Press
Release
April
28, 2011
The
militant Partido ng Manggagawa (PM) called the minimum wages prevailing in the country
as starvation wages. To illustrate its point, a PM member went to the market today
to buy life’s necessities using an amount equivalent to the minimum wage in the
National Capital Region (NCR).
“The
minimum wage cannot buy a working class family their daily bread. The Constitution
mandates that a worker receive a living wage. Instead the regional wage boards prescribed
a libing wage,” asserted Judy Miranda, PM secretary general.
The group declared that the call
for a wage adjustment will be one of the highlights of the big May Day rally
planned by the labor coalition Nagkaisa. On the eve of Labor Day, PM is holding
an overnight vigil of several hundred workers and poor at Mendiola to press for
its demands against contractualization and high prices.
An
erstwhile contractual worker but who is now unemployed went to the Nepa Q Mart
in Quezon City
to prove this point. Using a budget of P228, half the minimum wage in the NCR,
she desperately tried to buy enough food to feed a family of six. Food
constitutes half of the basket of goods used in cost of living estimates by the
government. As families get poorer, food takes up more than half of their
basket of goods.
Yesterday
PM released its own study of the cost of living for a family of six in NCR that
reveals it has already reached P1,217 a day. "This
estimate shows that the gap between the P456 minimum wage in the NCR and the
present cost of living is a yawning P761 or 167% of the ordinary wage. Even if
both parents work—which is the buy one, take one policy of the government—then
their combined income will not be enough to feed the entire family," stated Miranda.
The
group’s cost of living estimate did not provide for savings and social security
which in the government’s basket of goods and services constitutes 10% of the
cost of living. Furthermore, PM's study did not include items such as leisure
and recreation, and the family budget for health excluded medical expenses. Miranda
said that "If we include
such items, and we must in a more accurate survey, then the cost of living will
significantly exceed P1,200 per day."
She
added that "The National
Wages and Productivity Council's cost of living estimate of P917 in 2008 is
hopelessly outdated in the light of this study and in the face of continuing
inflation." PM finds it a
mystery why the NWPC has not updated its estimate for in the last five years.
The
group is advocating for the establishment of a National Wage Commission. “The National Wage Commission is
different in that its mandate is to fix wages based on the single criterion of
cost of living. And despite the huge gap between the present minimum wage and
the current cost of living, the National Wage Commission can achieve equalizing
the two by a host of mechanisms among which are direct wage increases, tax
exemptions, price discounts at social security subsidies for workers,” Miranda explained.
Cost of Living Estimate
for a family of 6 living in NCR (April 2013)
Items
|
Volume/Cost
|
Daily
Cost
|
Monthly
Cost
|
%
share
|
Food
& Beverages
|
|
|
16,029.70
|
43.92
|
rice
|
2.5kg/day
x P35 (sinandomeng)
|
87.50
|
2,625
|
|
ulam & gulay
|
3
servings (P65/pax/day x 6 pax)
|
390
|
11,700
|
|
condiments
|
2kg
onion (P65),
1kg
garlic (P109), others
|
7.97
|
239
|
|
fruits
|
4kg x
P40 (banana)
|
5.33
|
160
|
|
cooking oil
|
2
liters x P95.45
|
6.36
|
190.90
|
|
sugar
|
2kg x
P50
|
3.33
|
100
|
|
soy sauce
|
1 liter
P32.25
|
1.08
|
32.25
|
|
vinegar
|
1 liter
P26.75
|
0.89
|
26.75
|
|
fish sauce
|
1 liter
P30.75
|
1.03
|
30.75
|
|
coffee
|
2
(100g) x P75.90
|
5.06
|
151.80
|
|
milk
|
3
(900g) x P257.75
|
25.78
|
773.25
|
|
Utilities
|
|
|
3,400
|
9.32
|
electricity
|
200kwh
(P11.17/kwh)
|
74.47
|
2,234
|
|
water
|
20cu.m.
(P20.80/cu.m)
|
13.87
|
416
|
|
LPG
|
1
cylinder
|
25
|
750
|
|
House
rental
|
|
|
6,000
|
16.44
|
|
1 month
rent
|
200
|
6,000
|
|
Toiletries
|
|
|
1,224.10
|
3.35
|
soap
|
6 bars
x P37.75
|
7.55
|
226.50
|
|
shampoo
|
2
(200ml ) x P99.80
|
6.65
|
199.60
|
|
sanitary napkins
|
3
(packs of 8) x P40.00
|
4
|
120
|
|
toothpaste
|
2
(150ml) x P67.50
|
4.5
|
135
|
|
laundry soap
|
24 (70g
pack) x P9.50
|
7.60
|
228
|
|
deodorant
|
4 x
P78.75
|
10.50
|
315
|
|
Education
|
|
|
3,748
|
10.27
|
enrollment fees
|
4 pax x
P500 = P2000/schoolyear
|
5.56
|
167
|
|
school allowance
|
50 x 3
pax & 25 x 1 pax/day x 22 days x 10 months = P38,500/yr
|
107
|
3,208
|
|
theatre tickets
|
1
ticket x P160/grading x 4 periods x 4 pax/schoolyear
|
7.11
|
213
|
|
school projects
|
2
subjects x P60
/grading
x 4 periods x 4 pax = P1,920/schoolyear
|
5.33
|
160
|
|
Health
|
|
|
198
|
0.54
|
ascorbic acid
|
6 (1
tablet ascorbic acid generic) X P1.10
|
6.60
|
198
|
|
Communications
|
|
|
1,500
|
4.11
|
phone or cellphone
|
at
least P25/day load x 2
|
50
|
1,500
|
|
Transpo
expenses
|
|
|
4,400
|
12.05
|
fare
to and from work
|
2 pax x
P100/day x 22days
|
146.67
|
4,400
|
|
Total
|
|
P1,216.66
|
P36,499.80
|
|
NOTES:
1. Family
is composed of a couple with 4 children. Children are all in public schools (3
HS level and 1 elementary), school supplies, work books expenses, internet use
for research are not yet included
2. Basket
does not include bill for a house-help
3. Utilities
such as electricity and water vary from time to time depending on consumption
so its ++
4. No item
for leisure/recreation
5. Health
budget does not include medical expenses
6. No
budget allotted for savings. NWPC
basket provides 10% of the total
