PARTIDO Manggagawa (PM) and Sentro ng mga Nagkakaisa at Progresibong Manggagawa (Sentro) said the P33 wage increase for Central Visayas workers failed to meet the principal demands for wage recovery and living wage of the petitioners in the region which amount to P100 per day.
The increase, which takes effect on October 1, sets the new minimum in Class A to C areas to a range of P420 to P468 for non-agriculture establishments and P415 to P458 for agriculture and non-agriculture establishments with less than 10 workers.
“Kuwang ni nga umento kay di ni kapalit bisag usa ka kilo ng bugas matag adlaw. Dili ni kabawi sa nagpadayon nga pag us-os sa balor sa among sweldo sa rehiyon. Mao sa kining increase, ang tinuod nga balor (real wage value) sa minimum wage karon sa Region 7 ay P370 ra,” said PM Cebu spokesman Dennis Derige.
Derige also criticized the numerous wage classifications in the region that make enforcement and compliance very complicated.
“Murag bugas nga naay regular, well-milled, ug premium na klasipikasyon ang sistema ng pasweldo sa nasud mahitungod nga bisag naa ra sa susama nga kahimtang sa kinabuhi ang mga mamumuo sa usa ka rehiyon ay managlahi ang balor sa ilang sweldo,” he lamented.
PM and Sentro argued that the wage hike in Central Visayas, and earlier the P40 in the National Capitol Region, and P35-P50 in Calabarzon mirror the structural defects of the prevailing wage system in the country under Republic Act (RA) 6727 “where the financial health of employers is given more importance than the workers’ capacity to live and their right to a rising standard of living.”
“Kon naa gyud dili makatarunganon ug mapahimuslanon nga price control na gipatuman sa nasud kaniadto pa. Dili kini ang P41-P45 per kilo na gipahamtang karon sa presyo sa bugas kondili sa presyo at saktong pasweldo sa mga mamumuo,” said Derige, pointing to how the economic managers justify the price caps on rice today but objecting to wage hikes because it would do more harm on the economy.
PM and Sentro fear that the Central Visayas, NCR and Calabarzon wage orders will become the template for other regions, thus “the need to shift to battle for a legislated wage hike and reforms in the wage-setting mechanisms in the country.”
Pending before Congress are the P150-P750 wage hike bills. Senators, including Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri, vowed to pass the measure while the House of Representatives has yet to conduct hearings on the pending wage hike bills. (PR)
