CITING the soaring inflation rate, the Kapatiran ng mga Unyon at Samahang Manggagawa (KAPATIRAN) yesterday asked the National Capital Region (NCR) wage board for a P100 wage increase for all minimum wage earners in Metro Manila.
In a statement, Kapatiran chair Rey Almendras said they filed a wage petition before the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB)-NCR because the high prices of basic commodities have eroded the value of their salaries.
“We filed an instant petition for a P100 wage increase before the NCR wage board,” said Almendras. “The petition to increase the minimum wage stems from the need of the minimum wage earners to recover lost value of their wages, cope with rising cost of living, and afford a dignified life as a common worker.”
Almendras said they filed the petition after the inflation rate rose from 2.5 percent in October 2021 to 7.7 percent by October 2022.
“Real wages were greatly diminished by soaring inflation with nominal amounts remaining at starvation level,” lamented Almendras.
He added the current minimum wage rate of P570 in Metro Manila amounts to just P11,400 monthly income for an employee working five days a week.
“This is not enough to keep up with the average expenses since, as of last year, a household needs at least P12,030 to survive the poverty threshold,” said Almendras.
Last May, the NCR wage board granted a P33 per day basic wage increase.
The latest NCR wage board decision that raised the minimum wage in NCR to P570 took effect last June 4, 2022.
Under the law, any wage order issued by the regional wage boards may not be disturbed for a period of 12 months from its effectivity, with no wage petitions to be entertained within the period.
The wage boards, however, may exercise their wage fixing function even before the expiration of the said period upon the determination of “supervening conditions” or cases of extraordinary increase in prices of petroleum products and basic goods and services.
