm on the inflationary impact of the recently approved P85 increase in daily minimum wage in the National Capital Region (NCR). 

 

The group said because workers have no grasp of macro-economics, it wants the BSP governor to educate the public on why money in the hands of rich people is not inflationary while workers’ wages are.

 

In particular: “Why is the P85 wage hike inflationary and his P52 million salary is not,” asked PM Chair Renato Magtubo.

 

Magtubo said Remolona is merely echoing the long-held position of employer’s groups that any wage increase is bad for workers and the economy.

 

“Ang mayayaman sa Pilipinas ay mas maraming hawak na pera kaysa sa manggagawa, pero walang economic managers sa bansa ang nagsabi na ang ganitong sitwasyon ay inflationary, samantalang korus silang lahat sa inflationary effect ng wage hike,” said Magtubo.

 

He added: “Why should inflation be the problem when it is wages which cannot catch up with the latter? Ang duda naming ay may balak ang pamahalaan na i-reverse ang P85 sa pamamagitan ng pagbibigay babala sa ibang rehiyon na huwag tularan ang NCR. Hindi ito acceptable.”

 

The labor leader said workers need answers to this question as the 4th State of the Nation Address (SONA) of the President is happening on Monday under the backdrop of the Philippines having been declared by the World Bank an upper middle-income country (UMIC). 

 

PM said for the UMIC status to be real, an average Filipino household size of four members must have an income of P1,000,000 per year.  

 

“Wala tayo sa ganyang mundo ngayon. Sa katunayan, 90% ng households sa buong Pilipinas ay kumikita ng mas mababa sa P1-M sa loob ng isang taon, batay sa Family Income and Expenditure Survey,” Magtubo explained.

 

He added that millionaires in the richest 10% of the population can only be found in 13 cities of the country, 8 of which are in Metro Manila. “Pero walang nagpapaliwanag kung bakit ang hawak nilang yaman ay hindi inflationary at ang wage hike sa minimum wage earners ang dapat pangambahan.”

 

Minimum wages in the Philippines in all regions in the country, except NCR, have stayed lower than the official poverty threshold. 

 

PRESS RELEASE

Partido Manggagawa

20 July 2026

 

P200 wage hike ngayon na!

Buong suporta ang ipinapahayag ng Partido Manggagawa (PM) sa petisyon ng Kapatiran ng mga Unyon at Samahang Manggagawa (Kapatiran) para sa P200 wage increase na dininig ngayong araw ng NCR Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board.

 

Sa harap ng patuloy na pagtaas ng inflation at lumalalang cost-of-living crisis, ang dating sahod ay kinain na ng pagtaas ng presyo ng pagkain, pamasahe, kuryente, upa, at iba pang pangunahing pangangailangan.

 

May peace agreement na sa Middle East, pero dito sa Pilipinas ay wala pa ring “agreement” sa usapin ng sahod. Hindi magkasundo dahil ayaw ng employers at gobyerno sa sapat at malaking dagdag-sahod na matagal nang hinihingi ng mga manggagawa.

 

Habang pinag-uusapan kung magkano lang ang kayang ibigay sa mga manggagawa, ang presyo ng mga bilihin ay parang missiles na walang tigil ang lipad—sunod-sunod ang pagsirit at walang pinipiling tamaan. Ang tunay na epekto nito ay gutom, pangungutang, at patuloy na paghihigpit ng sinturon ng mga pamilyang manggagawa.

 

Ang P200 wage increase ay kinakailangang hakbang upang maibsan ang mabilis na pagbagsak ng purchasing power ng sahod. Ang ekonomiya ay hindi uunlad kung ang mismong mga lumilikha ng yaman ay patuloy na binabarat.

 

Panahon na ring talikuran ang mali at konserbatibong pananaw na ang disenteng umento sa sahod ay katumbas ng tanggalan. 

 

Maraming pag-aaral ang nagpapakitang ang mas mataas na kita ng mga manggagawa ay nagpapalakas ng domestic demand at nagpapasigla sa lokal na ekonomiya. Ang solusyon ay pagsamahin ang makabuluhang wage increase at isang industrial at employment strategy na lilikha ng marami at de-kalidad na trabaho.

