The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) assails the latest wage increase orders in Region II (Cagayan Valley), Region III (Central Luzon), and Region XII (SOCCSKSARGEN) as rubbing salt in the wound of every Filipino worker and their family inflicted by the more than three decades of poverty wages under the regional wage boards as House Bill No. 7871, known as the Wage Recovery Act, of the TUCP Party-list, which seeks to give a daily across-the-board ₱150 wage hike for all workers in the private sector, remains pending in the House of Representatives.
“Even after these latest regional wage hike orders, the highest monthly minimum wages in Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, and SOCCSKSARGEN still fall below the already unrealistically low poverty threshold for a family of five. With the increases given ranging from as small as ₱27 to only as much as ₱66 which are even sliced into two tranches, these regional increases are even less than half of the wage hike proposed by TUCP as demanded and deserved by Filipino workers and their families. These too little, too late increases cannot and will never make it right. Kung kaya’t tuloy ang laban para sa ₱150 ng TUCP kontra kagutuman at kahirapan!”, stated the TUCP Party-list.
According to UNICEF Philippines, 95 children in the Philippines die every day from malnutrition, 27 out of 1,000 Filipino children do not get past their fifth birthday, and a third of Filipino children are stunted or short for their age.
“How can the minimum wage protect workers from the exploitation of overly low pay if it is set too late and too low below the poverty line? This is the absurdity of our country’s chief economic managers and statisticians advising the President based on statistics that do not reflect reality and our Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Boards (RTWPBs) insulting Filipino workers with token increases with no explanation whatsoever on how they were computed despite the comprehensive standards/criteria for minimum wage fixing in the law and the Constitutional mandate for a living wage. It is as if they are all on another planet or just plain and simple—out of their minds—for making a mockery of the fate of our over four million minimum wage earners whose only hope for much-deserved and long-overdue raise has been the regional wage boards and now, Congress,” lambasted the TUCP.
Note that the ₱480 highest daily minimum wage in Cagayan Valley, ₱550 in Central Luzon, and ₱430 in SOCCSKSARGEN are still no way near the Ateneo Policy Center estimated government-prescribed daily family healthy food guide ‘Pinggang Pinoy’ of ₱693 and estimated average family living wage of ₱1,216 by the IBON Foundation.
“This epic fail policy of cheap labor has been futile in attracting more and better foreign direct investments (FDIs) but fatal in stunting the physical and mental growth of our children as nearly a hundred of them die every day due to malnutrition. As our children suffer from hunger or even die because we cannot earn enough even if we are working too much already, we certainly have had enough of this dismal track record of our regional wage boards as it only bolsters calls to end their existence and for Congress to immediately act on the legislated ₱150 wage hike filed by the TUCP Party-list as the historic first step for Filipino working families to finally feed their families with nutritious meals and ensure their decent lives,” underscored the TUCP Party-list.
“Since the Senate already passed the ₱100 minimum wage hike and as we incessantly call on the House Committee on Labor and Employment chaired by Rep. Fidel Nograles to immediately conduct a hearing to finally vote on the ₱150 legislated wage hike of TUCP as he promised way back in August, the token increases and poverty wages set by the regional wage boards are nothing but a fool’s consolation. We trust that the House of Representatives will truly be the House of the People to heed the people’s plea and take over the task of raising workers’ wages. BARYA-BARYA HINDI SAPAT! ₱150 NG TUCP DAPAT!,” emphasized the TUCP Party-list.
