Tag Archives: Wage

[Press Release] Labor group blames regressive policies for rising unemployment -CTUHR

Posted on by Leave a comment

Labor group blames regressive policies for rising unemployment

CTUHR logo

“The trend in rising unemployment is clear proof of the government’s regressive economic and labor policies.”

This is what Arman Hernando, Center for Trade Union and Human Rights coordinator for documentation said in reaction to the latest Labor Force Survey (LFS) that revealed an increase in unemployment rate from 7% in July 2012 up to 7.3% in July 2013.

Hernando noted that the latest survey underlines the paradox of growth, “[w]hile the country’s GDP is steadily growing, there is also a trend in increased unemployment rate,” pointing out a rise in unemployment rate for the last two quarters.

The group explained that Aquino’s economic policies favoring foreign capital and promoting neoliberal globalization effectively “stunt” job-generating sectors such as agriculture and manufacturing and result to increased unemployment.

Hernando also chided the government’s passive role in providing employment opportunities to “able and willing” Filipinos. “The government has relegated its role from job generation to mere employment facilitation. Other than inviting foreign investors and exporting Filipinos abroad, the Aquino government has no concrete policy on how it will create jobs,” Hernando added.

Unemployment and depressed wages are clear manifestations of social injustice perpetuated by current policies, the group further stressed.

“Take for instance, wage. While the government is so stringent in regulating wage hike on the one hand, it is giving so much freedom in terms of tax breaks among other incentives to capitalists on the other hand. But despite so much effort in keeping wages low, it appears that investors fail to bring in enough jobs for Filipinos since unemployment is still on the rise.” Hernando pointed out.

The group concluded that only a progressive economic policy aimed at developing and supporting national industries will end the job crisis and generate sufficient and decent work for Filipinos.

For reference: Arman Hernando, CTUHR Coordinator for Documentation, +63411.0256.

RELEASE
12 September 2013

All submissions are republished and redistributed in the same way that it was originally published online and sent to us. We may edit submission in a way that does not alter or change the original material.

Human Rights Online Philippines does not hold copyright over these materials. Author/s and original source/s of information are retained including the URL contained within the tagline and byline of the articles, news information, photos etc.

 

Related articles

[In the news] Call on media workers to strengthen ranks, defend rights -INQUIRER.net

Posted on by Leave a comment

Call on media workers to strengthen ranks, defend rights.

Inquirer.net
May 8, 2013

inquirerThe National Union of Journalists of the Philippines joins all workers in the fight for jobs, decent wages and democratic rights.

We especially salute and express solidarity with all media workers who remain dedicated to and passionate about their work, despite the lack of job security, the meager wages, the absence of benefits and the risks that come with the media profession.

For while the Philippines continues to be among the world’s most murderous place for journalists, Filipino media workers  also bear dismal working conditions and low pay.

The global thrusts of news organizations to go multiplatform have intensified the work demand on media employees. Multimedia platforms require longer and heavier work hours without the corresponding increase in compensation. Even as Filipino media workers are fighting back, organizing themselves to defend their rights, media employers continue to deny them their rights. Only a few news organizations have labor unions and not all have collective bargaining agreements with employers. Union-busting and harassment of organizers and union leaders and members have increased.

Read full article @ opinion.inquirer.net

Follow us: @inquirerdotnet on Twitter | inquirerdotnet on Facebook

Human Rights Online Philippines does not hold copyright over these materials. Author/s and original source/s of information are retained including the URL contained within the tagline and byline of the articles, news information, photos etc.

[In the news] Militant labor groups demand living, not ‘libing’ wage -INQUIRER.com

Posted on by Leave a comment

Militant labor groups demand living, not ‘libing’ wage.

By Tina G. Santos,Philippine Daily Inquirer
November 2, 2012

“Libing (burial),” not living, wage.

This was how militant and labor groups described the remaining P10 increase in the cost-of-living-allowance (Cola) for minimum wage earners in Metro Manila, which took effect Thursday.