 

Malapit na ang State of the Nation Address (SONA). Ngunit walang laman ang anumang pahayag tungkol sa pag-unlad kung wala itong kasamang makabuluhang wage hike at seryosong programa sa employment. Hindi magiging kumpleto ang SONA kung hindi sasagutin ang pinakamabigat na tanong ng milyun-milyong manggagawang Pilipino: Paano mabubuhay nang disente ang isang pamilyang ang sahod ay mas mababa pa sa poverty threshold?

 

Panahon na para pakinggan ang panawagan ng mga manggagawa: P200 wage hike ngayon na!

 

Partido Manggagawa

18 June 2026

KAPATIRAN calls for ₱200 wage hike, urges NCR Wage Board to defer to Congress

PNA photo by Yancy Lim

 

Metro Manila — In a strongly worded statement delivered at the NCR wage consultation today, the labor group Kapatiran ng mga Unyon at Samahang Manggagawa (KAPATIRAN) called on the regional wage board to defer action on wage orders this year and instead support a legislated wage hike through Congress. The Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board–National Capital Region held a “Labor Sector Wage Consultation” this afternoon at the Philippine Trade Training Center in Pasay City.

 

Rey Almendras, KAPATIRAN President, emphasized the worsening economic hardships faced by Filipino workers despite official claims of low inflation and declining unemployment. Citing recent survey data, Almendras highlighted that over a quarter of Filipino families are experiencing hunger, while more than half consider themselves poor—the highest levels seen in decades.

 

“The minimum wage—even with almost yearly increases—remains below the poverty threshold. Workers are starving while government figures paint a rosy picture,” Almendras said. KAPATIRAN pointed to the erosion of real wages, noting that the current ₱645 nominal daily wage in Metro Manila has a real value of only ₱519—₱126 short of its 2018 equivalent. The group argues that, when combining wage recovery with a just share in productivity gains, workers are entitled to no less than a ₱200 daily wage increase.

 

This, Almendras noted, is not just a demand but a constitutional right. “The Constitution mandates a living wage and a just share in the fruits of production. But workers haven’t felt either,” he said. “Despite rising productivity, the real wage hasn’t kept up.”

 

KAPATIRAN also expressed frustration over past wage orders issued by the NCR Wage Board, which fell far short of workers' demands—granting only ₱40 and ₱35 increases in 2023 and 2024 respectively. Kapatiran filed a P100 wage petition in December 2022.  “We’ve lost hope in the regional wage board. They’ve been blind and deaf to workers’ pleas. It’s time for a new path,” Almendras declared.

 

The group is now joining a broader coalition of labor organizations pushing for a national, legislated wage hike in Congress, citing the stronger prospects brought by the recent election of pro-worker legislators. In closing, Almendras issued a direct appeal to the NCR Wage Board: “Please refrain from issuing a wage order this year. Let Congress do its job. With workers’ actions inside and outside Congress, we hope to finally win our demand.” 

PRESS RELEASE

Contact Rey Almendras

President, Kapatiran

Minimum wage earner families are food poor—Partido Manggagawa

Photo from Panay News

The P64 food poverty threshold means that families with a minimum wage earner as breadwinner are food poor. This is the reaction of the labor group Partido Manggagawa (PM) to NEDA Secretary Arsenio Balisacan’s statement on the latest poverty threshold estimates. Tomorrow, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) is set to hold a presscon to announce the results of the poverty survey for the full year of 2023.

 

“Basing on the publicly available PSA data, the first semester 2023 poverty threshold for Metro Manila is P18,704, of which P13,061 is the allocation for food. The minimum wage for Metro Manila, which was increased last month, is just P645 per day or P16,770 for one month. Thus, the income of a family of five with a minimum wage earner as breadwinner falls well below the poverty line and is food poor,” explained Rene Magtubo, PM national chair and a Marikina city councilor.

 

He called for a legislated across-the-board wage hike of P150 to recover the lost purchasing power of workers nationwide. PM is calling on Congress to act on the demand for a salary increase.

