MRT fare hike will only eat up latest Metro wage hike – KMU

The impending fare hike in the Metro Rail Transit system will definitely eat up the “insultingly meager” P22 wage hike approved by the NCR wage board last June, labor center Kilusang Mayo Uno said today, as workers comprise majority of the MRT’s regular passengers.

After Department of Transportation and Communications Undersecretary Dante Velasco announced last July that the actual cost of transporting each MRT passenger is P60, he said early this month that the increase will only be “minimal,” which would be upto P10. 

“After by approving an insultingly meager P22 wage increase for NCR workers, the Aquino government, through this fare hike, will take away what rightfully belongs to people who work hard for the money,” said Roger Soluta, KMU secretary-general. 

“The proposed MRT fare hike will amount to at least a P20-increase in workers’ daily fare. That means out of the P22 wage increase, what else will remain in our pockets? And that’s assuming that all companies are complying with the latest wage order,” he added. 

The Department of Labor and Employment itself admits that 52% of firms in the country are paying their workers with wages that are below the approved minimum level. It also says that there are about 4.2 million workers in Metro Manila, 2.18 million of which are minimum wage earners.

“The speed with which the measly wage increase stands to be eaten up by this impending fare hike tells us one thing: we workers really need a substantial wage hike,” Soluta said. 

KMU is pushing for the passage of House Bill 375, filed by Anakpawis Partylist Rep. Rafael “Ka Paeng” Mariano, which seeks to legislate a P125 across-the-board wage increase nationwide. 

“That is why we will continue to oppose the proposed MRT and LRT fare hikes, as we fight for a legislated substantial wage increase nationwide. We simply cannot sit back, relax and enjoy a meager wage increase, especially as its value is being eroded fast,” Soluta concluded. #