MANILA - The Trade union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) on Thursday filed a petition asking the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board–National Capital Region (RTWPB-NCR) to increase the P466 daily minimum wage of workers in Metro Manila by P136.
TUCP spokesperson Alan Tanjusay said the real value of the peso has eroded by an estimated 35 percent due to a variety of inflationary factors, including the consumer price index, tuition, the recent MRT/LRT fare hike, and the impending water and electricity rate increases.
"The real value of the current P466 minimum wage is P299 only. It cannot sustain the needs of a family. As a result, many employed workers fall through the cracks and join the growing ranks of the working poor," he said.
"Thus, we are asking the board to make possible a 'living' minimum wage. We particularly appeal to employers to grant our petition," Tanjusay added.
The RTWPB-NCR held a wage consultation Thursday as part of the process of determining the salary rates in Metro Manila.
During discussion, TUCP presented a position paper demanding the wage hike.
"Minimum wage earners are now dubbed the 'working poor.' It has been 25 years after the last legislated wage hike through the Wage Rationalization Act of 1989, it is high time that minimum wage earners recover some of the lost value of the Peso and strengthen their eroded purchasing power," it stated.
TUCP said that workers their families have long been suffering from the spiraling cost of basic commodities and services, including food, transportation, electricity and water.
"We do not even count on our need for clothing, shelter, education and healthcare, which seem to have become a luxury for the poor and a privilege for the few. A decent life is a human right that should be enjoyed by all," it said.
"It should also be noted that this is the right time to grant the wage increase when the economy is good as government data shows," TUCP articulated.
Since 2010, growth in the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) averaged about 6.3 percent. The inflation rate on the other hand averaged at 4.1 percent in 2014.
Between December 2013 and December 2014, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose from 136.8 to 140.5 or the equivalent of 2.7%.
TUCP cautioned that, due to the continuing increases in the cost of electricity, water, transportation, among others, consumer prices between January and December 2015 are expected to rise further by another 10 percent.
"Workers cannot be denied an increase now. The fruits of our booming economy should not only be enjoyed by a few rich families. We do not ask for lavish increase. We only ask for what is due our workers. What we ask is a modest share from the gains of the booming economy," the group said.
"The P136 across-the-board and region-wide 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 – even if only partially – and if the country is to give meaning and substance to the policy of equitable distribution of income and wealth," TUCP added. - InterAksyon.com
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