EMPLOYERS will now have more reason to insist on smaller minimum wage rates after the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) pegged the poverty threshold at just P10,481, according to labor groups.
In an interview, Federation of Free Workers (FFW) President Sonny Matula expressed concern over the possible implication of the new poverty threshold during minimum wage consultations.
“This can be used by employers not to increase wages because this is the position of the government. It’s as if the government wants to ‘disarm’ labor groups by releasing the new figure,” Matula said during the Centenary celebration of the International Labor Organization (ILO) on Thursday.
Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) President Raymond Mendoza also raised the same concern. “It gives us the impression that everything is okay and that there’s no need for wage increases because minimum wages are higher than the [poverty] threshold,” Mendoza said.
Matula added that the new poverty threshold is “unrealistic” and should be subjected to another review. He said the amount is even lower than the P42,000 per month income prescribed by the National Economic Development Authority (Neda) for a family of five.
Citing their own study, Partido Manggagawa (PM) National Chairman Renato Magtubo said that a family of five in the National Capital Region needs P1,300 daily, or P39,000 monthly, to live decently as of May 2018.