A Pasig court on Thursday extended the freeze on Metro Manila’s P85 daily minimum wage increase, granting a preliminary injunction sought by two construction companies and requiring them to post a P10 billion bond.
The Pasig Regional Trial Court Branch 152 ordered the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board-National Capital Region and the National Wages and Productivity Commission to stop implementing Wage Order No. NCR-27 while it resolves a petition for declaratory relief filed by Readycon Trading and Construction Corp. and R-II Builders Inc.
The court said the injunction would preserve the status quo and prevent potentially irreparable harm while the case is being resolved.
The ruling came as the temporary restraining order issued by the same court on 30 July expired Thursday.
The court ordered the writ of preliminary injunction upon the petitioners’ posting of the P10 billion bond.
‘Hostage-taker’
Akbayan immediately criticized the ruling, accusing the court of holding workers’ wages and livelihoods “hostage.”
“Isa nang ganap na hostage-taker ang korte. Ginagawang hostage ng korte at ni Judge Marie Joyce Manongsong ang sahod ng mga manggagawa at ang kanilang kabuhayan,” Akbayan President Rafaela David said.
Wage Order No. NCR-27, issued in June, provides for a total P85 increase in two tranches and covers more than 1.1 million minimum wage workers in Metro Manila.
The first P60 increase raised the daily minimum wage for non-agricultural workers from P695 to P755 effective 25 July. Another P25 increase is scheduled for 20 January 2027, bringing the rate to P780.
For covered agricultural, service and retail workers and small manufacturing establishments, the daily minimum wage rose from P658 to P718 under the first tranche, with another P25 increase due next year.
Akbayan also criticized the P10 billion bond, calling it a “twisted Solomonic” approach that could allow employers to raise funds to keep the wage order suspended.
‘Symbiotic connection’
The Pasig court, however, said it was not recklessly violating Article 126 of the Labor Code, which limits judicial intervention in wage-setting proceedings.
The court said it recognized the “symbiotic connection” between employers’ and employees’ interests in wages.
It said the injunction was intended to ensure that the rights and livelihoods of both management and labor are considered while the dispute is resolved.
Akbayan warned that the ruling could set a precedent allowing wage increases to be repeatedly challenged in court, potentially delaying increases for months or years.
The P85 wage increase remains on hold pending further proceedings before the Pasig court.
