P16 wage hike to cover only one-way jeepney fare, says labor group

A labor group on Thursday decried the proposal of an employers' organization to grant a P16 wage increase, arguing that such an amount would only cover a one-way jeepney fare.

The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) deemed the employers' group's persistent dismissal of their plea for a P150 across-the-board wage increase "insulting" and smacks of classic corporate "arrogance and insensitivity."

"They have such disdain for Filipino workers and their families grappling with skyrocketing prices that they will offer a raise barely covering the minimum jeepney fare one way to work as if they will not go home anymore. This is plain and simple—shameless cruel greed," TUCP vice president Luis Corral lamented.

At a public hearing last week, the Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP), the country's biggest trade organization, said they could not afford the P150 in the daily minimum wage proposal but only a measly P15 to P16.

ECOP had religiously rejected a wage hike, citing its disadvantage for MSMEs, or micro, small, and medium enterprises, which will be affected by the salary increase but won't be among the beneficiaries of the pay.

Apart from MSME, ECOP president Sergio Ortiz-Luis Jr. said the projected wage will also hit farmers, fisherfolk, market vendors, and others in the informal sector, which accounts for 84 percent of the labor force.

The TUCP has been calling for a "reasonable" P150 wage hike to help employees cope with the skyrocketing prices of commodities due to inflation.

Some members of Congress have also turned down such a proposal in fear that a P150 wage hike will not be felt in the long run since prices of goods and services are likely to go up after the increased wage.

They suspect that private companies would simply pass on the supplemental cost of their goods and services, and the additional wage would be eaten by the increase in commodity prices.

In June 2023, the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board-National Capital Region (NCR) granted the P40 pay increase for all minimum wage earners in Metro Manila.

The salary hike that took effect on 16 July raised the minimum wage in the NCR to P610 from the previous P560 for the non-agriculture sector and to P573 from P533 for those in the agriculture sector.

The TUCP called on the NCR regional wage board to pave the way by clearing this "baseless standards ultimately performing its mandate in setting wages that will ensure the decent life of every Filipino working family, beginning with an increase of at least P150.