MANILA, Philippines — Presidential aspirant and labor leader Leody de Guzman pushed for the repeal of the Oil Deregulation Law, underscoring the need for government to intervene in setting the prices of fuel and hike the minimum wage to P750 a day across all regions.
In an interview with One News’ “The Chiefs” Thursday night, De Guzman said the move of the government to release P3 billion in fuel subsidy for those in the transportation and agriculture sectors is commendable.
However, he noted this is not the answer to the rising costs of commodities and services in the country.
While the fuel crisis is brought about by the war between Russia and Ukraine, De Guzman believes “this may be the best time to repeal the Oil Deregulation Law.”
To protect the public against oil companies taking advantage of the law to increase their profits, the government should have the power to intervene in determining fuel prices, he said.
He also urged the government to consider doing the importation of fuel to balance its prices.
At the same time, De Guzman pushed for the approval of the petition for a P750 minimum wage in all regions, claiming that under the Duterte administration, salaries were adjusted only twice.
He maintained the minimum wage should be uniform in all regions because the cost of living is the same anywhere in the country.
TUCP prepares wage hike petition
On Monday, the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) is poised to file a petition for a salary hike with the wage boards as the prices of commodities and services in the country continue to soar.
In a statement, the TUCP said they were working out the “appropriate amount” for wage adjustments. They will submit their petition to Regional Tripartite Wage and Productivity Boards (RTWPB).
“We welcome the directive of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) for the RTWPB to review minimum wages in all 17 regions,” the group said.
The TUCP said it hopes this is “not just a mere ruse or strategy to diffuse growing tensions and the heightening unease as millions of Filipinos now face a survival problem.”
Salceda calls for wage hike before June 30
At the House of Representatives, Albay Rep. Joey Salceda urged the government to raise wages, noting that the last increase was carried out in 2018 – which means workers are “not prepared” for price increases.
The chairman of the House committee on ways and means acknowledged that the country’s current P537 minimum wage “is severely, almost embarrassingly unprepared for price hikes to come this year” in the wake of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
He also reminded the national government that “2022 will be the fifth year that there were no hikes in minimum wage rates in the National Capital Region,” thereby making “ordinary, working-class Filipinos totally unprepared for the price hikes.”
“Sadly, the NCR wage drives the needle for wages in the country, and NCR has seen no minimum wage increase since 2018,” Salceda pointed out, sympathizing with workers where he calculated the minimum wage is “now only worth just P464 in 2018 prices.”
“That means that today’s NCR minimum wage would be able to buy P73 less in goods in 2018. That is grossly unfair to the working class,” he added.
Salceda said he understands the hesitation in increasing the minimum wage because it could bring business costs up and reduce economic activity.
“But people who make that argument tend to forget that workers are consumers, and when consumers have more money to spend, they spend more on businesses,” he said.
“Increasing wages is the right thing to do at this point. The burden of price hikes has to be shared, between workers and their employers. Shared pain and shared benefits is the principle of a working economy,” he added. – Delon Porcalla