Central Visayas workers seek P386 pay hike

MANILA, Philippines — Workers in Central Visayas are asking for an increase in their daily take home pay.

The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) filed a petition for an across-the-board increase of P386 before the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board yesterday.

TUCP president Raymond Mendoza said the pay hike is needed to meet the “basic nourishment needs” and address the health problems of workers in the region.

Mendoza said the current salary of minimum wage earners in Central Visayas could afford only “survival meals,” such as instant noodles, canned sardines, tocino, longganisa, egg and pan de sal.

“Forcing workers and their families to subsist on nutritionally deficient meals for a long period will definitely have bigger repercussions to businesses and bigger costs to the government and the economy if continuously ignored,” he said.

“The TUCP is raising the issue of workers’ nourishment as this has not been given attention as a... consequence of supervening conditions,” Mendoza added.

He said the increase in the prices of goods and services due to the TRAIN Law and effects of excise tax on fuel  as  well as the value added tax eroded the purchasing power of minimum wage earners.

Mendoza urged employers to invest in the health and well-being of their workers by ensuring that their wages could provide them with proper nourishment.