The Alliance of Labor Unions-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines on Thursday urged the National Capital Region-Regional Wages and Productivity Board to grant its P320 wage increase petition amid rising prices of goods and the approval of a P1 fare hike for public utility vehicles.
“With the fare increase, there is now a very urgent need for the Metro Manila wage board to grant a substantial wage increase for workers in the NCR for them to survive in the light of the extraordinary increases in prices of basic goods and costs of services in the past 10 months, including this P1 jeepney fare increase,” ALU-TUCP spokesman Alan Tanjusay told the Manila Standard.
He said that “a regional across-the-board wage increase of P320 is now needed in NCR because the existing P512 daily minimum wage is not enough for a household with at least five members to survive and live “a decent life.”
By law, the wage can only be raised after a year from the last increase, unless there is a supervening event that will merit an adjustment, the labor group said.
The increase in jeepney and bus fares and the continuing rise in the price of commodities would substantiate the supervening event to merit a wage hike.
Tanjusay said that the last minimum wage increase in Metro Manila took effect on Oct. 5, 2017. The current minimum wage is ₱512.
He said the TUCP would not oppose the P1 fare increase for PUJ granted by the LTFRB, because the increase will improve the take-home pay of the jeepney drivers and help their families cope with the current rate of inflation.
The NCR wage board will meet on Oct. 22 to determine how much of a wage hike to grant Metro Manila workers.
