TUCP claims wage hike needed to meet gov’t nutrition norms

THE Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) cited “nutritional deficiency” among workers as the reason for its petition to hike the Metro Manila minimum wage by P710, citing government data for recommended levels of nutrition.

Updated photo Labor Day 2019

The TUCP on Monday filed a petition for a P710 wage increase on top of the P500-537 minimum wage in the National Capital Region (NCR) before the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB).

TUCP President Raymond C. Mendoza said the “Pinggang Pinoy” model produced by the Department of Science and Technology-Food and Nutrition Research Institute (DOST-FNRI) is their “basis for the claim that minimum-wage earners and their families have subsisted on nutritionally-deficient survival meals.”

“Forcing workers and their families to subsist on nutritionally-deficient meals for a long period will definitely have bigger repercussions on business, bigger costs to the government and the economy if (the problem is) continuously ignored,” he added during a press briefing on Monday.

In TUCP’s Petition dated April 29, the group said “Using DoST’s Pinggang Pinoy model and the March 2019 PSA (Philippine Statistics Authority) Media Service Market Price of Selected Commodities, Ateneo Policy Center calculates a daily food requirement in the amount of P734 for a family of four (4) or P61.17/meal/person. A family of five would then require a daily right food budget of P917.50.”

TUCP also described as inaccurate the PSA’s 2018 Household Final Consumption Expenditure (HFCE) Survey, specifically the “Food and alcoholic beverage” estimates, which indicate that a family of five spends P208.83 or P14 per meal/family member daily.

“Clearly, the amount cannot provide for the recommended nutritional requirements for a family of five,” the TUCP said in its petition.

TUCP also said that the P537 minimum wage has long been overtaken by events even though it was implemented in November. “(B)ased on government figures, the real value of P537 daily minimum wage in NCR is only P457…with government-mandated deductions from minimum wage computed at P47.05 daily, the nominal take-home pay of a minimum wage earner is… P416.53/day with a real value of P354.60,” TUCP said.

When asked if the TUCP will be expanding its petition to other regions, Associated Labor Unions (ALU) Vice President for Education Eva B. Arcos said that TUCP is still looking into petitioning other RTWPBs. She added that other wage hike petitions will be close to the P710 TUCP sought for the NCR.

“Nagpa-plano kami (We are planning)to file a petition in Central Visayas. It’s still in process but it will be close to this figure.” she told reporters Monday, after submitting the TUCP petition for the NCR.

The TUCP Policy Office’s Louisivi J. Oliva said the union expects the RTWPB to rule that there are no supervening conditions to justify a wage hike within a year since the last wage order was been issued. New wage petitions can only be filed after a year since the last petition, except when supervening conditions warrant the filing of a petition sooner.

She said workers are still feeling the weight of high commodity prices beyond food since the implementation of the first package of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Law last year.

“Sa TRAIN Law, walang pakinabang ang minimum wage earner dahil dati na siyang tax exempt (TRAIN did not make a difference for minimum wage earners, who were already tax-exempt under the old rules). Ang nangyari lang is tumaas lang ang presyo…dahil sa dagdag na excise tax sa fuel, (But prices also rose because of the excise tax on fuel),” she said in a briefing on Monday.

Labor Undersecretary Ciriaco A. Lagunzad III told reporters in a briefing that one of the criteria for minimum wage setting is also the Pinggang Pinoy model of the FNRI. He said, “If you look at the criteria…one of them includes a living wage. One valuable indicator is the study of the FNRI to see if wages are enough to buy food that ensure the minimum calorie requirement.”

However, he added: “The minimum wage is not designed to look only at the food requirement of the worker.”

Last week, labor groups Kilos Na Manggagawa (KnM), Metal Workers’ Alliance of the Philippines (MWAP), and BPO Industry Employees Network (BIEN) filed before the NCR RTWPB a P213 wage hike petition which would bring the NCR minimum daily wage to P750.