 

The P13,061 poverty food threshold for Metro Manila in the first semester of 2023 implies that a person needs more than P87 per day to be considered not poor. This is above the P64 mentioned by Sec. Balisacan which refers to the national average for the full year of 2023. Magtubo declared that “The P64 food poverty threshold is well above NCR’s food poverty threshold since the cost of living is higher in the capital. But despite the higher minimum wage in Metro Manila that is still not enough to sustain a family. Therefore, workers deserve a wage hike.”

 

He added that “It is a scandal that the minimum wage—which is a floor supposed to protect workers and their families—fails to rise above the poverty threshold. And this holds not just for Metro Manila but for all regions. We are a nation of working poor. Sa kabila ng sipag at tyaga ng mga manggagawa, nanatiling mahirap ang kanilang mga pamilya.”

 

“Further, we can question the accuracy of the poverty threshold estimates. Suffice it to say that even Sec. Balisacan found it difficult to defend the P64 food poverty threshold and stated that it needs revision. This admission from officials is good to hear but action from government is what the working poor need,” Magtubo averred.

August 14, 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

Labor party wants Laguesma out of DOLE

The Partido Manggagawa (PM) is issuing this statement, which calls for the resignation of Labor Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma, primarily because of his obstinate stand against the proposed legislated wage hike.

His strong opposition against this proposal, despite the regional wage boards’ failure to raise wages beyond the poverty threshold and to narrow down the gap between the minimum wage and living wage during the last 35 years, lay bare all the pretensions about the protection of labor rights and the government’s pledge to raise the Filipino families’ standard of living.  

By speaking against legislating wages, Laguesma dropped the workers in favor of employers. His concern about the economy becomes even clearer when he blocks wage growth, which is the workers’ only source of economic life.

We want him out of DOLE for he will never represent the working class. His background speaks more of him dealing with and lawyering for corporate owners aside from being one of the richest and highest paid officials in the Marcos Cabinet.

Partido Manggagawa

09 May 2024

NATIONAL WAGE COALITION DEMANDS A PRO-WAGE HIKE VOTE IN THE HOUSE COMMITTEE ON LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT ON 15 MAY 2024

As the  House of Representatives’ Committee on Labor and Employment drags its feet on the legislated wage hike after already three hearings, the National Wage Coalition, spearheaded by the Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino (BMP), Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU), Nagkaisa! Labor Coalition (NAGKAISA!), and Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP), demands the labor committee chaired by Rep. Fidel Nograles, to finally vote for the committee approval of the long-overdue and much-deserved wage increase in its next hearing on Wednesday, 15 May 2024. 

After three exhaustive hearings where economists, academics, think tanks, civil societies, and workers themselves already demolished the fancied threats, myths, and lies of massive price spikes, joblessness, and business closures, the National Wage Coalition calls on the House Committee on Labor to now vote for the approval of the proposed legislated wage hike measures. With a significant majority of the members of the committee as co-authors such as in the ₱150 legislated across-the-board wage recovery increase by the TUCP, the National Wage Coalition trusts that the House of the People will heed the people’s pleas and accept the resounding truth that there is an imperative for Congress to raise workers' wages now after more than three decades of token increases and starvation wages under the regional wage board system.

Instead of the inadequate presidential order to review and reform regional minimum wage rates, the National Wage Coalition demands that President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. immediately certify urgent the legislated wage hike to fast-track its approval in the House of Representatives, considering that it is already passed in the Senate. The President must recognize that decades of insufficient increases from the regional wage boards must be set aside in favor of the legislated wage measures advanced by the united workers of the National Wage Coalition.

To be truly the House of the People, the National Wage Coalition demands Congress to raise the wages of all workers towards their right to a living wage, such as the P750 legislated wage hike by the Makabayan bloc through the legislated wage hike for private sector workers and a fair Salary Standardization Law to increase the minimum wage of public sector workers to ₱33,000. We call on the honorable members of the House of Representatives to co-author legislated wage hike measures and for the House Committee on Labor to immediately approve these measures and send them to the plenary for urgent deliberations and passage. For all the workers of this nation whose honest hard work creates the wealth of our nation, the National Wage Coalition forges ahead in our struggle to demand the end of senseless dribbling because all that needs to be said has been already said. The House of the People only needs to listen and heed the people's demand: DAGDAG SAHOD ISABATAS! ₱150 PATAAS! 

