Battle for wage hike still on, workers to push for legislation of P125 and abolition of wage boards

The militant labor center Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) today trooped to the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) in Manila to condemn the agency for its rabid refusal to grant legislated wage increase for workers.

The protesters carried "Meal or No Meal" placards to underscore the labor sector and the government's contrasting standpoint on the legislated wage hike demand.

"DoLE's stance against wage hikes is practically the same as asking workers and their families to forego daily three square meals for the sake of business interests. In case Secretary Brion still doesn't know, the staple food of most poor wage earners consists of instant noodles and rice. Current wage levels are from enough to provide for daily needs of wage earners. Based on the Family Income Expenditure Survey (FIES), Filipino families are spending less on food. In 2003,
the share of food expenditure to total expenditure was 42.8 percent. The upward trend of prices causes the rising nationwide incidence of hunger," said KMU Executive Vice President Lito Ustarez.

"We want the wage boards abolished and not going about its function of satisfying employers. We will not settle for a win-win solution on the wage hike issue. Only a legislated, across-the-board wage increase is acceptable to us. This is a matter of subsistence for workers and their families. We hope this will be settled before lawmakers fully engage in electoral matters," the labor leader said.

"Wage boards, in their very essence and function, were formed to undermine the workers' fight for a national minimum wage. Though tripartite in structure, regional wage boards are always inclined to give out wage adjustments that will satisfy employers but are way below the needs and demands of workers. On the average, wage boards only give out P7-14 wage adjustments, mostly in the form of Emergency Cost of Living Allowances (ECoLA). The highest adjustment under the Arroyo administration was the P25 pay hike approved for NCR-based workers last 2005," Ustarez explained.

The group said that Brion's rejection of the legislated wage increase is the same as depriving workers of their right to live decently.

DoLE is supporting the stance of business groups that wage adjustments should be handled by the regional tripartite wage boards and a legislated wage hike will cause damage to the economy. "It seems Sec. Brion never had an ill-fated experience of going hungry that's why he cannot feel any sympathy towards workers," Ustarez concluded.