“No wonder the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) implemented this hike in time for Day of the Dead (Araw ng Patay),” Anakbayan chair Vencer Crisostomo said in a statement.

Crisostomo said the hike is far from the P125 demanded by the workers and the P993 Family Living Wage set by Ibon Foundation in 2011, the amount required to meet daily family needs.

“The present workers’ pay is not a living wage, it’s a ‘libing’ (funeral) wage. You can feel the spirit of the dead, but not the wage hike,” he said in Filipino, adding that most employers do not implement the minimum wage levels.

Read full article @ newsinfo.inquirer.net

Human Rights Online Philippines does not hold copyright over these materials. Author/s and original source/s of information are retained including the URL contained within the tagline and byline of the articles, news information, photos etc.

[Blog] Why Higher Wages Make Economic Sense -politicsforbreakfast.blogspot.com

Posted on by Leave a comment

Why Higher Wages Make Economic Sense
MAY 15, 2012

Last May 1, the usual arguments of the business sector were unleashed with its central theme: No, business cannot afford wage hike. Beset with high cost and poor business climate, business simply cannot survive added cost of labor. How do we attract investments if we increase wages? Look at China and Vietnam. Didn’t they have a cheap labor policy? Aren’t they getting much more investments than us due to lower minimum wages?

As if the anti-wage-hike position isn’t entrenched enough, an army of economists follows with a recital of the dogma of “labor flexibility”. They say, wage level should be equal to the so-called “marginal productivity of labor” – which is economese for whatever the employer wants to pay them. Labor is supposedly not exempt from the law of supply and demand. Raising minimum wage will only increase unemployment, as it supposedly disallows all voluntary labor wage contracts that pay below the minimum wage. It will also introduce inefficiency in the labor markets, now faced with a “deadweight loss” due to the intervention of the government who will always fail to set prices right.

But why, if they are right, aren’t we attracting investments still? What explains Philippine firms’ low level of competitiveness? Why does unemployment remain high? The response has always been, never mind the workers, that it is not enough. Lower wages a bit more, then we’ll get the investments that would have gone to China. Lax regulations a bit more, and we’ll have more productive factories and viable businesses. Dismantle a little bit more unions, and businesses will be more efficient and will eventually increase their wages in the long-run.

Read full article @ politicsforbreakfast.blogspot.com

Human Rights Online Philippines does not hold copyright over these materials. Author/s and original source/s of information are retained including the URL contained within the tagline and byline of the articles, news information, photos etc.

Related articles

[In the news] Govt workers to get substantial pay raise ahead of R-7 employees -Ceby Daily News

Posted on by Leave a comment

Govt workers to get substantial pay raise ahead of R-7 employees.

Cebu Daily News
April 30, 2012

Photo source Cebu Daily News

While government employees across the country received some good news ahead of tomorrow’s Labor Day, workers in Cebu and the rest of Central Visayas will have to wait longer for any salary increase to be approved by their wage board.

President Benigno Aquino III has announced that government workers will get their pay raise one month ahead of its planned release this July.

He said this was his “surprise gift” to government workers tomorrow.

“It’s a substantial number of zeroes,” Mr. Aquino said of the pay hike for government workers.

In contrast, the Regional Tripartite and Productivity Board in Central Visayas (RTWPB-7) has yet to decide on a wage petition filed last month.

The Alliance of Progressive Labor in Cebu (APL) filed a P90 across-the-board wage increase petition last March, citing rising fuel prices and fare rates as their basis.

The petition was opposed by Cebu’s business community.

Read full article @ cebudailynews.wordpress.com

Human Rights Online Philippines does not hold copyright over these materials. Author/s and original source/s of information are retained including the URL contained within the tagline and byline of the articles, news information, photos etc.

