Wage hike sought

CEBU, Philippines —  TWELVE labor groups have filed a petition for wage increase before the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB) in Central Visayas yesterday.

The Alyansa sa Mamumuong Kontraktwal sa Sugbo (ALSA Kontraktwal Cebu) asked the regional wage board to grant a P100 hike in the daily minimum wage citing dire economic crisis as valid justification.

“Dugay na natong panawagan ang pagpasaka sa suholan. Karon, kining ?100 immediate wage increase, nakita ni natong hinanaling solusyon sa padayon nga pagkawagtang sa balor sa suholan," said Louella Negrido of ALSA Kontraktwal Cebu.

Negrido urged the government to listen to the calls of the working class who are the most affected by the crisis considering that the country’s minimum wage is far below the living wage.

At present, Central Visayas’ minimum wage is at ?435 per day. But inflation has brought down its actual value to only ?375 to ?384 per day, according to the National Wages and Productivity Commission.

The labor group said that the living wage of a family of five in Central Visayas should be at ?1,234 per day.

“Dili gihapon ta moundang sa pagduso sa nasudnong minimum nga suholan. Atong gitan-aw nga kini ang maghatag sa mga mamumuo ug ilang mga pamilya og disente nga kinabuhi ug kinabuhi nga adunay dignidad," Negrido added.

Partido Manggagawa-Cebu and 10 other labor groups also re-filed yesterday their joint petition for a P100 wage increase. The petition was previously dismissed by the RTWPB-7 for lack of jurisdiction since the petitioners originally asked for an across-the-board increase.

This time, instead of demanding an across-the-board increase, the petitioners want a raise in the minimum wage to afford common workers a dignified life.

The groups, which include Sentro ng Nagkakaisa at Progresibong Manggawa (SENTRO); Globalwear Employees Union-PIGLAS (GEU-PIGLAS); Association of Globalwear Supervisory Employees Union–PIGLAS (AGSEU-PIGLAS); MEPZ Workers Alliance (MWA); Workers Organization of LAMI Food (WOLF); Prince Warehouse Club Mandaue Employees Union–LAW (PWCMEU – LAW); ILAW–Buklod ng Manggagawa-United Miners of Carmen Copper (IBM-UMCC-WSN); KEPCO Cebu Employees Union-Workers Solidarity Network (KCEA-WSN); ILAW at Buklod ng Manggagawa sa General Milling Corporation (IBM-GMC); and Bohol Alliance of Labor Organizations (BALO), said there is an urgent and reasonable ground to review the latest Wage Order and consider a wage increase.

“It is therefore submitted that the amount of P100 should be made in favor of non-agriculture and agriculture sectors, service/retail establishments employing 15 workers or less, and manufacturing industries regularly employing less than 10 workers in Region VII,” the petition stated.

The Alyansa sa mga Mamumuo sa Sugbo-Kilusang Mayo Uno (AMA Sugbo-KMU) expressed its support to the filing of the wage hike petitions.

“Gipangayo kini sa mga mamumuo isip hulip lang sa nawagtang nga balor sa suhol sa mga mamumuo. Atong gitinguha gihapon nga makab-ot ang pagpatuman sa nasudnong minimum nga suholan nga subay sa family living wage sa Central Visayas nga ?1,234 kada adlaw sa matag pamilya," said Jaime Paglinawan, chairperson of the alliance.

Paglinawan said a P100 increase in the minimum wage will definitely help the ordinary workers.

A research conducted by IBON Foundation in March revealed that a family of five in Central Visayas would need ?1,234 per day to live decently and to attend to all basic needs. – FPL (FREEMAN)