WHILE President Marcos Jr. and the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) are pushing for a review of minimum wage rates in all regions, the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) yesterday stressed that workers prefer that the proposed P150 legislated wage hike be passed into law.
In a statement, the TUCP said workers would rather have a nationwide increase in salaries than settle for the “defective” regional minimum wage system.
“Instead of the empty assurances of wage hikes that will actually only perpetuate ‘barya-baryang minimum’, Congress should stop dragging its foot and walk the talk,” said TUCP.
“Give workers the long-overdue and much-deserved P150 legislated wage hike,” it added.
The labor group said relying on the regional wage boards’ actions will only result in the continuation of getting meager salary adjustments.
“Workers will get another (round of) token increases from the regional wage boards,” said TUCP.
Proof of this, it said, is the fact that the minimum wage rose from P89 in 1989 to P610 in 2024, for an average of P15 pay increase per year.
“This exposes the chronic defects of the current regional minimum wage system, thus resulting to poverty wages,” said TUCP.
Last Labor Day, the President ordered all Regional Tripartite Wage and Productivity Boards (RTWPBs) to review minimum wage rates in all regions.
This was echoed by Labor Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma, who guaranteed the directives issued by Marcos to the regional wage boards wouldn’t give false hopes to the labor sector.
PAY ADJUSTMENTS
The government is set to complete its comprehensive study on the potential salary adjustment for government workers within the first half of 2024, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) said.
In a statement, the DBM said the initiative, conducted together with the Governance Commission for GOCCs (GCG), aims to ensure a competitive and equitable compensation package that aligns with the government’s commitment to a resilient and future-ready civil service.
Specifically, the government engaged the services of a consultancy firm this year to conduct a Compensation and Benefits Study in the Public Sector.
“We recognize that the rising cost of basic commodities and services in the country highlights the need to review the current state of compensation of government employees.
The proposed compensation adjustment should consider not only the inflation rates and cost of living adjustments, but also standard market practices to ensure that working in government remains desirable and comparable to working in the private sector,” Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman said.
“Further, the additional costs must be within the government’s financial capacity to ensure its long-term viability, which shall be maintained at a realistic level in proportion to the overall expenditure of government,” she added.
In a separate statement, the DBM said it has approved the release of an additional Notice of Cash Allocation amounting to P8.005 billion to cover cash requirements of the Department of Health for the implementation of its key health programs.
The amount will be utilized for the provision of Medical Assistance to Indigent and incapacitated patients (MAIP) with an allocation of P2.439 billion, and for the Public Health Emergency Benefits and Allowances (PHEBA) for Healthcare and Non-Healthcare workers with an allocation of P5.566 billion. — With Angela Celis