Senate President Vicente C. Sotto III backed “in principle” the TUCP wage hike but added that the matter may need to be addressed after the May 13 elections.

“I can understand the timing because of May 1st but it’s also election period. Therefore, it would be wise to address it after the elections,” Mr. Sotto told reporters over the phone Monday.

“In principle, I am supportive.”

Senator Panfilo M. Lacson, meanwhile, cited the need to study the petition carefully and give the wage boards leeway to decide.

“A thorough study must be made in this regard. Wage hikes are always associated with inflation as a consequence of higher prices of goods, especially in the manufacturing sector, not to mention possible loss of jobs since businesses may not be able to cope,” Mr. Lacson said in a separate phone message.

“The regional wage boards should be given enough flexibility since they should be in a better position to decide on the matter. Conditions obtaining in different areas are not the same.” — Gillian M. Cortez, Charmaine A. Tadalan

Labor group seeks P710 pay hike

MANILA, Philippines — The country’s largest labor organization is seeking a P710 across-the-board daily wage increase for workers in the private sector, saying the current daily minimum pay does not afford them and their families to live in dignity.

Just two days before Labor Day when Malacañang traditionally announces benefits for workers, the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) will file on Monday a petition for the pay increase with the regional wage board in Metro Manila.

In a statement, TUCP said ordinary workers in the metropolis should be receiving a minimum of P1,247 salary in order for them and their families to live decent lives.

“The current P537 wage for minimum wage earners in Metro Manila is highly insufficient in light of rising costs of food and services caused by taxes and inadequate government services and social protection assistance to poor Filipinos,” it said.

The group’s spokesperson, Alan Tanjusay, noted that the government considered a family of five “out of poverty” if it was earning a total income of P10,481 a month.

Other factors

But Tanjusay said TUCP would urge the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board to factor in recent developments, such as increases in prices of food and other basic goods in setting “realistic wages.”

In its petition, TUCP said P25—the last wage increase for workers in Metro Manila that took effect in November last year—was no longer sufficient.

“The P25 increase has long been dissipated by the high costs of basic goods and services, even before it could be felt by minimum wage earners, due to a host of factors, particularly the effect of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion [Act] since Jan. 1, 2018,” the labor group said.

Based on government figures, TUCP said, the real value of the current daily minimum wage of P537 in Metro Manila is P457.41.

“The existing minimum wage of P537 in the [metropolis] sorely meets basic human needs for food, water, clothing, education, transport, health, housing, toiletries and electricity,” TUCP said.

It added that the amount could buy workers and their families only nutritionally deficient survival meals.

Other basic needs

“That not discounting other basic needs, the race to cope with increasing cost of living but reiterating the need to give meaning and substance to the country’s policy of inclusive development and shared prosperity, TUCP is simply considering government-prescribed daily nutritional needs of a family of five in its petition for wage increase,” the group said.

A token wage adjustment will just demean and further insult workers, according to TUCP.

“The worker is a critical partner in building the wealth of our nation. The country enjoyed a 6.7 percent GDP (gross domestic product) growth rate in 2017 and 6.2 percent in 2018.

“[Metro Manila] has been the consistent biggest contributor to the GDP, breaching 38 percent beginning 2016. Workers deserve better. They deserve justice now,” the group said. —Tina G. Santos

Warrior Workers: Meet the groups that fight for labor rights

File photo

With the ever changing landscape of work in the Philippines, there are always new battles to be fought to secure fair labor rights.

Fighting for this cause is a difficult and often thankless job, but there are some groups that are more than happy to take on the challenge.

One of them is the Associated Labor Unions-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (ALU-TUCP), the country’s largest labor federation.

ALU-TUCP, which was founded on April 1954, aimed to bring togetherunion organizations from almost all industries, including banking and finance, agriculture, textile and garment, transport, hotels and restaurants, wood and paper, communication, service, electricity, electronics, chemicals, metal, food, construction, among others.

