METRO MANILA has started the ball rolling for minimum wage hikes across the country, as two labor groups yesterday filed petitions on behalf of private sector workers in the capital in the face of rising utility tariffs and train fare.
The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP)-Nagkaisa faction yesterday filed its petition for a P136 increment to the P429 and P466 daily minimum wage levels in Metro Manila during a public consultation of the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board in Pasay City.
“The P136 across-the-board and regionwide daily increase is essential if workers are to cope with the increasing prices of commodities and cost of living, if they are to meet the basic needs of their families,” TUCP said in a three-page position paper.
“The P466 minimum wage is no longer enough,” Alan A. Tanjusay, the group’s spokesman, added in an interview.
He cited the higher fare starting this month for the Light Rail Transit (LRT) and Metro Rail Transit (MRT) systems that has taken a big bite out of workers’ take-home pay, higher utility tariffs, as well as steady prices of basic goods despite drops in transport fuel prices. “The significant increase in LRT/MRT fares is one factor,” Mr. Tanjusay said in Filipino, adding that “higher electricity and water rates are also factors.”
“We are also wondering why gasoline price reductions are not reflected immediately in the prices of basic commodities.”
Another labor group, the Association of Minimum Wage Earners and Advocates (AMWEA) is seeking a total of P734 in minimum wage increase, to be implemented in annual tranches of P146.80 for the next five years.
AMWEA described the current floor pay as “slave wage,” saying it is below the P1,200 needed each day to support a family of five.
The last wage order in the National Capital Region (NCR), signed on Sept. 6, 2013, provided a P10 increase in basic pay and a P30 hike in cost of living allowance and was implemented in two tranches: in October 2013 and in January last year.
The proposed hike for Metro Manila’s minimum wage earners is expected to set the bar for the rest of the country, one labor expert said. “Usually, NCR always takes the lead and the other regions follow in demanding wage increase,” Rene E. Ofreneo, director of the Center for Labor Justice at the University of the Philippines School of Labor and Industrial Relations, said in a telephone interview.
Last year’s wage adjustment in Metro Manila came as a result of P83 and P85 proposals submitted by two TUCP factions in 2013.
One of the two employer representatives in the wage board said a balance must be struck between workers’ demand and businesses’ capacity to pay. “We understand that (petitions), but we also have to take into account the ability of establishments, especially micro and small establishments...,” Vicente Leogardo, Jr., director general of the Employers Confederation of the Philippines, said in an interview.
More consultations -- this time with employers and representatives of other affected groups -- will be held next month, a public hearing in March and a decision will be rendered some time “within the year,” Alex V. Avila, who heads the NCR wage board, said in an interview. -- Melissa Luz T. Lopez / BusinessWorld
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