Labor groups press for P750 daily minimum wage in NCR

An alliance of labor unions on Friday held a rally in front of the office of the National Capital Region wage board to press for the approval of their petition for a P750 minimum salary.

In a Facebook post, representatives of the Unity for Wage Increase Now! (UWIN) sent a letter to the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board - NCR urging it to respond to their petition submitted in 2019.

“Ito ay habang nagsasagawa ng protesta ang mga kasaping unyon at organisasyon ng UWIN sa labas ng tanggapan ng wage board,” the group said.

(This is while the members of the unions and organizations were conducting a protest outside the office of the wage board)

UWIN spokesperson Charlie Arevalo pointed out that 1,205 days have passed since minimum wage in the NCR was increased to P537. They said the amount's real value has dropped by P100 due to inflation.

“Papatong pa ang sobra-sobrang buwis na ipinapataw ng gobyerno sa mga manggagawa at konsyumer [Added to this the taxes imposed by the government on workers and consumers],” he added.

Arevalo said their petition should be tackled by the board considering the series of price hikes in fuel products and the recently announced increase in electricity rates.

UWIN is composed of 11 NCR-based worker unions and five labor organizations.

On Wednesday, Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said he has ordered the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Boards across the country to hasten the review of minimum wages.

Bello acknowledged that the current P537 daily minimum wage in the NCR may no longer be enough to cover basic commodities such as food, electricity and water bills.

Malacañang has expressed support for Bello's order to review the country's minimum wage. —Joviland Rita/KBK, GMA News