Wage boards have again exercised ‘wage freeze mandate’ via negligible increases in Minadanao regions

“The regional wage boards, to which President Aquino has entrusted all decisions regarding wage amounts, have again demonstrated what their true mandate is: to maintain wages at very low levels, and not really to review and decide upon needed wage increases.”

This was the statement of KMU executive vice president Lito Ustarez amid the granting of very scanty, insulting wage increases in four Mindanao regions today.

Region 10, will have a 13-peso increase; region 11, P21; Caraga, P10 and COLA integration to basic pay of P10; and ARMM, P12.

KMU noted that according to most recent data available from the National Wages and Productivity Commission, in year 2008 minimum wage levels, the Commission already admitted and reported gross disparity between nominal wage amounts versus the cost of living.

Minimum wage in Region 10 was P466 lower compared to their cost of living in 2008, P468 in region 11, P986 in ARMM, and no data by NWPC for CARAGA.

“What could the recent wage adjustments granted by the Mindanao wage boards do to ease the sufferring of Filipinos there?” Ustarez asked.

“PNoy lost in the those regions during the elections, so even if for the sake of catching up ‘pogi points’, he cannot have the pretension of questioning the move of those wage boards?

“We vow to push the nation-wide legislated P125 wage hike amid these recent efforts to kill our fight for a legitimate and urgent demand,” Ustarez said. #