TUCP to file motion seeking additional wage increase

A moderate labor group will ask the regional wage board to increase the P25 hike in the minimum salary it approved for workers in Metro Manila last week.

The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) said yesterday it is set to file a motion for reconsideration before the Regional Tripartite Wage and Productivity Board (RTWPB) in the National Capital Region (NCR).

TUCP spokesman Alex Aguilar said they believe the P25 daily wage hike workers are set to receive in the next two weeks is not enough amid the rising cost of living to recover the purchasing power eroded by a surge in prices of fuel and basic commodities.

The increase, which brings the daily nonagricultural minimum wage in the metropolis to P350, was well below the P75 across-the-board increase sought by the TUCP.

Wage Order NCR-12 will take effect 15 days after it has been published in two daily newspapers.

"In TUCP’s view, the P25 increase approved by the NCR wage board is not enough so we will file a motion for reconsideration and appeal to the RTWPB in NCR to increase this," Aguilar said on the weekly radio program of Vice President Noli de Castro.

Employers, on the other hand, said the P25 wage hike was already too much for them to handle.

Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP) president Atty. Rene Soriano said the amount was a big increase and could result in a higher unemployment rate since many employers may not be able to grant the increase.

Soriano explained that 99.9 percent of employers in the country belong to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and it is difficult for them to comply with the additional P25 in the minimum wage.

Acting Labor Secretary Danilo Cruz said the department has not received any formal application for exemption in complying with the new wage increase because of financial difficulties faced by companies. — Pia Lee-Brago