Metro workers get P20 emergency allowance

At least five million workers in Metro Manila will get an additional P20 increase in their daily take-home pay effective July 10.

Acting Labor Secretary Manuel Imson said the Regional Tripartite Wage and Productivity Board (RTWPB) issued yesterday a new wage order granting the extra P20 emergency cost of living allowance (ECOLA) to workers in the National Capital Region (NCR).

The P20 increase will bring the ECOLA of workers in Metro Manila to P50 per day and the compensation of minimum wage earners from the current P280 daily to P300, Imson said.

Wage Order No. 10 granting the P20 ECOLA was a "compromise" between the need of workers for wage adjustment and the capacity of employers to grant that, the labor official noted.

"The board’s decision took into consideration the need to provide workers relief from their eroded purchasing power brought about by the transport fare hike as well as the need to preserve existing jobs," Imson explained, in reaction to queries as to why the board granted the ECOLA instead of an increase in basic pay being demanded by labor groups.

Labor groups led by the moderate Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) have filed three separate petitions seeking an increase ranging from P65 to P75 in the daily take-home pay of workers in the NCR.

Various labor groups immediately expressed disappointment over the P20 increase in ECOLA, calling on the government to consider granting non-wage benefits to augment the wage order.

"Given the amount granted by the NCR wage board, the government and the employers should study the possibility of granting subsidies to working families like meal subsidies, transportation assistance and setting up of factory commissaries," the TUCP said in a statement.

The TUCP earlier proposed the exemption of low-salaried workers from paying the mandatory 10 percent withholding tax.

The militant Partido ng Manggagawa (PM) also aired their disgust over the latest increase in salary, calling it an "insult" to workers.

The Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU), another militant group, called for the abolition of the RTWPBs and vowed to stage protest actions to dramatize their disappointment over the board’s decision.

This call was echoed by progressive labor groups bonded under the Alliance of Progressive Labor (APL).

The APL belittled the wage order, saying it was inadequate for the few workers who would actually benefit from the increase.

In a press conference, APL secretary-general Josua Mata said the P20 ECOLA was also "totally useless for the vast majority of the working people who would be exempted from it."

Mata added the wage increase was only equivalent to about 7.1 percent of the NCR’s 2001 minimum wage of P280 or P250 basic pay and P30 for ECOLA.

The APL, which is composed of 21 labor groups nationwide, pointed out that the P20 ECOLA will only affect a small fraction of minimum wage earners in the private sector.

Mata explained the ECOLA hike will not be applied across-the-board and will not cover establishments that are distressed or facing potential losses, and retail outlets employing not more than 10 people.

Also not covered, he said, are establishments whose total assets — including those arising from loans but exclusive of the land on which the business holds office, and where plant and equipment are located — are not more than P3 million.

"The wage order does not take into consideration the succeeding inflation or increase in prices expected as the global oil prices continue (to increase). And under the law, any adjustment can only take effect one year after the granting of wage order 10," said Mata.

In addition, Mata said the granting of the P20 ECOLA to private minimum wage earners in Metro Manila will also create a potential conflict in the workplace as minimum wage earners will tend to earn more with the sudden increase in their paychecks.

"Imagine those earning P280 daily will tend to get more than those earning P290 daily," he observed.

The APL, he said, will push for a legislated P65 million across-the-board increase nationwide by lobbying in Congress through the assistance of the Akbayan party-list group.

The group is also pushing for the abolition of the regional wage boards.

Mata said there is no logic in maintaining regional wage boards as prices of goods and commodities remain almost the same across the country.

The APL instead suggests that instead of regional wage boards, a national commission that can set the national minimum wage for the estimated 15 million minimum wage earners nationwide should instead be created.

In spite of the negative reaction from labor groups, Imson remained optimistic that a majority of the workers in Metro Manila would welcome the increase in their ECOLA. — with Mike Frialde