National Wage Coalition

9 May 2024 

PRESS RELEASE: When the lives of workers improve, the entire economy will also improve – Nagkaisa!

Photo from Manila Bulletin

In the ongoing hearing today regarding the legislated wage hike in the Lower House of Congress, members of the Nagkaisa! Labor Coalition urged lawmakers to prioritize the demands of workers for a P150 or higher wage increase, instead of yielding to the threats of employers that it will destroy the economy.

 

The group reminded lawmakers of the provision in the Constitution stating the "primacy of labor over capital" as a guiding principle in deciding on this contentious issue. They pointed out that for over three decades, employers have persistently opposed it, while the minimum wage of workers remained below the poverty line.

 

The group stated this position while staging a protest in front of the Batasan complex, along with the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP), Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU), Federation of Free Workers (FFW), Sentro ng Nagkakaisa at Progresibong Manggagawa (SENTRO), Kapatiran ng mga Unyon at Samahang Manggagawa (KAPATIRAN), Marikina Workers Alliance, National Federation of Labor (NFL), Partido Manggagawa (PM), TESEF, and Unified Filipino Service Workers (UFSW).

 

But before the protest could even start, the police dispersed them away from the Batasan gate and blocked their return, led by Precinct 6 commander, Col. Castillo. The labor groups condemned the actions of the police, stating that this was the second time they had done so, the first being against the youth just two weeks prior.

 

They called on the leadership of the PNP and Mayor Joy Belmonte to stop the police abuse at the Batasan, as it shows a lack of respect for freedom of expression and freedom of assembly.

 

The group asserted further that their petition for wage increase is not anti-MSME or anti-business because any additional income in the pockets of workers is returned to the economy through consumption in small businesses, compared to the huge profits of businesses that only go towards extravagant expenses of capital owners.

 

NAGKAISA! also mentioned that the economy of workers relies solely on wages, so while most survive in the formal sector and self-reliance in the informal economy, a wage increase has a more positive impact on the entire economy compared to if the majority of workers remain impoverished.

 

They noted that the highest minimum wage of P610 here in NCR has a real value lower than the national poverty line of P13,797 in 2023.

 

Aside from the wage increase in the private sector, NAGKAISA! supports a separate proposal for a wage hike for public sector employees.

 

NAGKAISA! also seeks to reform the wage-setting system in the country through legislation because for the past 35 years under RA6727 and regional wage boards, the majority of workers in the country have remained poor, which goes against the Constitution's mandate for the right to a living wage and a rising standard of living for their families.

February 28, 2024

NAGKAISA! Labor Coalition

Labor group to ECOP: You also need to feel how bad life is for ordinary workers

 

We can try to understand how employers feel about the pending wage hike proposals in Congress. But their permanent opposition to any proposal since time immemorial speaks volumes about their regard for the lives of ordinary workers in our country.

 

We see them constantly opposed to any wage hike proposal at the level of regional wage boards since 1989, and against the legislated wage proposals since 1999.

 

In other words, they will cry wolf against any wage proposal, but neglect to mention how workers suffered a life of poverty. They won’t tell us that GDP and labor productivity more than doubled during the last three decades, but real wages of workers remained flat.

 

In fact, even as they up the hype of apocalyptic death of local industry and el niño of foreign investors, the fact remains that minimum wages all over the country fall under the national poverty threshold of P13,797 per month for a family of five. The same is true when economic managers assure everyone that GDP will remain within the 6% trajectory. That won’t change the fact that after 35 years under the regional wage boards, guided by thousands of pages of Philippine Development Plans, more than 20% of our population remains poor, or close to half, according to the latest SWS survey on self-rated poverty.

 

The problem is that employers don’t feel this way as they always view wage hikes, union rights, and equitable distribution of wealth as anti-business. But we don’t require them to have a change of heart, in the same way workers won’t stop asking for fair share in the social wealth they have been creating for centuries. 