[Statement] Celebrate the Feast of St. Joseph the Worker and International Workers’ Day Through Legislating a Substantial Wage Increase

Posted on by Leave a comment

Celebrate the Feast of St. Joseph the Worker and International Workers’ Day
Through Legislating a Substantial Wage Increase
May 1, 2012

As we celebrate the Feast of St. Joseph the Worker and the International Workers’ Day on May 1, we remember Blessed John Paul II who was beatified last year on the same day; and who urged everyone to uphold the principle of the “priority of labor over capital”. Blessed John Paul II, who was himself a worker, emphasized “the primacy of the human person in the production process, the primacy of people over things” (cf. Laborem Exercens, 12).

We are saddened, however, that the said Catholic teaching is not well-received in our country, the cradle of Christianity in Asia. We witness that the majority of our people continue to suffer constant increases in the prices of petroleum products, fare, basic commodities and other daily needs. As there has been no substantial increase in their wages, the real value of their wages plunges. The gap between their minimum wages and the prices of commodities continues to grow.

We are alarmed of the following findings of recent surveys:
– In an August 2011 survey by Swiss firm UBS, it was learned that Manila has the second lowest wage levels and third lowest purchasing power in the world.
– An Ibon Foundation study shows that for the period 2001-2011, wages increased by 45 per cent while prices increased by 62 percent.
– A Social Weather Station (SWS) survey shows that hunger incidence in the country went up to 22.5 percent at the end of 2011.

Indeed, our impoverished people must be given relief; and a legislated substantial wage increase is one immediate measure which will address our workers’ misery.

We also take note of studies by independent research institutions that:
-Employers in the Philippines can afford a substantial wage hike if only they accept a cut in their considerable profits. The total cost of the proposed wage hike of P125 will only be PhP194.9 billion. When subtracted from total profits, this will still leave establishments with PhP1,434.6 billion in profits, which is only a 12% cut in their profits. In 2009, all the establishments in the country of all employment sizes had combined profits of PhP1,629.5 billion and 3.94 million employees (2009 Annual Survey of Philippine Business and Industry (ASPBI) of the National Statistics Office).
– Despite the onset of the global crisis, the combined net income of top 1,000 corporations in 2010 nearly doubled the PhP416 billion net income in 2008, which affirms their ability to absorb a significant wage hike.
– The transfer of money from rich to poor households will increase aggregate demand and stimulate the economy.

The Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, in his 2012 Lenten Message reminded us, that the Sacred Scripture warns that our hearts can become hardened by a “spiritual anaesthesia” which numbs us to the suffering of others. In his encyclical, Caritas in Veritate, he also said that we must be just first, before we can be charitable. Being charitable is giving “what is mine to the other”, while being just is giving the other what is due to him (cf. Caritas in Veritate, 6). Loving our brothers and sisters, the workers, means being just to them by upholding their rights as human persons, who are also God’s co-creator. We affirm that, indeed, it is high time for high-income households to lend a hand to low-income households who are so deprived of basic necessities.

Hence, as a fitting way to celebrate the Feast of St. Joseph the Worker and the International Workers’ Day on May 1, we urge the government legislators to heed the call for a legislated substantial wage increase; for all sectors concerned to show love and justness especially to those who are hungry and in need; for all of us to uphold the dignity of labor through the defense of workers’ rights.

As Christ lives,

BISHOP GERARDO ALMINAZA, D.D.
Auxiliary Bishop of Jaro/ Head Convenor of the Visayas Clergy Discernment Group (VCDG)

VISAYAS CLERGY DISCERNMENT GROUP
E-Mail Address: visayasclergydiscernment@yahoo.com · Tel. No. 033-3291625

All submissions are republished and redistributed in the same way that it was originally published online and sent to us. We may edit submission in a way that does not alter or change the original material.

Human Rights Online Philippines does not hold copyright over these materials. Author/s and original source/s of information are retained including the URL contained within the tagline and byline of the articles, news information, photos etc.

[In the news] Disparity between daily wage and cost of living: “heaven and earth”-MindaNews

Posted on by Leave a comment

MindaNews » Disparity between daily wage and cost of living: “heaven and earth”.

