MANILA — Despite strong opposition being put up by business owners and employers, workers group Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) is mulling the filing of wage increase petitions in all regional wage boards to raise the salary of workers amid the increases in the prices of food and services caused by the implementation of new excise tax on fuel under the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) law this year.
TUCP President Raymond Mendoza said in a statement Tuesday that the labor center is monitoring the movement of prices of goods and services following the increase in the prices of diesel and gasoline effective Tuesday through TUCP affiliates nationwide.
He said the labor union might file a minimum of P313 to a maximum of P355 wage increase petition based on the current prices of commodities.
“We will be citing supervening conditions in filing the petitions. We are also going to test once again the capacity of the wage boards to remain relevant with its mandate to raise the minimum wage to an amount that can ably support a family,” Mendoza said.
Meantime, Mendoza said there is a strong clamor from its members and social media netizens to push for the abolition of differentiated wage rates and put up a single wage setting body that uniformly adjusts minimum wage rates across-the-board nationwide using social and economic data in determining the amount.
All 17 regional wage boards last year adjusted minimum wage rates, with amounts ranging from PHP8.50 to PHP56 daily. Metro Manila workers in November received a PHP25 daily wage hike. However, despite the adjustments, current minimum wage levels remain inadequate to sustain workers and their families, he added.
On the other hand, the Federation of Philippine Industries (FPI) voiced strong opposition to any initiative by organized labor to force another wage hike, whether by wage board order or legislated.
FPI chairman Jesus Arranza also explained that the financial health of its member companies vary, therefore their ability to absorb another wage hike also varies.
“They are not homogeneous, they have different costs, different profit margins and different losses. So, how can we talk about imposing a uniform wage adjustment? It is simply not realistic,” he added.
Arranza insisted that the only reasonable manner to approach the wage issue is by going the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) route. Workers should not depend on government-imposed wage increases but instead should actively engage their employers in productive negotiations for more benefits, he added.
