Metro Manila wage hike starts July 16 while labor groups' appeal is pending
MANILA, Philippines — The order raising the minimum wage in the National Capital Region by P40 will come into effect on July 16 even as officials study an appeal filed by labor groups seeking a higher increase, the National Wages and Productivity Commission said Tuesday.
The increase — to P610 a day from P570 for non-agricultural workers and to P573 from P533 for agricultural workers — has been acknowledged as a small victory for minimum wage earners who have been struggling to make ends meet but labor groups said the extra P40 a day is not enough given prices of basic goods like rice.
"Employers in NCR are expected to implement the new daily minimum wage on [July 16] despite an appeal filed by a coalition of labor organizations," NWPC said, adding it has 60 days to resolve the appeal filed by the Alliance of Nationalist and Genuine Labor Organization, Labor Alliance for National Development, Gabay ng Unyon sa Telekomunikasyon at Serbisyo, Pinagkaisang Lakas ng Manggagawa ng Manila Bay and other groups.
"Petitions for minimum wage increases have also been filed in Regions III, IV-A, V, VI, and VII. [Regional Tripartite Wage and Productivity Board]s in Central Luzon, Calabarzon and Western Visayas are currently discussing the merit of the petitions. Meanwhile, the RTWPB in Central Visayas is set to conduct public hearings in July and August 2023," NWPC also said.
Sergio Ortiz Luis of the Employers Confederation of the Philippines said in an interview on TeleRadyo in June that the increase granted to minimum wage earners in the National Capital Region was the most fair. He said that based on the formulas used to determine the wage increases, the hike should have been between P31 to P37.
Labor groups: P40 not enough
In a statement on their Facebook page on June 30, LAND Kilusang Mayo Uno said it was dismayed at the P40 increase, saying it is "far from what workers want: a livable or Family Living Wage of P1,100 a day." It also said that the increase will not help workers cope with inflation.
"There are looming increases in fees and fares for electricity, water and the [Light Rail Transit]. How will workers' families cope if our increase is just pocket change?" the group also said, adding that with expenses for education and food, workers would not be able to save money for emergencies.
While there have been campaigns to raise the minimum wage and to have it apply nationwide, labor groups and advocates have also been calling for "living" wages, or pay that will allow workers to set aside money for emergencies, for leisure and for investments.
In an interview on CNN Philippines' "The Source" earlier this month, Labor Undersecretary Benedicto Bitonio Jr. said that minimum wage orders are not the only way for workers to get better pay.
"Of course, employers and workers are encouraged by law to undertake their own measures in increasing wages, including collective bargaining," he said then.
"We believe that the bipartite mechanisms are still the best and most efficient way of increasing wages above the minimum wage levels," he said.
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