Cayetano pushes for 'living wage'

MANILA, Philippines - Senate Majority Leader and Nationalista Party vice presidential bet Alan Peter Cayetano is calling for the granting of “living wage” for Filipino workers.

Cayetano said instead of a meager salary hike, government must provide Filipino workers with a living wage that is more necessary to create genuine change.

"Ang ibig sabihin ng inclusive growth ay kayang sustentuhan ng bawat Pilipino ang sarili niya at ang kanyang pamilya. It’s not enough that we raise people’s pay by a small fraction. If we want real change, give people a more reasonable standard of living,” Cayetano said. 

“Kailangan ngayon ng matapang na solusyon at mabilis na aksyon para sa bawat manggagawang Pilipino,” he added.

Cayetano said any discussion about economic development should ultimately benefit the people, especially sectors that have not felt the effects of the country’s growing economy.

Citing data from the National Wages and Productivity Commission (NWPC), Cayetano lamented that Metro Manila’s daily minimum wage at around P9,620 per month, while government employees on the lowest salary grade (SG1) receive only P9,000 per month. Public teachers’ and police officers’ entry level salaries are P18,549 and P14,834 per month, respectively.

Even with the proposed 27-percent hike in salaries, the estimated family living wage in Metro Manila is still much higher at P27, 510 per month, Cayetano said.

“Our Constitution mandates that a worker should be given a living wage. But right now, the compensation package that we give to our minimum wage earners is not even enough to provide for their families’ basic expenses," he said.

“The context of the APEC discussions is about promoting economic development among participating countries. So it's only fitting that we talk about providing better benefits for the Filipino people, since they are the ones who should benefit the most from these discussions," Cayetano said.