Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 6) — Labor groups have renewed calls to raise the minimum wage in the National Capital Region (NCR), claiming workers need a pay of at least ₱675 a day to be able to afford basic goods for their family.
The Regional Wage Board began hearings Thursday, with three labor groups filing petitions for increase.
The Associated Labor Unions (ALU) proposed a ₱184 increase to bring the minimum wage up to ₱675, documents showed.
The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) wanted a higher adjustment of ₱259, for a total daily pay of ₱750.
Meanwhile, the Association of Minimum Wage Earners asked for a lower ₱185 adjustment but paid in four consecutive tranches, equating to a ₱700 increase.
The group said this would bring the minimum wage closer to a “living wage” of ₱1,200, “to provide for the family’s food and nonfood expenditures, with sufficient allowance for savings and investments for social security.”
The minimum wage in Metro Manila was last adjusted in June 2016, pegged at ₱491 a day for non-agricultural workers and ₱454 a day for agricultural workers.
The law prevents the government from changing rates for at least a year from the previous adjustment. With the lapse of the ban, the Regional Wage Board is receiving petitions again.
The main argument of labor groups is the “erosion” of the minimum wage, claiming prices of basic goods have climbed much faster than their pay.
“[Pay] increases, small as they were, have been overtaken by increases in power and water rates, in health and education costs, the prices of oil and its products…” ALU said in its petition.
TUCP petitioner Raffy Mapali added during the hearing: “The wage increase isn’t just about restoring purchasing power. It should be about raising living standards too.”
Meanwhile, the Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP) asked the government to dismiss all three petitions.
It said in a motion that the labor groups asked for an across-the-board wage hike, beyond the jurisdiction of a Regional Wage Board.
The living wage also has no legal definition, the ECOP says. While the term is stated in the Constitution, Congress has not implemented the provision.
Business groups will air their side in a hearing on July 14. The Board will also have a public consultation on July 27.
Other government agencies also presented to the Regional Wage Board on Tuesday, discussing the state of the economy, employment and price movements in NCR this year.
Board Chair Johnson Cañete said these are also key factors to consider when computing minimum wage adjustments.
He said in an interview, “We have to look into the poverty threshold, we look into the average wage, and the price increases. We don’t just look at how much is being asked but how much can be given also.”
