P100/day salary hike sought by Metro Manila workers
Labor groups in the Philippines, led by Kapatiran ng mga Unyon at Samahang Manggagawa, filed a petition for a P100 (US$1.78) daily wage increase for Metro Manila workers with the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB).
According to Kapatiran chairman Rey Almendras, they filed the petition on behalf of minimum wage earners in the agricultural and non-agricultural sectors as well as retail, trade, and manufacturing groups in the National Capital Region (NCR) whose salaries were diminished by the soaring inflation rate.
Almendras, who is also the president of Philip Morris Fortune Tobacco Corp.’s labor union, added that the salary hike request stems from the need to recover the lost value of salaries, cope with the rising cost of living, and afford a dignified life as a common worker.
Kapatiran also asked the RTWPB to come up with a new wage order as the inflation rate reached eight per cent in November.
The group said the daily minimum wage of P570 (US$28.88) in Metro Manila translates to only P11,400 (US$204) per month for a laborer who works five days a week.
“This is not enough to keep up with the average expenses in their income class,” Kapatiran said.
According to the Philippine Statistics Authority, a household needs at least P12,030 a month to survive the poverty threshold.
“Evidently, minimum wages fall below the poverty threshold and way too far from achieving [a] living wage as provided under the Constitution,” the petition read.
For now, about 1.44 million Filipinos are turning to the outsourcing industry, which offers higher salaries than other industries in the Philippines.