By Bong S. Sarmiento
April 30, 2012

KORONADAL CITY (MindaNews/29 April) – “Heaven and earth.”

Adelaida Segumpan, Kilusang Mayong Uno (KMU) regional spokesperson said the disparity between the daily minimum wage rate and the estimated cost of living level in the area is now “heaven and earth” and they will push for a substantial wage hike and the abolition of the regional wage board during their Labor Day indignation rally on Tuesday.

“What the workers need now is a substantial wage increase in order for us to cope with the skyrocketing prices of petroleum products, basic commodities and services,” Segumpan said.

She described the recently approved P10 to P14 daily wage increase in the region “as a meager amount meant to pacify workers’ wrath against the callousness of the Aquino administration.”

Over the weekend, some 100 militant members stormed the regional office of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) here where they staged a noise barrage in preparation for May

Ryan Lariba, spokesperson of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan, pushed for the granting of a legislated P125 across-the-board daily increase to improve the plight of workers.

Read full article @ www.mindanews.com

Human Rights Online Philippines does not hold copyright over these materials. Author/s and original source/s of information are retained including the URL contained within the tagline and byline of the articles, news information, photos etc.

Price hikes erode minimum wage increases in NCR – IBON News

Posted on by Leave a comment

Price hikes erode minimum wage increases in NCR – IBON News.

IBON NEWS
April 19, 2012

Despite seven wage hikes since 2002, the real value of the mandated NCR minimum wage has fallen by some 3.5% from that peak in February 2002 to be worth just Php246 as of December 2011.

For reference: Mr Sonny Africa (IBON executive director) 0928-5053550 | As labor groups file petitions for a substantial wage increase, a study by research group IBON reveals that increases in the mandated minimum wage has not kept pace with inflation in the last decade.

Taking inflation into account, the highest real mandated minimum wage since 1986 in the National Capital Region (NCR) was the Php255 reached in February 2002 (measured in 2000 prices).

Despite seven wage hikes since 2002, the real value of the mandated NCR minimum wage has fallen by some 3.5% from that peak in February 2002 to be worth just Php246 as of December 2011.

Read full article @ ibon.org

Human Rights Online Philippines does not hold copyright over these materials. Author/s and original source/s of information are retained including the URL contained within the tagline and byline of the articles, news information, photos etc.

[In the news] Trade Union Congress of the Philippines revives wage hike | Sun.Star

Posted on by Leave a comment

Trade Union Congress of the Philippines revives wage hike | Sun.Star.

By JM Agreda
March 24, 2012

AFTER several months of waiting for supervening conditions, the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) will be re-filing its petition for an P80 across-the-board wage increase.

TUCP regional coordinator Engineer Rey Lardizabal said the wage increase petition is needed for the labor sector to survive the surging prices of transportation and fuel, basic and prime commodities and cost of living.

Lardizabal said a wage hike is inevitable, citing previous increases in salaries have been overtaken by continuing price hikes.

In a petition by the TUCP, it said wage orders of P10 to P15 for cost of living allowance (Cola) in 2008 and the P12 additional Cola enforced last January 2011 have been overtaken by increases in prices of petroleum products, transportation and basic goods and commodities.

The group is now batting again for a P352 minimum daily wage in the region compared to the prevailing P272 minimum wage enforced in 2011.

The group also said it is time to enable workers to recover from the difficulties brought about by the global financial crisis a few years ago.

TUCP cited workers and their families, despite spectacular gains in the gross national product, production and productivity, have not been granted a single peso in real wage increase since 1989.

For them, increased wages would help sustain the economic recovery of the country as it will help bolster local demand, TUCP said.

The group also compared that from May 2008 to March 2011, the consumer price index in the region rose from 154.5 to 172.8 or the equivalent of a 12-percent increase in consumer prices or equal to a P31.20 excluding new price increases in transportation, fuel and basic commodities.

Discussing their previous petition, consumer prices brought about by unabated fuel and water and electricity rate increases according to the group are also expected to rise by as much as eight percent and more considering the increases in transportation and fuel experienced this year.

