Alyansa sa mga Mamumuo sa Sugbo - Kilusang Mayo Uno (AMA Subgo - KMU), a labor group from Cebu, slammed the P31 wage increase in Central Visayas, calling it an “insult to workers.”
The statement came after the Central Visayas Wage Board approved a P31 increase in the basic pay for the region. This is relatively lesser than the wage increase in Western Visayas, set at P55 and P110.
“Does our wage board mean to say that basic goods are cheaper here in Cebu than in Western Visayas? This is a huge insult to the workers who know the real prices and the expensiveness of consumer goods here in the region, so much so that the minimum wage is not enough,” said AMA Subgo - KMU in a press statement issued on Wednesday, May 25.
To date, the minimum wage in Central Visayas is at P435.
Meanwhile, the group reiterated that the implementation of the P750 national minimum wage may help workers “live with dignity,” especially amid the soaring prices of basic goods and services in the country.
“The longstanding call for the P750 national minimum wage should have been the call that the authorities listened to, and not the interests of big businesses,” it furthered.