THE Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) lambasted the NCR- Regional Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB)’s dismissal of its ₱470.00 minimum wage increase petition in Metro Manila.
The wage board said in its Resolution No. 02-2022 that “an across-the-board wage increase is not within the jurisdiction of the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board nor authorized by R.A. 6727”, and that “the across-the-board wage petition filed by the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines cannot be given due course”.
“We are outraged at dismissal by RTWPB of our wage proposal. It is grossly unfair for the wage board just to dismiss our petition and chose to ignore the arguments and computations which are all about a minimum wage increase. While it is true that the RTWPB cannot grant an across-the-board wage increase, it has jurisdiction insofar as providing an increase in minimum wage.
“It should have decided based on the arguments and computations that we submitted which are focused on a minimum wage increase rather than dismissing it”, said TUCP President Raymond Democrito Mendoza.
The TUCP said it will either file a motion for reconsideration or will refile the petition again. And if the wage board dismisses it again, the labor group will refile over again as all the computations and arguments in its petition are about an increase in “minimum wage”.
“The NCR-RTWPB of all places, are contemptuously setting aside our wage petition which is a matter of survival for millions of minimum wage earners and their families in Metro Manila. The wage board’s total insensitivity to the plight of our poor workers and their families is appalling,” Mendoza said.
The labor center said that the present monthly take home pay of ₱ 12,843.48 is far below the ₱16, 625.00/month poverty threshold for a family of five in the NCR.
“Our minimum wage earners and their families have fallen below the poverty line and become the newly poor. In 2019, our wage petition was dismissed. In 2020, CoVid 19 took its toll on us. In 2021, we fought to recover, and endured. Now, they dismissed again our wage petition. The RTWPB does not really know the meaning of justice,” Mendoza said.
The TUCP said that with the current minimum wage in Metro Manila, a measly ₱20.00 per meal can be allocated per member of the family which is P41.17 lower compared to ₱61.17/meal/person estimated by the Ateneo Policy Center using the Food and Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI) of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) Pinggang Pinoy model and the March 2019 PSA Media Service Market Price of Selected Commodities.
“Workers and their families cannot depend on the RTWPBs to provide even a small economic relief for their survival, much less for living wages. Perhaps it is about time to review our existing legislation that paved the way for the regionalization of minimum wages and the creation of the wage boards. Our institutions are created to serve the interest and welfare of our people, most especially those who are poor and marginalized. If they no longer serve their purpose, maybe we need to seriously rethink their existence”, Mendoza added.
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