THE Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) is set to file for a P413 pay hike in Northern Mindanao on Tuesday.
The country’s largest labor group said the amount aims to give minimum wage earners enough income to buy their food requirements amid its rising prices and address effects of inflation this year.
It cited the rising cost of living as well as the low union density due to a supposed “anti-union environment” and collective bargaining agreement in the region as the basis for its wage petition.
It noted the P331 to P365 daily minimum wage rate in Region 10 is insufficient to keep workers above the poverty threshold and provide them with nutritious meals.
TUCP President Raymond C. Mendoza said the existing minimum wage rate in Region 10 will create “an army of undernourished Filipino workers,” if left unaddressed.
If approved by the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board-Region 10 (RTWPB-Region 10), it will raise the daily minimum wage rate in the region to P778.
TUCP earlier filed similar wage petitions in the National Capital Region (P470), Central Visayas (P430), and the Davao region (P418).
The National Wages and Productivity Commission (NWPC) had previously said the RTWPBs are targeting to complete the review of their existing wage rates by next month.
It noted the review will cover both those with existing or no wage petitions, since the RTWPBs are authorized to conduct adjusted minimum wage rates on their own.
To note, the last wage petition approved by the RTWPB was back in 2020 prior to the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.