This, according to TUCP, is equivalent to an additional P20.80 increase in wages.

Read full article @ http://www.sunstar.com.ph/baguio/local-news/2012/03/24/union-revives-wage-hike-212904

[In the news] Labor group files P90 wage hike business says it’s untimely -Cebu Daily News

Posted on by Leave a comment

Labor group files P90 wage hike business says it’s untimely
Cebu Daily News
March 22, 2012

WITH a minimum fare rate of P8 approved by the government last Tuesday, a labor group filed a petition for a wage increase for Central Visayas workers yesterday afternoon.

The Associated Labor Unions-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (ALU-TUCP) in Central Visayas filed a P90 across-the-board daily wage increase before the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB 7) at 4 p.m yesterday.
They said the petition was in response to the rising fare rates and increases in the prices of basic and prime commodities caused by the global fuel price increases.

But Cebu Business Club president Gordon Alan “Dondi” Joseph said the petition was untimely and focus should be on job creation.

“You now, wage increases will not solve the problems of the economy or the increasing cost of living. The government has to focus on creating jobs, creating more employment for more Filipinos,” Joseph said.

Ferdinand Jumapao, OIC Area vice-president of ALU-TUCP Central Visayas, said the filing of the petition was planned even before the 50 centavo fare increase took effect.

Jumapao said the petition is in response to the erosion of the purchasing power of the worker’s current P305 daily minimum wage.

Read full article @ cebudailynews.wordpress.com

[In the news] Labor sector in Western Visayas asks P97/day wage hike | Sun.Star

Posted on by Leave a comment

Labor sector in Western Visayas asks P97/day wage hike | Sun.Star.

By Teresa Ellera-Dulla
January 13, 2012

 THE Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB)-Western Visayas will conduct a public consultation on January 25 to discuss the petition filed by a group of workers asking for an increase in wage.

The Trade Union of Filipino Workers asked for a P97/day increase for the private sector workers in Western Visayas and proposed the two-tiered wage system.

Relative thereto, RTWPB advised the business sector to submit their position paper before the scheduled consultation.

Frank Carbon, president of the Metro Bacolod Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said they will oppose any wage hike at this time because it is untimely.

Read full article @ www.sunstar.com.ph

[From the web] Solon seeks salary adjustment for factory and office workers

Posted on by Leave a comment

Solon seeks salary adjustment for factory and office workers
by House of Representatives of the Philippines

Workers in factories and offices could soon get higher pay and additional benefits under a bill adjusting their salaries and upgrading their working conditions.

Rep. Catalina Cabrera Bagasina (Party-list, ALE), author of House Bill 5324, said the bill seeks to increase the workers overtime pay, premium pay, holiday pay and maternity leave benefits.

The bill seeks to amend Book III of Presidential Decree 442, otherwise known as the Labor Code of the Philippines.

“It is deemed proper to adjust the remuneration of laborers and employees due to the rising prices of basic commodities and increasing rate of living standards,” Bagasina said.

Under this measure, workers in the factories and offices shall be given the option to work full time or part time.

The bill provides that a night shift differential shall be paid, from 10 to 30 percent of the regular wage for each hour worked between eight o’clock in the evening and six o’clock in the morning.

Overtime work beyond eight hours a day shall be paid equivalent to their regular wage plus an additional 30 percent of his or her regular wage.

Read full article @ www.facebook.com

Related articles

[In the news] Central Luzon workers to get P14 hike in living allowances- INQUIRER.net

Posted on by 2 comments

Central Luzon workers to get P14 hike in living allowances.

By Philip C. Tubeza
Philippine Daily Inquirer

MANILA, Philippines—Workers in Central Luzon have been given a P14-increase in their daily cost-of-living allowance (COLA), acting Labor Secretary Danilo Cruz said on Monday in Manila.

Cruz said the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB) approved Wage Order No. RB III-16 in granting the COLA increase to all minimum-wage workers in the private sector.