 

Why then is legislative action necessary for wage hikes? Simply put, the regionalization of wages under RA6727 was an epic failure. The highest wage rates, 35 years after, still fall short of meeting the poverty threshold. Moreover, regional wage policies have not succeeded in attracting investments to the country's poorer regions, despite being one of the law's intended objectives. There is also a low level of investment despite this low wage regime incentives.

 

We understand ECOP's emphasis on micro-enterprises as a central argument against wage hikes. However, framing the issue as a choice between inflation, unemployment, and small businesses overlooks the broader benefits of ensuring workers receive fair compensation. We maintain that our call for legislated wage hikes is not intended to harm small businesses; rather, we believe that the positive ripple effects of higher take-home pay extend further than keeping wages at starvation levels.

27 February 2024

House must now deliberate on wage hike as Senate passes P100 version—Partido Manggagawa

The group Partido Manggagawa (PM) stated that the Senate approval of the P100 legislated wage hike is a welcome relief. “We will wait for the House of Representatives if they can walk their counterpart bills which are higher than the Senate’s. Huwag sanang ang grasya ay maging bato pa kung aatras ang Kamara. Magagalit ang manggagawa. The battle now shifts to Batasan,” declared Rene Magtubo, PM national chair and a Marikina City councilor.

 

The group also asserted that all workers, formal and informal, will gain whether directly or indirectly from the legislated wage hike, contrary to the claims of the Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP) that only 10% of “formal workers” will benefit.

 

“Minimum wage earners will get the P100 wage hike in full. Other workers in the formal sector will gain a portion of P100 through what is called wage distortion—wages above the minimum will have to be adjusted since the floor was raised. And workers in the informal economy will also benefit since formal workers with more purchasing power will patronize their products and services. It is ordinary wage earners—not rich professionals or capitalists—who buy from street vendors, eat in carinderias, ride jeepneys and tricycles, and purchase farmers’ and fishers’ produce in wet markets. In fact, formal and informal workers live together as one family so how can they not enjoy the wage hike?,” Magtubo.

 

He lambasted Sergio Ortiz-Luis of ECOP “for feigning concern for workers when in truth he just doesn’t want profits reduced through a wage hike.”

“Ortiz-Luis is peddling fake news. Let us be evidence-based with the numbers. The latest Labor Force Survey shows that 49.2%, about half, of the total 50.5 million labor force, are 24.8 million workers employed in private firms. Of which, one fifth or 4.1 million are minimum wage earners. Another 13.8 million workers, about a quarter or 27.4% of the labor force, are self-employed with no employees. Majority of them are informal workers like street vendors and tricycle drivers while a minority are middle-class professionals like doctors and lawyers. Therefore, three quarters of the labor force or more than 30 million workers stand to benefit from a wage hike. Ortiz-Luis is being disingenuous as he is actually defending the interests of the one million employers or 2% of the labor force,” Magtubo expounded.

 

He added that “In fact, even employers will in the end take advantage of a wage hike as aggregate demand in the economy will rise. Workers’ wages are entirely consumed to buy their families’ necessities, unlike capitalists who hoard part of their profits as savings or use it to obtain luxuries from abroad. This is what happened for the past two years: the economy prospered, and inflation and unemployment went on a decline after two successive minimum wage hikes in all regions. Wage hikes are good, not bad, for the economy and all workers.” 

Wage Earners and Aleng Nena Share Economic Benefit from Higher Wages – Partido Manggagawa

 

Unlike in business where income is retained by employers either as capital for reinvestment or as profit to sustain lavish lifestyles, workers' wages circulate directly into the local economy, bolstering the income of neighborhood stores as noted in a recent report published in a leading newspaper.

 

This is according to Partido Manggagawa (PM) which, together with the Nagkaisa! Labor Coalition, continues to press for the passage of the P100 and higher wage hike bills in both Houses of Congress despite permanent opposition from the Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP).

 

Today the Senate is poised to pass the P100 increase in minimum wage on third and final reading, while the Lower House has yet to act on the pending P150 and P750 wage hike for workers in the private sector, as well as the P33,000 entry level monthly salary for public sector workers.

