Militant group Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan-Panay) expressed dissatisfaction with the P15 to P30 increase in the daily minimum wage of private sector workers in Western Visayas.
Elmer Forro, Bayan-Panay secretary general, said the increase appproved by the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB-) “cannot even buy a kilo of rice”, which now costs P45- P50.
“Worst, to those with P15 increase, it cannot even pay your one-way back-to-back trip within 4 kilometers minimum distance without shelling out P2 more.”
The daily minimum wage rate in non-agriculture, industrial and commercial establishments employing more than 10 workers has been raised to P395 from the prevailing P365.
For those employing less than 10 workers, the rate is P310 from 295.
Workers in the agriculture sector will receive a daily minimum wage of P281.50 from P271.50
According to Forro, a family of six needs a daily living wage of P1,400 to live decently. “The increase is only 28 percent of that,” he lamented
“The wage increase and workers’ wages, in general, are nothing compared to the wealth accumulated by their employers like Sy siblings of SM ($17.2B), Manny Villar of Vista Mall and many real-estates ($6.6B), and Andrew Tan of Megaworld ($2.55B), among others,” Forro said.
He also described the increase as “an outright disrespect and insult” to the long-standing call of workers for a P750 national minimum wage.
“The government should implement a national minimum wage standard that will at least alleviate the living conditions of workers,” Forro said
“This is a small step towards giving just cost to the labor they provide for the economy. At least, the P750 NMW is closer to P1,400 family living wage,” he said.IMT
