Labor group files petition for P710 wage hike
Credit to Author: cbibe| Date: Mon, 29 Apr 2019 02:00:36 +0000
MANILA, Philippines — Two days before Labor Day, the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) formally sought a P710 increase in the daily wage.
The TUCP, the country’s largest labor organization, filed a petition on Monday before the National Capital Region (NCR) wage board seeking the minimum wage to be raised from P537 to P1,247.
In its petition, the group said the existing minimum wage of P537 “sorely meets basic human needs for food, water, clothing, education, transport, health, housing, toiletries and electricity.”
“The current minimum daily wage of P537 can only accord workers and their families NUTRITIONALLY DEFICIENT SURVIVAL MEALS, which, if continuously unaddressed, will have greater repercussions in the future of the country and of the economy,” the petition read.
It said the P25 wage increase implemented on Nov. 22, 2018, through Wage Order No. 22 was no longer enough.
“The measly 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 effects of TRAIN Law since January 1, 2018,” it read.
READ: P25 minimum wage hike in NCR starts on Nov. 22
In an earlier statement, the TUCP said daily wage earners in Metro Manila “should already be receiving a minimum of P1,247 salary in order for [them] and their families to live normal and decent lives.”
“The current P537 wage for minimum wage earners in Metro Manila is highly insufficient in the light of rising costs food and services caused by taxes and inadequate government services and social protection assistance to poor Filipinos,” the TUCP said. /cbb