DAVAO CITY(MindaNews / 29 September) — A labor foundation calls for a uniform national minimum wage increase of up to ₱1,402.48 to account for essential expenses such as food, rice, rent, and electricity.
In a press statement sent to MindaNews Friday evening, Nonoy Librado Development Foundation, Inc. (NLDFI) said the ₱1,402.48 computation is “based on the everyday needs of a family in the Davao region,” far from the current P481 minimum wage in the Davao region.
“The NLDFI is calling on the government of Pres. Ferdinand Marcos Jr to approve a ₱1,200 national minimum wage. This amount will meet the basic needs of Filipino families, and allow them to live decently,” the foundation stated.
The computation is based on NLDFI-led inter-sectoral consultation that happened on Friday afternoon from various sectors, including taxi drivers, delivery riders, factory workers, service sector employees, vendors, and plantation workers.
The result of the workshop aligns with the national minimum wage of ₱1,200 that “many labor groups across the country have been advocating for.”
The group cited Ibon Foundation’s data, which said that from 2000 to 2023, productivity in the region has increased by “62 percent,” but the real minimum wage has only seen a “9-percent” rise.
Citing the same data, the group claimed that from 2019 to 2024, workers in the Davao region saw their daily minimum wage increase by only ₱85, going from ₱396 to ₱481 despite a 25.90 percent inflation increase in that same period, which indicates that workers’ wages were “shortchanged” amid inflation.
Laborers, businesses react
The second phase of Wage Order No. RB XI-22 will increase the minimum wage for non-agricultural workers to ₱481 and agricultural workers to ₱476 on September 1, 2024 in Davao Region, following a two-part increase of ₱19 each, which began with an initial ₱19 adjustment on March 6, 2024.
For Rod Sering, 25, a handicraft maker who earns minimum wage of P481, the labor foundation group’s recommendation seems “promising,” but doubts he “could reach the P1,000 salary mark.”
“I believe I deserve to be paid for what I produce, but I doubt that businesses will pay that high. The reality is, businesses are trying to pay less and offer opportunities to those who are okay being paid less,” he told MindaNews in the vernacular.
“No wonder why Dabawenyos would rather go abroad, or do freelancing, serving overseas clients directly. Even though these overseas clients are exploiting us, they are paying less to Filipinos as well, I am aware of that,” he added.
Another minimum wage earner Darling Cuya said she has “no hope” for a P1,200 salary minimum wage, but she noted that the labor foundation’s findings “are telling the truth… that even P500 cannot give comfort to a family”.
However, businesses are quick to react to the labor foundation’s findings.
For instance, a standee cafe owner Lee Samonte told MindaNews “we cannot easily afford to just raise the minimum wage… not at P1,000 per month.”
“We have to consider the operating costs, the cost of living, costs of raw materials, and others. Truly, if you pay that large, we cannot sustain them, that’s logical,” Samonte said.
She also said “it had been not easy for them to adjust with the recent minimum wage hike.”
Another cafe owner “King” (not his real name) said it is a “perfect recipe for disaster” for businesses.
“But I believe the government and labor groups must talk about it as soon as possible, I know the prices are increasing, but all factors must be considered,” he told MindaNews in a text message. (Ian Carl Espinosa/MindaNews)
