ALTHOUGH he is a member of the majority, Sen. Raffy Tulfo has lately been acting as an all-around opposition man in the Senate. He puts his finger in every pie, so to speak, taking up diversified issues and in each one, always seeing and using opportunities to be noticed, to grandstand, with social and traditional media by his side.
This time, Senator Tulfo is seeking a review of the policies on the minimum wage hikes, noting that the last increase would not be able to sustain the living conditions of workers. Various labor organizations are calling for a new round of wage hikes and their petitions are now being studied by the regional wage boards.
‘We see a vigorous tug-of-war between organized labor and the employers/businesses when Estrada’s committee hears the issue.’
This is probably one issue that Tulfo will endear himself with the masses, if he handles this well. We all know that inflation rate has gone up to a record 8.7 percent last month — the highest in 14 years — and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas has not tempered its aggressiveness in increasing interest rates every quarter to fight inflation, which to this day many have not felt any dent. The latest increase in workers’ pay only ranged between P30 and P110, and this was implemented last June yet.
Senator Tulfo lamented that skyrocketing inflation has “significantly impacted the cost of living, making it difficult for workers to make ends meet on their current wages.” He chose to make his observations official by filing Senate Resolution No. 476 last week, asking the chamber to review minimum wage increases for legislation purposes.
The resolution stressed that “the current minimum wage increase will not be able to sustain the living conditions of workers, and many workers are facing significant financial difficulties as a result and the issuance of an emergency wage order may be necessary to address these challenges.”
“It is imperative to improve the standard of living and quality of life for workers, particularly those in the lower income bracket, and to ensure that the policies on the minimum wage increase are fair, effective, and consistent with the needs of the workers and the economy,” Tulfo said.
The resolution has been submitted to the Senate committee on labor headed by Sen. Jinggoy Estrada and it is now Estrada’s responsibility to conduct an inquiry and review of the said policies on minimum wage hikes.
We see a vigorous tug-of-war between organized labor and the employers/businesses when Estrada’s committee hears the issue. The left-leaning Partido Manggagawa (PM) called for the abolition of the regional wage boards that set varying minimum wages in different parts of the country. The group wants a new national wage commission to adjust wages on the basis of price increases and productivity growth.
PM chair Rene Magtubo said, “Even before the recent inflation, wages have stagnated amidst a decade-and-a-half of 50 percent rise in labor productivity. This means that employers have monopolized economic growth and workers have been left behind.”
To this, the business sector is expected to reply that tweaking the minimum wage mechanism and giving workers some more will be bad for the economy for many businesses will face closure and more jobs will be lost.
Still and all, the Estrada committee has to do its job and hear the issue.