The board “deemed it necessary to provide workers immediate relief from the rising costs of living, taking into account the interests of both labor and management, as well as the continued sustainability of business and industry,” he said.

Workers of non-agricultural establishments with total assets of at least P30 million in Bataan, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Tarlac and Zambales would receive P330 per day, Cruz said in a statement.

“Workers in the establishments with a total assets of less than P30 million shall receive P322.50 per day,” he added.

For agriculture workers in the region, except in Aurora, the minimum wage rates would be P300 for plantation workers and P284 for non-plantation workers.

For workers in retail/service establishments with 16 or more workers, the new minimum wage rates will be P319 while those with less than 16 workers will receive P305 per day. Cottage or handicraft workers would receive P284 per day, Cruz said.

In Aurora, minimum wage earners in the non-agricultural sector shall receive a new daily rate of P279, while those in the agricultural sector will receive P264 for plantation workers and P244 for non-plantation workers.

Cruz said retail/service establishments in Aurora with no more than 10 workers would receive P201 per day, while cottage or handicraft workers would receive P252 per day.

Prior to its issuance of the new wage order, RTWPB III declared the existence of a supervening condition on May 9, 2011 because of extraordinary increases in prices of petroleum products, transport fees, and basic goods and services, Cruz said.

“The Regional Board exercised its wage fixing function even if the previous wage order, which was issued on November 22, 2010 has not yet expired,” he added.

Cruz said that the COLA granted under Wage Order No. RB III-16 would be included in the computation of private sector workers’ five days service incentive leave, vacation leave, sick leave, paternity and maternity leaves, and leaves under Republic Act 9262, or the Victims of Violance against Women and their Children Act.

He added that the COLA would also be computed in the payment for 12 national holidays and three special holidays. It is also included in the determination of the premium payments for Social Security System (SSS), Pag-Ibig housing, separation, and retirement pays.

Related articles

[Press Release] P22 COLA insufficient, insulting to workers – CTUHR

Posted on by Leave a comment

The Center for Trade Union and Human Rights criticized the P22 cost of living allowance approved by the Regional Tripartite Wage and Productivity Board (RTWPB), saying that such amount and form of non-wage benefit is both insufficient and insulting to workers.

“Twenty-two pesos a day is not even enough to buy a kilo of NFA rice. It is obviously insufficient to provide relief to workers amid spiraling prices of basic commodities and oil products,” Daisy Arago executive director of CTUHR said.

Ibon Foundation reported earlier this month that inflation since July 2010 has averaged at 3.7 percent, rising to 4.5 percent in April 2011. The real value of P404 minimum wage was therefore eroded to a mere P234.90 when compared to 2000 prices.

Arago noted that the approved P22 COLA would probably increase wages to P426 but it must be noted that employers at times are harder to comply with non-wage benefits.

“Thus, giving this measly amount in the form of a non-wage benefit is all the more insulting. The workers have long demanded for significant wage hikes that cover increases in night differential and overtime pay. This P22 COLA is not even a bit of that,” Arago says. “If any, it only proves that the Aquino government is insensitive to the needs of the ailing population and listens only to the business sector.”

Arago noted that with this development, the clamor for a nationally-legislated wage hike becomes even more legitimate and imperative.

“The regional wage boards have made it very difficult to approve major wage hikes for all the workers to benefit. It has only added misery to workers’ lives,  especially for those in other regions where minimum wages are much lower. Only a nationally-legislated wage hike workers across the country will ensure benefit for all workers regardless of their region and industry. Currently, the House of Representatives are deliberating at the committee level on the proposed bill of Anakpawis Partylist to legislate a P125 nationwide wage hike and it appears that some senators are also interested in forming a similar senate bill.  The people should not stop until this piece of legislation is finally passed,” Arago added.
11 May 2011
for reference: Daisy Arago, Executive Director, Center for Trade Union and Human Rights, +63910.380.1897

[In the news]BT: Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino, nagprotesta sa tanggapan ng DOLE laban sa dagdag na P22 sa E-COLA – Video – GMA News Online – The go-to site for Filipinos everywhere – Latest Philippine News

Posted on by Leave a comment

BT: Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino, nagprotesta sa tanggapan ng DOLE laban sa dagdag na P22 sa E-COLA – Video – GMA News Online – The go-to site for Filipinos everywhere – Latest Philippine News.

