Photo from PhilStar |
The labor group
Partido Manggagawa (PM) stated 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. We
call on Congress to legislate a P100 across-the-board salary increase for all
workers as relief from the shock of rising prices,” declared Rene Magtubo, PM
national chair and a city councilor of Marikina.
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 (LEARN-SENTRO). 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 4, 2022
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