Fuel subsidies and cash aid are good but a wage hike is better—labor group

 

The labor group Partido Manggagawa (PM) stated that targeted relief in response to inflation is welcome but a wage hike is the best safety net for all workers. “All workers have been affected by the surge in inflation and deserve a P100 across-the-board salary increase. We call on Congress to legislate this urgent relief for all,” demanded Rene Rene Magtubo, PM national chair and a city councilor of Marikina.

 

The group averred that P76 has been eroded from the P570 minimum wage in Metro Manila as a result of the continuous rise in prices. “We call for a new round of wage hikes to recover the lost purchasing power of workers not just in Metro Manila but in the whole country due to the surge in inflation,” added Magtubo.

 

Inflation in October reached 7.7%, significantly higher than the 6.9% in September. The October inflation figure was the highest recorded since December 2008, which was in the context of the onset of the global financial crisis. Notably, inflation is higher in areas outside Metro Manila.

 

PM’s demand for a wage hike is based on an initial computation by the Labor Education and Research Network. The computation for wage erosion took account of the rise in prices since the effectivity of the P570 minimum wage in Metro Manila last June 4.

 

“The P570 minimum wage in NCR is actually just worth P494 by October. P76 has been shaved off the real value of the minimum wage and workers are now poorer by that amount every day. Before the P33 minimum wage hike in June 2022, the minimum wage was P537. Meaning, not only has the P33 been effectively wiped out by inflation, workers’ wages have pushed back even further,” Magtubo explained.

 

He insisted that “Thus, we reiterate the call we made in May 2022—before the recent round of minimum wage hikes in June 2022 by different regional wage boards—for a P100 wage increase. This should be for all workers, not just those at the minimum, since all have suffered from wage erosion.”

 

The group clarified that the wage hike demand is merely wage recovery. “We are not yet even talking of workers claiming a just share in the fruits of their labor. From 2001 to 2016, real wages stagnated but labor productivity increased by 50% and the GDP doubled,” Magtubo maintained.

 

“Of course, employers will again create horror scenarios of closures and bankruptcy against the workers' demand for a wage hike. They will cry that they are suffering from the economic crisis even though they monopolized the gains of the decade and half-long business boom. Not only does the government owe workers due to unabated inflation but also employers are obligated to share the wealth created by the labor of the working class,” Magtubo expounded.

November 5, 2022