Labor groups asked the Wage Board for an additional P136 to the current P466 minimum wage for workers in Metro Manila and nationwide at the start of the panel’s review of the current wage rate in Pasay City yesterday.
The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines-Nagkaisa and the Trade Union Congress Party-list said that it is high time that minimum wage earners be accorded with lost value of the peso and the workers’ lost purchasing power.
“We have been experiencing growth in our economy, but the workers who worked hard for it are wallowing in poverty. They have jobs and most are employed yet they do not benefit from the development. This is highly unfair and grossly unjust to workers and their families. It is a social discrepancy that needs urgent attention from government and employers must take seriously into consideration,” said Rep. Raymond Mendoza in a statement.
For his part, TUCP spokesman Alan Tanjusay said the real value of the peso has been eroded by 35 percent due to a variety of inflationary factors, including consumer price index, tuition fees, the recent Metro Rail Transit/Light Rail Transit (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. Thus, we are asking the board to give a ‘living’ minimum wage. We particularly appeal to employers to grant our petition,” he said during the discussion at the 2015 Wage Consultation of the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board-National Capital Region at the PTTC Building, Gil Puyat Ave., Pasay City.
The board is composed of three government representatives, one each from the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) and two each from the labor and employers’ sectors.
The review process will take about a maximum of two months before deciding on the lawful amount.
The groups noted that a 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.
They added, “Workers and their families have long been suffering from the spiraling costs of basic commodities and services that include 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 which should be enjoyed by all.” - PNA / Tribune
Friday, January 30, 2015
Group demands P136-pay increase
A labor group on Thursday pressed for a P136-pay increase for workers in Metro Manila.
The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines-Nagkaisa said it would ask the Department of Labor and Employment to add P136 more to the P466 minimum wage in the National Capital Region.
TUCP spokesman Alan Tanjusay said the real value of the peso has been eroded by at least 35 per cent due to inflation along with increases in consumer prices, tuition, MRT/LRT fare and the impending water and electricity rates.
“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. Thus, we are asking the board to give a ‘living’ minimum wage. We particularly appeal to employers to grant our petition,” he said.
“Workers and their families have long been suffering from the spiraling costs of basic commodities and services that include 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 which should be enjoyed by all.”
Party-list Rep. Raymond Mendoza noted the inadequate pay among employees.
“We have been experiencing growth in our economy but the workers who worked hard for it are wallowing in poverty. They have jobs and most are employed yet they do not benefit the development. This is highly unfair and grossly unjust to workers and their families. It is a social discrepancy that needs urgent attention from government and employers must take seriously into consideration,” he said. - By Vito Barcelo / Manila Standard Today
The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines-Nagkaisa said it would ask the Department of Labor and Employment to add P136 more to the P466 minimum wage in the National Capital Region.
TUCP spokesman Alan Tanjusay said the real value of the peso has been eroded by at least 35 per cent due to inflation along with increases in consumer prices, tuition, MRT/LRT fare and the impending water and electricity rates.
“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. Thus, we are asking the board to give a ‘living’ minimum wage. We particularly appeal to employers to grant our petition,” he said.
“Workers and their families have long been suffering from the spiraling costs of basic commodities and services that include 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 which should be enjoyed by all.”
Party-list Rep. Raymond Mendoza noted the inadequate pay among employees.
“We have been experiencing growth in our economy but the workers who worked hard for it are wallowing in poverty. They have jobs and most are employed yet they do not benefit the development. This is highly unfair and grossly unjust to workers and their families. It is a social discrepancy that needs urgent attention from government and employers must take seriously into consideration,” he said. - By Vito Barcelo / Manila Standard Today
Thursday, January 29, 2015
Saksi: P136 across-the-board wage increase sa Metro Manila, hiniling ng TUCP
- Saksi is GMA Network's late-night newscast hosted by Arnold Clavio and Pia Arcangel. It airs Mondays to Fridays at 11:30 PM (PHL Time) on GMA-7. http://www.gmanetwork.com/saksi
GMA News and Public Affairs
Higher Metro Manila floor wage sought
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
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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