President Rodrigo Duterte should declare a nationwide, across-the-board wage hike of at least P184 per day to keep workers afloat amid falling purchasing power and rising cost of living, noting that the last significant pay hike was in 1989 or 28 years ago.
In a statement on Sunday, the Associated Labor Unions-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (ALU-TUCP) said that the suggested P184-per-day hike is on top of the existing legislated P491 daily minimum wage in the national capital region (NCR), or a total of P675 .
ALU-TUCP made the call ahead of the Metro Manila wage board meeting to deliberate on possible wage increase.
Also, it said that the chief executive has a lot of options to effect a just minimum wage hike.
"President Duterte can text or call the wage board and prod them the amount of wage increase that he desires and it will be done," the group said.
He can also also "issue a presidential executive order mandating a wage increase amount needed by workers and their families to cope with and survive amid increasing prices of goods and services," the group added.
In a position paper submitted last Friday in light of its petition for an across-the-board wage increase, the group proposes a P184 daily wage hike.
ALU-TUCP spokesperson Alan Tanjusay said: "The last time the workers experienced a significant wage hike was in 1989 or 28 years ago when the late President Cory Aquino gave a P25 daily across-the-board wage increase nationwide. After which, the wage board has been issuing pittance wage orders as if workers are beggars."
Tanjusay argued that workers' wage should be at P675 a day in NCR, instead of the current P491, which at present has a real value of P375.
The Board last year issued Wage Order No. NCR-20 effective June 2, 2016, granting a P10 cost of living allowance (COLA) per day.
In September 2013, the board granted a P10-per-day increase in basic wage effective October 2013 and the integration of the P15 of the P30 COLA under Wage Order Number NCR-17 effective 1 January 2014; WO No. NCR - 19 on 16 March 2015 granted P15 in daily increase in the existing basic wage effective April 2015.
But Tanjusay said that the series of meager increases is a pittance amid the rising costs of electricity, water, fuel, basic goods; health, education, and other services.
According to official government figures, as of April 2017, the purchasing power of the legislated P491 daily minimum wage in NCR is only P357.09, eroded by 27.3%. —LBG, GMA News
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