Labor groups to Marcos: Certify proposed P150 legislated wage as urgent

Labor groups on Monday called on President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. to certify the proposed measures for a P150 increase in the minimum wage of private sector employees as urgent.

The National Wage Coalition (NWC) made the call a week ahead of Marcos’ third State of the Nation Address (SONA) on July 22.

“‘Yung mga panukalang batas natin na nakabinbin sa Kongreso, ‘yun na lang ang tanging pag-asa natin upang makadama ang ating manggagawa ng sapat na dagdag-sahod,” said Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) Legislative Officer Paul Gajes in a media briefing.

(The proposed bills are our only hope for an adequate wage hike.)

“’Yung P35 na binigay ng Regional Wage Boards (RWB), hindi sasapat yun,” Gajes added.

(The P35 wage hike of the RWB is not enough.)

The coalition, composed of workers’ organizations including SENTRO, Nagkaisa, TUCP, and Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino, also urged Speaker Martin Romualdez to expedite the passage of the proposed bills at the House of Representatives.

“Sa tingin ng NWC, nararapat na bigyang-pansin ng Pangulo. I-certify na as urgent itong pending bills na ito at ang Kamara… sana naman i-expedite na itong bills na to,” said Gajes.

(The NWC thinks President Marcos should certify these bills as urgent and the House should expedite their passage.)

Earlier this month, the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB) approved the P35 hike in the daily minimum wage of workers in the National Capital Region (NCR), increasing it from P610 to P645 for the non-agriculture sector.

But Gajes earlier said the wage hike is not enough, describing it as “crumbs tossed to humiliate workers.”

“It’s high time that the President and Speaker of the House show their genuine concern for the underprivileged and heed the cause of the united Filipino workers for sustainable and livable wages. ‘Yung P35 just won’t do,” he added.

The NWC was pushing for the passage of the legislated wage hike as it raised concerns about the inadequacy of the minimum wage to provide families with a decent standard of living.

In February, Cavite lawmaker Jolo Revilla said there were at least 77 House members who would support the P150 legislated wage hike.

Also in February, the Senate approved a P100 legislated wage hike for private sector workers. — Story by SUNDY LOCUS,GMA Integrated News 

The Regional Wage Boards are Unreliable and Unjust!

The National Wage Coalition’s Statement on the Recently Issued Wage Increase

The new ₱35.00 wage increase for NCR workers issued by the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board - National Capital Region office (RTWPB-NCR) is a disgrace. After several legislative proposals for an across-the-board wage increase, numerous actions held on the streets, and hearings with the labor sector — all with the intent to call and demand for a fair wage increase to adjust for inflation and the ever-changing value of our salaries, the RTWPB’s increase is nothing short of a heartless disregard for the economic crises faced by our workers and families.

The National Wage Coalition (NWC), which represents workers across various sectors and industries, has demanded for a wage increase no less than ₱150. Our minimum wages do not amount to liveable wages. We have presented our arguments based on factual and credible research. And yet our efforts amount to a low increase. The ₱35 increase does not even amount to measly change; it is not even sufficient for a kilo of rice. It makes up for only 30% of the lost value of wages in the NCR, which reached ₱100 according to the Consumer Price Index of May 2024. The NWC has stated before that the RTWPB-NCR has had 35 years’ worth of failure to issue fair and livable wage increases. This recent increase is no failure. It is the deliberate demonstration of the Board’s lack of empathy towards the economic needs of the working class.

With the RTWPB-NCR showing once again their unreliability and heartlessness, the National Wage Coalition demands Congress to address our calls accordingly. In light of this disrespectful and disgusting ₱35 increase by the RTWPB, Congress and the House of Representatives’ Committee on Labor must pass our proposed bills for an across-the-board increase of at least ₱150. Additionally, they must recognize the uselessness and irrelevance of the RTWPB-NCR and conduct a congressional review of our wage fixing policies under RA 6727. It is clear that such policies are insufficient and unreflective of our current economic needs. The RTWPB refuses to meet our demands, thus their existence must be challenged, questioned, and ultimately discontinued.

