Less than a month before President Rodrigo Duterte’s term ends, labor group Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) challenged him to immediately pass the proposed P750 national minimum wage, adding that this would help Filipinos deal with the soaring prices of basic commodities and services in the country.
“Kailangan nating ipagpatuloy na ipaglaban ang P750 national minimum wage. Hinahamon natin ang Duterte regime, may natitira ka pang at least one month, pagkakataon ito para i-convene ang Congress at pagusapan ang kagyat na pagpapasa ng pambansang minimum na sahod sa halagang P750 (We must continue to fight for the P750 national minimum wage. We are challenging the Duterte regime, you have at least one month left, this is an opportunity to convene the Congress and discuss the immediate passage of the P750 national minimum wage),” said KMU Secretary General Jerome Adonis in a press statement on Thursday, June 2.
Meanwhile, regional labor leaders likewise slammed the recent wage increase ranging from P20 to P110, reiterating that in the National Capital Region (NCR) alone, the price of commodities rose even higher than the apparent wage increase at P33.
KMU Southern Mindanao Region Secretary General PJ Dizon, for an instance, disclosed that they have yet to receive “any wage increase” from the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB) since 2018.
The labor group, on the other hand, claimed that amid the “skyrocketing prices” of petroleum and basic goods, as well as the “anti-poor” proposal to increase taxes and remove tax exemptions, the P750 minimum wage is “necessary.”
“Sa tingin namin at ng lahat ng manggagawa sa buong bansa, ito ay nararapat at makatuwiran (We, together with all the workers across the country, think this is appropriate and reasonable),” Adonis furthered.