MANILA -- The Associated Labor Unions-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (ALU-TUCP) called on all Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Boards nationwide to immediately convene for the purpose of setting emergency wage increases so workers can cope with the surge in inflation.
In a statement Thursday, ALU-TUCP national executive vice president Gerard Seno urged all 17 regional wage boards to voluntarily meet and "declare the existence of supervening conditions" which will pave the way for the granting of across-the-board wage increases.
ALU-TUCP, touted as the country's largest labor organization, said that it is "alarmed over the heightened increases in the prices of goods and commodities in recent days."
Due to rising inflation, the purchasing power of the PHP512 minimum pay in Metro Manila, which is the highest minimum wage set anywhere in the country, has eroded by PHP186/day, Seno explained.
This means that the actual value of the minimum wage in the NCR today is only equivalent to PHP326/day when compared to the peso's pre-inflation surge purchasing power, Seno said citing reports from the Bangko Sentral and National Wages and Productivity Commission.
The labor group said that the Filipino family consisting of five members today needs a daily budget of PHP1,200 just to get by.
Seno also appealed to President Rodrigo Duterte to extend a PHP500 monthly subsidy to the estimated 4 million minimum wage earners to augment their budget for purchasing grocery items. (PR)
