TUCP files P470 NCR wage hike petition

The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) on Monday appealed for a P470 increase in the National Capital Region's (NCR's) daily minimum wage, bringing it to P1,007.

The labor group filed their wage hike petition at the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB)-NCR office based in Manila, citing hunger, malnutrition, and the steep increase in the prices of fuel and other basic goods as reasons.

“Clearly, our minimum wage earners and their families have fallen from the category of low-income to newly poor. This is a sad commentary on the social condition in our country where those who break their backs to sustain and expand the economy are now wallowing in poverty,” TUCP President Raymond Mendoza said in a statement.

According to the Department of Labor and Employment’s (DOLE's) National Wages and Productivity Commission, the daily minimum wage in the NCR ranged from P500 to P537.

The TUCP pointed out that the present monthly take-home pay of P12,843.48 was “far below” the supposed monthly wage of P16,625.00 poverty threshold for a family of five in Metro Manila.

Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello said last Wednesday that the minimum wage in the NCR may no longer be enough for workers and their families due to the increase in the prices of basic goods.

He then ordered RTWPBs across the country to hasten the review of minimum wages.

“In 2019, our wage petition was dismissed. In 2020, COVID-19 took its toll on us. In 2021, we fought to recover and endured. Today, we make an action for and behalf of the poor workers and their families in Metro Manila. We are waging our war against poverty, we are aiming for a wage that will save our lives,” Mendoza said.

“Workers continued to give and sacrifice even with their declining health and strength for the sake of regional and economic development. And what do they get? Poverty, malnutrition, and misery,” he added. — DVM, GMA News