Frustration rises as Northern Mindanao’s P438-daily wage becomes a cruel joke

CAGAYAN DE ORO, Philippines – In Northern Mindanao, where the daily struggle for survival becomes increasingly arduous, minimum wage earners are confronted with the glaring inadequacy of the minimum P438-daily wage. The relentless rise in prices has rendered this amount woefully insufficient.

Cita Hadman, a labor leader, shared this bleak reality with Rappler on Friday, August 9, noting that the meager sum is in sharp contrast to the P1,231 required for a modest family living, citing data from the research group IBON Foundation as of July. For many of the region’s workers, the term “minimum” is a cruel joke.

She said many workers and their families have been complaining that they could barely afford basic necessities, especially those earning less than P438 in other parts of the region and those in the agriculture sector, as specified in Wage Order No. RX-22 issued by the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB) in Northern Mindanao in December 2023.

Hadman, who serves as regional coordinator for the labor group Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU), called on lawmakers and the administration of Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to support the labor groups’ appeal for a proposed P150 across-the-board wage increase for all workers in the private sector.

She expressed frustration that Marcos did not mention anything about the proposed legislated wage increase during his last State of the Nation Address. 

“That’s why our struggle continues to achieve the appropriate family living wage,” Hadman told Rappler.

Another labor group, the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP), said the problem lies with the RTWPBs, which have been deciding on insufficient wage increases to address salary concerns for private sector workers.

Paul Gajes, TUCP legislative officer, cited the P35 wage increase approved in the National Capital Region (NCR) in June. He said the NCR wage increase would have a “lighthouse” effect in other regions, often serving as a reference for other regional wage boards to set their increases, which are “almost always” lower than those in Metro Manila.

“In the history of regional wage setting, that’s the trend,” Gajes said in an earlier interview.

The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported on Monday, August 7, that the number of employed Filipinos increased to 96.9%, or 50.28 million, in June, up from 95.5% in June 2023 and 95.9% last May.

However, IBON Foundation pointed out that 89% of the net increase in employment, or 1.3 million Filipinos, were in sectors paying below the national average daily basic pay.

The TUCP is focusing on the passage of House Bill No. 7871, a measure that seeks to provide a P150 across-the-board wage hike for all workers in the private sector, which is still pending at the committee level, said Luis Corral, the union’s vice president for national and international affairs, during a roundtable discussion in Mandaue City, Cebu. on June 30.

The Senate version, which seeks a P100-wage increase for minimum wage earners, has already passed its third and final reading in February. However, the TUCP said it was pushing for a proposed wage increase to extend beyond minimum wage earners.

Earlier, Ruben Vegafria, regional governor of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Northern Mindanao, said wage increases should not be legislated due to regional differences in living costs.

He also warned that many workers might lose their jobs if businesses were to close.

Corral, however, asserted that a legislated wage increase would not lead to inflation, job losses, or discouragement of investors, similar to the situation following the last legislated wage hike in 1989.

He cited IBON Foundation Executive Director Sonny Africa’s assertion that a across-the-board wage increase of P150 represents only an average of 10% of companies’ profit margins.

Corral’s group said a P150 across-the-board legislated wage increase would enable workers to provide their families healthy food, addressing malnutrition and stunted growth in children, and ultimately create a stronger workforce capable of competing internationally. – Rappler.com