ILOILO CITY — The United Labor-Western Visayas, an alliance of labor groups, is pushing for a P150 increase in the daily minimum salary of workers in private establishments.
The alliance submitted a petition to the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board in Region 6 (RTWPB-6), which is currently holding public hearings on the proposed wage adjustments.
The minimum wage for private workers in the region currently stands at P480, following a P30 increase in November last year.
"The P480 daily minimum wage in Region 6 can no longer meet the basic needs of workers and their families. The cost of basic commodities and services have significantly increased since the issuance of the aforementioned wage order, not to mention the recent increases in fuel price," the petition read.
The proposed P150 increase of the alliance will make the daily take home pay to 630, which they argued as a justifiable amount given the persistent inflation and increasing cost of living.
The petition pointed out that the regional inflation rate surged to 4.8 percent in August 2024, reducing the real value of the nominal wage to just P368.
The alliance also argued that the poverty threshold in Western Visayas is set at P13,800 per month for a family of five. However, a minimum wage worker earning P480 per day only makes P10,560 per month.
"This is clearly a starvation wage," the alliance said.
"The immediate increase of the minimum daily wage to P630 is only just, proper, and reasonable considering that the same is merely 52 percent of the minimum daily family living wage needed."
Economic think tank Ibon Foundation reported that as of September 2024, the family living wage for a family of five in Western Visayas is at P1,024.
In contrast to the current P480 minimum salary, the think tank said there is a 53.1 percent gap to the daily nominal minimum wage of workers in the private sector in the region.
Not below P30
The RTWPB-6 chair Sixto Rodriguez Jr. said they are considering a salary increase not lower than P30, citing the wage hikes implemented by other regions.
"We have to determine what is reasonable but should not be lower than what has been given by the other regions. As presented by the data, the base is really P30," he told The Manila Times.
RTWPB-6 conducted a public hearing on the proposed minimum wage adjustments among stakeholders in Panay Island on October 10.
During the hearing, labor groups pushed for a P150 increase, while employers favored a minimal increase to avoid significant business impacts.
"The position of the labor group is P150 but some groups wanted to settle for a lower wage increase. For the employers, nobody opposes it but it should be minimal," he said.
Rodriguez said that other regions had issued wage orders with significant increases, which they are considering also as a standpoint of the range in the salary hike that will be implemented.
"Region 3 issued their wage order amounting to P50 to something else. Region 7 also had a considerably high increase so more or less, our increase will not be that far from Region 7," he said.
In Region 7 or Central Visayas, the non-agriculture sector saw an increase of P33, bringing the daily minimum wage to P435. Similar adjustments have been made for the agriculture and retail/service sectors, now set at P425.
In Region 3 or Central Luzon, the non-agriculture sector saw a wage hike of P50 to P66, raising the daily minimum wage to P550. The agriculture sector and retail/service establishments now have minimum wages of P520 and P540, respectively.
Employers from the micro, small and medium enterprises also verbally manifested favoring an increase comparable to that of Central Visayas.
"We will look at a wage increase that will not significantly affect the businesses of our employers but we will also take into consideration the demand of the employee groups," Rodriguez added.
Another public hearing will be held in Bacolod City next week.
The final wage order is expected to be announced before the year ends or after November 16, Rodriguez said.