Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 30) — The daily minimum wage hike of ₱40 approved for Metro Manila has drawn mixed reactions from labor groups and lawmakers, with one solon saying the increase is not enough to buy a kilogram of rice.
Gabriela Women’s Party Rep. Arlene Brosas issued a statement on Friday, expressing her dismay over the “measly” wage hike.
Beginning July 16, private workers in the capital region will get ₱610 in the non-agricultural sector and ₱573 for the “agriculture sector, service and retail establishments employing 15 or less workers, and manufacturing establishments regularly employing less than 10 workers.”
READ: Wage board approves ₱40 hike in NCR daily minimum wage
“While the ₱40 wage hike is a result of workers’ lobbying efforts, it is disheartening to see that it can hardly buy a kilo of rice and is significantly below the living wage,” Brosas said.
While she recognized that the move would benefit 1.1 million minimum wage earners, the pay remains “far” from the ideal family living wage of ₱1,100.
The Federation of Free Workers (FFW), meanwhile, welcomed the decision, but noted that “the sentiment of disappointment is palpable among many of our workers.”
“The increment falls significantly short of the more than ₱100 wage recovery that our labor force had been anticipating. It also fails to reflect the escalating cost of living in Metro Manila,” FFW added.
The group said it would continue to fight for “a fair, living wage.”
In an interview with CNN Philippines’ Balitaan, Partido ng Manggagawa Secretary General Judy Miranda said Filipino workers are “disappointed.”
Miranda also said workers did not expect the decision as employers and the regional wage board assured them that the hike would be “reasonable, practicable and just.”
She said the ideal wage hike should range from ₱88 to ₱112, noting the group was pushing for ₱100, which is “very reasonable.”
In a separate statement, Senator Grace Poe called on employers who have the financial capacity to provide other benefits to their employees, noting that the increase was insufficient.
Meanwhile, Senator Jinggoy Estrada said the decision was a “welcome development.”
He said while this may not be enough, the amount “serves and protects the interests of all stakeholders.”
“This does not mean that bills proposing adjustments in workers’ wage rates, which are currently pending before my committee on labor, will be put on the back burner,” Estrada said.
” As soon as Congress resumes its second regular session, we will take up the matter anew, as I mentioned in a recent news forum in the Senate,” he added.
Senate Minority Leader Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III said other regions should follow Metro Manila’s lead.
“It is essential that these [regional wage] boards consider the economic realities faced by workers in their respective regions and take appropriate steps to help our countrymen who struggle to make ends meet,” he said.
According to the National Wages and Productivity Commission (NWPC), Regional Board petitions on wage hikes from Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Western Visayas, and Central Visayas are pending in different stages.
“Ang desisyon kung maglalabas ng wage order ay nakasalalay sa kanila, base sa mandato sa ilalim ng Wage Rationalization Act,” NWPC executive director Ma. Criselda Sy told CNN Philippines.
[Translation: The decision to release a wage order depends on them based on the mandate of the Wage Rationalization Act.]
Sy added that the Regional Boards have to submit a response to the petitions “either in the form of a resolution or a new Wage Order.”
