AT least nine groups in Metro Manila are now seeking a higher minimum- wage hike, according to a report of the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board-National Capital Region’s (RTWPB-NCR) chief Sarah Mirasol.
The labor department’s Spokesman Rolly Francia quoted her as saying “the petitions were filed and they will calendar the public hearing as soon as they are done” deciding on the wage hike for kasambahay [household service woorkers] on November 28.
The RTWPB-NCR started accepting new wage petitions after the anniversary date of its previous wage order last Friday.
Under wage rules, the RTWPBs may only adjust wages rates a year after the issuance of its previous wage order, unless there is a prevailing supervening condition like a prolonged unusual spike in prices of basic goods and services with their jurisdiction.
On Monday, Unity for Wage Increase Alliance (U-Win) announced it filed a wage petition before the RTWPB-NCR asking for a P213 daily minimum-wage hike.
It said the existing daily minimum-wage rate in NCR, which ranges from P500 to P537, is below their estimated minimum cost of a family of five per day, which they pegged at P1,008.
“What we are asking is a mere relief for the Filipino workers and their families; only to avail at least 75 percent of the daily cost of living. It is not even comensurate to our labor productivity,” U-Win Spokesman Charlito Arevalo said.
U-Win cited Ibon Foundation data which showed that labor productivity in the NCR grew 35 percent between 2009 and 2017. “Last year’s P25 wage hike or a 4.9-percent increase from previous levels did not even make up for the 5.5-percent inflation in the National Capital Region for 2018,” it added.
Image credits: Nonoy Lacza