 

The more than P8-B sales generated by neighborhood sari-sari stores in 2023, as reported by analytics group Packworks, “reinforces our claim that a uniform increase in national minimum wage would neither kill micro enterprises nor lead to massive unemployment,” said PM Chair Renato Magtubo.

 

This report, he added, also disproves ECOP’s ‘catastrophe’ scenario for small businesses once minimum wages are increased by P100, or higher. “To the contrary, Packworks’ analytic research pointed to escalating sales transactions between neighborhoods from 2022-2023, coinciding with slight adjustments in minimum wages ordered by the regional wage boards during that time,” Magtubo said.

 

The report also found no correlation between inflation and the sales trend in sari-sari stores, belying further ECOP’s sensational ‘wage hike = high inflation’ economic blackmail. Inflation slid down to 2.8% in January 2024 from 8.7% in January 2023 based on official statistics reported by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

 

Considering this positive trend, Magtubo anticipates further boost in sales transactions for Aleng Nenas from significant wage increases, citing an earlier study showing that 94% of consumers rely heavily on neighborhood stores for their retail needs. With approximately 1.3 million sari-sari stores nationwide, 75% of which are owned by women, these establishments play a crucial role in sustaining local economies.

 

Drawing from his experience as a former union president, Magtubo underscores the symbiotic relationship between workers and sari-sari stores. He notes, "Workers often rely on 'utang-bayad-utang-bayad' transactions with their Aleng Nenas. Thus, their capacity to pay and buy more directly impacts on the viability and sustainability of neighborhood stores."

 

In effect, elaborates Magtubo, “Absent regular support from the government, it is more evident that the transfer of income from wages of formal labor is what sustains the sari-sari stores, and consequently, Aleng Nena’s self-employment in the informal economy.”

 

Magtubo concludes by affirming the labor movement's stance that legislated wage hikes of P100 or higher are not only justified but also beneficial to the national economy. He calls for an end to fear-mongering tactics employed by the Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP).

19 February 2024

All workers will benefit from a wage hike—Partido Manggagawa

 

Contrary to the claims of the Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP) that only 10% of “formal workers” will benefit from the P100 wage hike bill pending at the Senate, the group Partido Manggagawa (PM) asserted that all workers, formal and informal, will gain whether directly or indirectly.

 

“Minimum wage earners will get the P100 wage hike in full. Other workers in the formal sector will gain a portion of P100 through what is called wage distortion—wages above the minimum will have to be adjusted since the floor was raised. And workers in the informal economy will also benefit since formal workers with more purchasing power will patronize their products and services. It is ordinary wage earners—not rich professionals or capitalists—who buy from street vendors, eat in carinderias, ride jeepneys and tricycles, and purchase farmers’ and fishers’ produce in wet markets. In fact, formal and informal workers live together as one family so how can they not enjoy the wage hike?,” explained Rene Magtubo, PM national chair and a Marikina City councilor.

 

He lambasted Sergio Ortiz-Luis of ECOP “for feigning concern for workers when in truth he just doesn’t want profits reduced through a wage hike.”

 

“Ortiz-Luis is peddling fake news. Let us be evidence-based with the numbers. The latest Labor Force Survey shows that 49.2%, about half, of the total 50.5 million labor force, are 24.8 million workers employed in private firms. Of which, one fifth or 4.1 million are minimum wage earners. Another 13.8 million workers, about a quarter or 27.4% of the labor force, are self-employed with no employees. Majority of them are informal workers like street vendors and tricycle drivers while a minority are middle-class professionals like doctors and lawyers. Therefore, three quarters of the labor force or more than 30 million workers stand to benefit from a wage hike. Ortiz-Luis is being disingenuous as he is actually defending the interests of the one million employers or 2% of the labor force,” Magtubo expounded.

 

He added that “In fact, even employers will in the end take advantage of a wage hike as aggregate demand in the economy will rise. Workers’ wages are entirely consumed to buy their families’ necessities, unlike capitalists who hoard part of their profits as savings or use it to obtain luxuries from abroad. This is what happened for the past two years: the economy prospered, and inflation and unemployment went on a decline after two successive minimum wage hikes in all regions, except Davao Region in 2023. Wage hikes are good, not bad, for the economy and all workers.” 

February 18, 2024