Kapatiran hits measly wage hike in Calabarzon, denounces price control on wages

Photo from Agence France Press

 

The Kapatiran ng mga Unyon at Samahang Manggagawa or Kapatiran on Friday said the P35-P50 wage increase for Calabarzon areas under Wage Order No. IVA-20 issued last September 1 failed to meet the principal demands for wage recovery and living wage of the wage petitioners in the region which amount ranges from P100 to P750 per day.

 

The increase, which takes effect on September 24, sets the new minimum wage in the region between P385 to P520 for the non-agricultural sector and from P385 to P479 for the agriculture sector.

 

“Kulang ang umentong ito ito kahit para sa isang kilong bigas sa isang araw at ni hindi makababawi sa nawala na at patuloy pang nawawalang halaga ng sahod ng manggagawa sa rehiyon. Sa kabila ng increase, ang tunay na halaga (real wage value) ng minimum wage ngayon sa Region 4-A ay P428.80 lamang,” said Kapatiran Chair Rey Almendras.

 

Almendras also criticized the numerous wage classifications in the region that make enforcement and compliance very complicated, notwithstanding the blanket exemption available for firms employing not more than 10.

 

“Para na ring bigas na may regular, well-milled, at premium na klasipikasyon ang sistema ng pasweldo sa bansa dahil kahit nasa iisang kalagayan lamang sa buhay ang mga manggagawa sa isang rehiyon ay magkakaiba ang halaga ng kanilang sweldo,” lamented Almendras.

 

Kapatiran argued that the wage hike in Calabarzon, and earlier the P40 in NCR, mirror the structural defects of the prevailing wage system in the country under RA 6727 where the financial health of employers is given more importance than the workers’ capacity to live and their right to a rising standard of living.

 

“Kung mayroon mang hindi makatwiran at mapang-abusong price control na ipinatutupad sa bansa noon pa man, hindi ito ang P41-P45 per kilo na ipinapataw ngayon sa presyo ng bigas kundi sa presyo at tamang pasweldo sa mga manggagawa,” bewailed Almendras, pointing to how the economic managers justifies the price caps on rice today but objecting to wage hikes because it would do more harm on the economy.

 

Kapatiran fears the NCR and Calabarzon wage orders will become the template for other regions, thus, the need to shift to battle for a legislated wage hike and reforms in the wage-setting mechanisms in the country.

 

Pending before Congress are the P150-P750 wage hike bills. Senators, including Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri, vowed to pass the measure while the House of Representatives has yet to conduct hearings on the pending wage hike bills.

PRESS RELEASE

KAPATIRAN (Kapatiran ng mga Unyon at Samahang Manggagawa)

08 September 2023

Aside from price control, wage hike, cash aid and job creation needed too—labor group

 

The labor group Partido Manggagawa (PM) asked the government to implement a wage hike, cash aid and jobs program in response to the spike in food prices. “Price control is an initial step that falls short of the total package needed. To ensure that price control works, grassroots organizations deputized to monitor prices and violators must be heavily penalized,” asserted Rene Magtubo, PM national chair.

 

A few weeks ago PM had demanded a P100 across-the-board salary increase together with a new round of ayuda amounting to P10,000 for the informal sector and the unemployed. The group is also supporting the labor coalition Nagkaisa’s call for an emergency jobs creation program called unemployment support and work assistance guarantee or USWAG.

 

“Even if food prices are frozen now, the purchasing power of workers’ wages have already depreciated by P100 in Metro Manila and elsewhere. Workers, both formal and informal, are suffering from the double whammy of high prices and mass layoffs. The government itself admitted that half of the 400,000 workers reported as retrenched last year were fired in the last quarter. This means the economic crisis is still worsening and the government should act fast,” Magtubo added.

 

He furthered that “In the long-term, support for farmers must be accelerated, food sovereignty must be promoted and land conversion must be stopped. Local programs that connect farmers to consumers and workers’ communities must be encouraged.” 

February 2, 2021