Workers seek wage hike anew

MANILA, Philippines — With the impending jeepney and bus fare increase, workers are again demanding a wage hike.

“There is now a very urgent need for the Metro Manila wage board to grant a substantial wage increase for workers  to survive in the light of the extraordinary increases in prices of basic goods and costs of services in the past 10 months including this P1 jeepney fare increase,” Associated Labor Unions (ALU) spokesman Alan Tanjusay said in a statement.

The group is not opposing the fare hike because it will improve the drivers’ take-home pay, but workers’ wages must also be adjusted, he added.

According to Tanjusay, the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity  Board in the National Capital Region is set to meet on Monday to discuss the pending petition for a salary hike.

The minimum wage in Metro Manila increased by at least P20 this month, Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said on Feb. 26.

The minimum wage last month was at P512 after the approval of a wage hike in September 2017.
Federation of Free Workers vice president Julius Cainglet said a paltry P20 increase in the minimum daily wage is not enough and will most likely just be eaten by the fare increase.

He said Congress should provide a legislated wage increase and remove the additional excise tax under the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion Law.

The National Wages and Productivity Commission earlier announced that it will hold a public consultation with workers on Oct. 22 and with employers on Oct. 24. A public hearing will follow on Oct.  26, after which the board will come out with a decision.

Meanwhile, the wage board in Northern Mindanao has approved an order granting salary hike ranging from P27 to P35 for minimum wage earners in the region. The new wage order will take effect next month.