See news video @ GMAnews.tv

[In the news] More groups junk P13 wage hike offer | Sun.Star

Posted on by 2 comments

More groups junk P13 wage hike offer | Sun.Star.

Leody De Guzman, file photo source: flickr.com

MANILA — Militant labor groups on Friday assailed what they saw as connivance of the government and the business sector against a “fair” wage increase.

“They harp the same old classic blackmail against wage increase; that it is inflationary, that it will cause retrenchments, and that it will spell apocalypse,” Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino (BMP) president Leody de Guzman said.

Post your prayers and condolences for Cebu Vice Governor Greg Sanchez’s family.

De Guzman’s was reacting to Bangko Sentral Governor Amado Tetangco’s warning that an increase higher than P25 is inflationary and will affect the country’s economic performance in the long term.

Compounding the labor group’s ire was Employers Confederation of the Philippines (Ecop) president Edgardo Lacson’s assertion last Wednesday that they could only afford an additional P13.35 for workers’ salaries.

Read full article @ Sunstar.com.ph

[In the news] Labor groups insist on wage hike demands | ABS-CBN News | Latest Philippine Headlines, Breaking News, Video, Analysis, Features

Posted on by One comment

Labor groups insist on wage hike demands | ABS-CBN News | Latest Philippine Headlines, Breaking News, Video, Analysis, Features.

MANILA, Philippines – Worker demonstrations are picking up as the wage board in Metro Manila reviews their petitions for a minimum wage increase.

One group, the militant Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan), stormed the office of the Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP) along Gil Puyat Avenue in Makati City on Wednesday, demanding for as much as P125 salary hike.

Bayan said this would help consumers cope with rising prices of fuel and other basic goods, as well as transportation costs and utilities.

Read full article @ ABS-CBNnews.com (link above)

Related Articles

[Press Release] PM calls on wage board to grant wage petition as cost of living already above P1,000/day

Posted on by 2 comments
May 1 PM by Jillian Roque

May 1 2011. Photo by Jillian Roque

The Partido ng Manggagawa (PM) called on the Metro Manila regional wage board to grant the P75 wage hike petition as it convened for its first public hearing today. “We ask the wage board to break expectations and approve the P75 petition since our study reveals that the cost of living for a family of six in Metro Manila as of March this year is already P1,010 a day,” asserted Renato Magtubo, PM national chair.

Magtubo meanwhile criticized President Benigno Aquino III for Labor Day announcement yesterday. “Private sector workers got nada from PNoy. PNoy did not really break bread with labor but he broke tradition by giving nothing to workers, not even a consuelo de bobo of non-wage benefits,” he stated.

“Even if NCR wage board approves the P75 petition, it will not be enough to bridge the huge gap between the minimum wage and the cost of living. The disparity between the P404 minimum wage and the cost of living is P606 or 150% of the ordinary wage. Even if two members work—which is the buy one, take one policy of the government—then their combined income will not be enough to feed the entire family,” stated Magtubo.

PM arrived at its cost of living figure using its April 2010 survey of the daily cost of living and the National Statistics Office’s 2.6% estimate of the inflation rate from April 2010 to March 2011. “Our estimate is already an understatement since the rise in prices has been accelerating since March,” Magtubo clarified.

Beyond the immediate wage hike issue, the group is however pushing for an overhaul of the wage fixing system in the country. PM is advocating for the establishment of a National Wage Commission to replace the regional wage boards.

