Value of minimum wage in Metro Manila down by P88, says labor group

The value of the minimum wage in Metro Manila has declined by P88 due to the rising prices of commodities, a labor group said on Wednesday.

With the "reduced value," Partido Manggagawa (PM) urged lawmakers to craft a  special legislation that would grant equal amount of increase in wages for all regions in the country, Lei Alviz reported on “24 Oras”.

“Panawagan po namin, approachable sana, 100 pesos approachable wage increase ang i-grant ng Congress...para maka-recover lang ang mga manggagawa sa pagtaas ng presyo ng mga bilihin,” said PM National Chairperson Rene Magtubo.

(We call for an approachable P100 wage increase to be granted by Congress. It will help workers recover from the spiking prices.)

According to Magtubo, the appeal is different from their petition lodged before the Regional Wage Board in the National Capital Region (NCR) that calls for a limited annual wage increase for employees.

“We continue to closely monitor developments kasi meron namang naka-pending na petition with NCR at yung proseso ay gumagalaw,” said Labor Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma.

(We continue to closely monitor developments because there are pending petitions in the NCR and its process is moving.)

Data gathered by GMA News Research showed the Philippines has the fastest increase in inflation rate out of the six major Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) economies, the report said.

The Philippines and Vietnam are currently experiencing spiking inflation while the rate of prices in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand are on a downward trend, it added. -- Sundy Locus/BAP, GMA Integrated News