The Institute for Occupational Health and Safety Development (IOHSAD) on Saturday said the P50 wage hike in the National Capital Region (NCR) is a "gross injustice to Filipino workers."

In a statement, the IOHSAD called the wage hike a "token increase" and a "deliberate denial of workers' right to a living wage."

“A wage increase is not just an economic issue — it is a public health issue,” IOHSAD emphasized.

“When workers are paid starvation wages, their ability to eat well, rest, and stay healthy is compromised. That is a clear violation of their right to health and safety at work and at home," it continued.

In 2024, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) reported that the Philippines ranks among the 20 countries with the worst levels of child food poverty, with an estimated two million Filipino children living in severe food poverty.

One of the major drivers: household income poverty, as UNICEF stressed that “severe child food poverty is the result of systems that are failing, not families that are failing.”

According to think tank IBON Foundation, a family of five in NCR needs to receive a wage of P1,220 per day or P26,545 per month to live decently.

Since July 2024, the NCR minimum wage has been P645 daily or about P14,190 per month.

In June, the NCR Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board announced that it will bring the daily minimum wage rate in NCR to P695.

Under the new rate, minimum wage workers will have a monthly take-home pay of about P15,247 for a five-day workweek.

However, even with the additional P50 — whose real value is closer to P40 — the minimum wage still falls P522 short of the living wage, the IOHSAD stressed.

“This meager wage hike only deepens the intergenerational cycle of malnutrition, poverty, and poor health. How can workers recover their strength, raise healthy children, or live in dignity when their daily pay doesn’t even cover their most basic needs?” IOHSAD said.

The IOHSAD joined workers and labor advocates in demanding the passage of a P1,200 legislated national living wage.

The new NCR minimum wage takes effect on 18 July.