The National Wage Coalition urges the greater Philippine labor movement and all Filipino workers to press on with the fight for higher and fairer wages. We must act in solidarity in addressing Congress, so that they may truly understand the needs of the working class. You know the worth of your labor and more importantly, the value of your personal life and needs. And while this laughable ₱35 increase may be a setback, so long as we persevere, the fight for a higher wage continues. ###

PH still on Top 10 list of worst countries for workers

DESPITE its return to the International Labor Organization's governing body (GB), the Philippines again landed among the Top 10 worst countries for workers.

The International Trade Union Confederation's (ITUC) 2024 Global Rights Index placed the Philippines on the list of the world's Top 10 Worst Countries for Workers for eight years in a row.

This happened the same day the ILO Committee on Application of Standards issued its conclusion after reviewing the country's adherence to ILO Convention 87 on Freedom of Association: the Philippines is failing to protect workers' rights.

It listed the Philippines as one of six countries where trade unionists have been killed in staggering numbers.

According to ITUC affiliates Federation of Free Workers (FFW), Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU), Sentro ng mga Nagkakaisa at Progresibong Manggagawa (Sentro), and Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP), not one of the recorded 72 cases of trade union killings since 2016 have been resolved.

In a joint statement, they also claimed that serious obstacles persist against trade union formation.

"A climate of fear, violence and intimidation continues to loom heavily over workers. To have Filipino workers in a state of near-permanent marginalization and disempowerment is a national disgrace for a country that presents itself as modern, democratic and economically vibrant," the statement said.

It pointed out that more than a year after the conclusion of the ILO investigation, technically called the High-Level Tripartite Mission, none of the mission's recommendations have been realized in any meaningful way.

"All this is not surprising. For the Philippine labor movement, the responsibility for this national disgrace lies squarely with the government, especially the Department of Labor and Employment. At every step of the way, DoLE had been actively blocking and undermining organized labor's attempts at pushing for urgently needed reforms," it added.

It disclosed that the DoLE had been exposed before the ILO for misrepresenting its alleged compliance with the ILO's high-level mission recommendations, as well as its supposed respect for tripartism in economic zones where workers' representatives are hand-picked by employers.

"How can the Philippines make its way out of this grim situation when the DoLE itself stubbornly refuses to recognize the harsh reality of red-tagging by state security forces and high officials, abduction, and killing of trade unionists, and constantly blocks the labor movement's efforts for policy reforms?" it said.

"How can our rights to organize and to freedom of association be respected when DoLE itself is part of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-Elcac), an agency which cracks down on our workers and unionists rights?" it added.

"The fact that unionization rates remain stagnant provides the true litmus test of compliance with international labor standards. If this downward trend in unionization rates and collective bargaining coverage continues, due in large part to rampant corporate and state impunity against workers, the Philippines will remain one of the worst countries for working people." -By William B. Depasupil

NATIONAL WAGE COALITION LABOR DAY MOBILIZATION: DAGDAG SAHOD ISABATAS! 150 PATAAS!

On Wednesday, 01 May 2024—Labor Day—thousands of workers from various Philippine trade union centers, labor federations, and workers' organizations will march together in solidarity to Morayta under the banner of the National Wage Coalition to send a strong message to Batasan and Malacañang: DAGDAG SAHOD ISABATAS! P150 PATAAS!

Passing the ₱150 wage recovery increase is only the first yet pivotal step that the Philippines should take to actualize living wages embodied in proposed legislation for a ₱750 daily wage increase for private sector workers and a new Salary Standardization Law (SSL) anchored on the ₱33,000 monthly minimum wage for public sector workers. 

Various trade union centers, labor federations, and workers’ organizations in both the private and public sector led by the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP), Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU), Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino (BMP), and Nagkaisa Labor Coalition (Nagkaisa!) united in solidarity as the NATIONAL WAGE COALITION.

SAMA-SAMA TAYONG MAGMARTSA SA MAYO UNO!

SAMA-SAMA NATING ITAAS ANG SAHOD MO!