MINIMUM WAGE | Labor chief says wage hike petitions in the capital are under study

February 16, 2023 , 05:20 PM

By Clarist Zablan

(February 16, 2023) – Metro Manila’s regional wage board has started looking into wage hike petitions as prices of basic good continue to rise, the labor secretary said on Thursday.

Bienvenido Laguesma said the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB) has been consulting with workers and employers on a possible P100 wage increase in Metro Manila.

The Kapatiran ng mga Unyon at Samahang Manggagawa and Nagkaisa labor coalition filed a P100 wage increase in December.

“Mayroon na po silang (RTWPB) isinasagawang mga konsultasyon, focused consultation, dahil po isinasaalang-alang talaga yung nabanggit niyo na mataas na inflation rate,” Laguesma said on radio show “Ted Failon at DJ Chacha sa Radyo5.”

The RTWPB needed to establish the basis for raising wages to strike a balance between the needs of workers and small and medium enterprises, he said.

The daily minimum wage rate in the national capital region was pegged at P533 agriculture sectors and some small-scale retail and manufacturing businesses, while non-agricultural workers get P570 a day.

The most recent wage hike in the region was announced in June 2022.

Last week, Nagkaisa spokesman Rene Magtubo urged the labor department to start a public hearing on their wage petition after inflation hit a new 14-year high of 8.7% in January, attributed to growing utility, housing, and food costs.

The rising inflation has reduced the value of wages in the country, and workers grappling with rising costs have said they have not felt the recent minimum wage increase.

In the upper house of Congress, Senator Raffy Tulfo filed a resolution seeking a review of the country’s policies in implementing a minimum wage hike, stressing a need to improve the standard of living and quality of life for the country’s workers.

Tulfo said the country’s rules and regulations on setting the minimum wage needs to be “fair, effective, and consistent with the needs of the workers and the economy.”

Laguesma confirmed that the labor department has been invited by the Senate as a resource speaker on the issue to discuss its “technical input” on the labor situation in the country and the gaps in the law that needs to be filled to meet the needs of workers.

He said reforming the country’s wage system might be complicated, noting that the country adopted regional minimum wages to attract businesses and create more jobs in the countryside. Minimum wages are set lower in regions outside of Metro Manila.

“Hindi po ganoong kasimple ang proseso, subalit kung mayroon pong mga pagrerepaso na tutugon upang lalong pabilisin, pagandahin po, welcome na welcome po namin ng ganyang klaseng hakbangin o mga direksyon na makakatulong para pagandahin po ang ugnayan ng manggagawa at namumuhunan,” he said.

(MM)

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