Workers in the National Capital
Region have already lost at least P80 in the value of their wages due to
inflation, the Nagkaisa labor coalition said Thursday, following the 6.9%
headline inflation rate reported by the Philippine Statistics Authority for the
month of September.
“Marapat lang na may P100 wage hike
sa first 100 days,” said Nagkaisa spokesman Renato Magtubo, referring to the
first 100 days of the Marcos administration confronted by unmitigated rise in
prices of goods and services.
Magtubo said their demand is merely
for the recovery of the lost value of wages due to inflation and not yet for
the rise in workers’ standard of living which is only possible through a living
wage which is now at the range of P1,200 - P1,300/day.
“Wage recovery pa lamang ito. Hindi
pa dito kasali ang mas malaking utang ng negosyo at gobyerno sa sweldo kung ang
hahabulin ay ang mandato ng Konstitusyon ng family living wage o para
makarating sa golden age ang mga manggagawa,” said Magtubo.
The current minimum wage in NCR is
P570 per day but its real value today, according to Nagkaisa, is P488 only.
Nagkaisa said it will work to have a
bill amending the wage setting mechanism passed while letting its affiliates
file appropriate petitions in their respective regions as the situation would
be more difficult in some regions where inflation rates are much higher than
NCR.
The group also took note of the high
inflation rate for electricity (21.4) and gas at 9.8 but added that while the
rising inflation is rooted in the current global crisis, it didn’t help that
government is failing to ensure the supply of needed commodities as can be seen
in the sugar crisis fiasco and higher inflation on food products.
Pay hike for teachers, too
In celebrating Teachers Day today,
Nagkaisa also joined the call by the public sector unions to raise the salary
of schoolteachers as well as the hiring of more teaching and non-teaching
personnel.
“Tapusin na ang panahon na ang mga
guro ay kailangan pang magsangla ng kanilang ATM para mairaos ang pang-araw
araw na buhay ng kanilang mga pamilya,” said Magtubo.
5 October 2022
Renato Magtubo
Spokesperson
Nagkaisa Labor Coalition
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