“The essence of what we are fighting for is that workers should be included in the progress of the company, and of our country’s economy. You can only do that by providing security of tenure, a decent salary, and most of all, social protection and benefits,” said Alan Tanjusay, spokesman of ALU-TUCP.

Tanjusay said the group has about 1.2 million members and is composed of 27 labor federations.

Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) is another group that is pushing for jobs for Filipino workers, fair pay, and labor rights.

Its launching activity on May 1, 1980 at the Araneta Center in Cubao was attended by about 50,000 people and was said to be the biggest assembly of workers during martial law.

Currently, the group has about 1.3 million members and has 11 federations and two mass organizations under its wing, according to KMU Executive Chairman Lito Ustarez.

“Tunay, palaban, at makabayang unyonismo – ‘yun pa rin ang prinsipyong kanyang dala-dala (Genuine, militant, and patriotic trade unionism – until now, that is the principle that the group holds on to),” he said.

Both groups shared that they have earned flak for the work that they do. Ustarez admitted that it was getting more difficult for them to bring attention to the causes they are fighting for. But even with all these challenges, they agree that only one thing pushes them to continue fighting: Their principles.

“They should be grateful to these labor organizations, because if not for them, workers would not have minimum wage, overtime pay, insurance. All the things that workers receive – their pay, benefits, among others – are all because of the huge and important help given by labor organizations,” Tanjusay said.

Both groups shared that they have been preparing activities for the upcoming Labor Day.

Tanjusay said they will be conducting more seminars to teach essential skills to unions and workers to better themselves.

“If you want a business or a company to thrive, you should equip the workers with necessary skills. Not only should they know and memorize their skill sets, they should work on improving them,” he said.

Meanwhile, Ustarez said KMU will be having an open house exhibit on April 28 to 30 to showcase the effigy that they will be burning on Labor Day.

Tanjusay and Ustarez also urged everyone to join the Labor Day rally to celebrate the workers’ huge contribution to the country’s progress and to push for labor rights.

“We salute and give thanks to all Filipino workers who continue to work and give sacrifices every day,” Tanjusay said. “Continue being excellent, industrious, tenacious, and continue to support your families with dignity through good and honest work.” - By Minka Klaudia Tiangco

TUCP seeks standard emergency protocol for the workplace

The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) said that it is high time to set mandatory workplace emergency protocol standards for workers to ensure their safety during emergency situations.

TUCP President Raymond Mendoza (TUCP Party-List / MANILA BULLETIN)

“Because there are no specific mandatory guidelines regarding such life and death scenario, there is a very urgent need to create a regulation or mandatory policy standards protocols now that protects the workers’ health and safety and guides employees and employers on what to do when emergency disasters and calamities occur during working hours,” said TUCP President Raymond Mendoza.

Mendoza said some companies adopt their own evacuation protocols and hire safety officers and safety evacuation plans voluntarily, but many “enterprises do not have or are not even aware of such employees evacuation procedures.”

“Most of the victims in workplace disasters are the rank-and-file employees (cashiers, casino employees, salesladies, security guards ) who were made to hang on to their work and remain in their stations waiting for specific orders from managers, supervisors and company owners amid the quickly evolving mishap,” said Mendoza.
“A split second-time delay in reaction to such dangerous situation further exposes workers to workplace death and injury,” he added.

The labor group said that it received reports from workers, through social media, seeking help and advice after their employers reportedly refused to evacuate them during the earthquake last Monday.

“Though Republic Act 11058 or ‘An Act Strengthening Compliance With Occupational Safety and Health Standards And Providing Penalties Thereof’ mandates employers and contractors to provide a safe and healthy workplace and that it gives employees the right to refuse to work in an unsafe workplace, there’s still an imperative to create a specific implementing rules and regulations of the law that governs this emergency scenario such as earthquakes,” the group said. - By Analou De Vera