“The National Wage Commission will be different from the wage boards in that its mandate is to fix wages based on the single criterion of cost of living. And despite the huge difference between the minimum wage and the cost of living, the National Wage Commission can bridge the gap by a host of mechanisms among which are direct wage increases, tax exemptions, price discounts and social security subsidies for workers,” Magtubo explained.

He added that “This is a reform that is addressed to Congress. The regional wage system is a 22-year old structure that badly needs fixing. It has disadvantaged workers and fostered cheap labor in the country.”

Press Release
May 2, 2011
Partido ng Manggagawa
Contact Renato Magtubo @ 09178532905

Related Articles

[From the web] Militant workers demand P125 wage hike on Labor Day – ph.news.yahoo.com

Posted on by 2 comments

By Marjorie Gorospe
Source: http://ph.news.yahoo.com/

Members of militant group Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) held a rally in Mendiola Bridge urging the Aquino administration to approve a P125 wage hike on Labor Day. Article & photo by http://loqal.ph/

MANILA CITY, METRO MANILA—  Militant group Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) held a rally in Mendiola on Thursday calling on a P125 minimum wage hike on Labor Day (May 1).

“For the longest time, past administrations of the country gave nothing but alms to our workers and right now, all we’re asking is the P125 wage increase,” said   KMU-National Capital Region chairperson Roy Velez.

“This increase will only be the good news we can consider, or they should just forget it,” said Velez, referring to an announcement by Malacañang that there will be “good news” for workers this Labor Day.

Read full article @ http://ph.news.yahoo.com/

[Press release] Labor party wonders why living wage figures remained at 2008 level – PM

Posted on by 3 comments

File photo source: PM

While prices of basic goods and services keep on rising, the government’s calculation of Family Living Wage (FLW) remained at 2008 level, provoking curiosity from the labor group Partido ng Manggagawa (PM).

According to the group, the National Wages and Productivity Commission (NWPC) website contains all the necessary information on wages, except on FLW estimates which has never been updated since September 2008. The link to the site has been “under construction” since then.

“Was it arbitrary on the part of the government to put an embargo to this very important information?  If it cannot even update its figures how much more in complying with the Constitutional mandate of providing labor the right to a family living wage?,” lamented PM chair Renate Magtubo.

Living wage is defined as the amount of family income needed to provide for the family’s food and non-food expenditures, including a 10% proportion of “other components” to allow for savings.

The NWPC’s September 2008 figures put the FLW estimates in the National Capital Region (NCR) at P917 a day to as high as P1, 322 in the ARMM region. PM’s own estimate put it at P1, 000 in 2009.

Magtubo said the NWPC may have opted to “reconstruct the truth” to hide or mask the ever widening gap between real wage and the living wage.  NWPC calculated the real wage value of the P404 minimum wage in NCR at PhP239.76.  It cannot be compared to the current FLW since new numbers are missing.

“For this evidently clear act of omission labor has the right to call for NWPC’s abolition together with the equally hopeless regional wage boards,” argued Magtubo.

A regular and timely estimate of FLW is important since it shows the movement of a family’s current cost of living relative to its income thus must be principally considered in making wage adjustments.

In fact first on the list of the 10 criteria for the current minimum wage fixing is the workers’ demand for living wage which includes not only the right to recover the lost value of their wages but also improvement on their living standard.

“The truth is there is clearly a mismatch between the actual needs of workers and their level of income because the present system puts more weight on capitalist’s ‘capacity to pay’ rather than on labor’s ‘capacity to buy’,” explained Magtubo.

Magtubo said the country’s wage levels remain at “starvation level” since the PhP125 and PhP75 demand, even if granted, can only cover about half of a worker’s actual needs.

Aside from pressing for a wage increase, PM has also been proposing for the replacement of the current wage fixing mechanism by a new system that would institutionalize living wage as the principal criterion for determining the basic minimum wage.  It wants a new National Wage Commission mandated with this new framework take the place of the regional wage boards.

PRESS RELEASE
Partido ng Manggagawa
15 April 2011
Contact:  Renato Magtubo
@ 09178532905

Related Articles
« Older Entries