The amount can’t buy even a kilo of rice or cover the increase in transportation fare. The Center for Trade Union and Human Rights (CTUHR), decries the Ferdinand Marcos Jr government-approved P35 wage increase for private-sector workers in the National Capital Region. The wage hike is completely inconsiderate towards workers and their families who are already suffering from the high prices of goods and services.

The wage hike, which was approved by the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB) and sets the tone for wage increases in various regions of the country this year, does not make up for the increases in the prices of basic commodities, as even petroleum products have become more expensive.

The country’s 1987 Constitution states that workers have the right to receive a living wage. While the International Labour Organization does not define the living wage, workers’ needs are very clear – food, electricity, water, among others. The government has discontinued its computations of a living wage, but its methodology was taken up by independent think-tank Ibon Foundation, which states that the family living wage (FLW) as of May 2024 is P1,197 for a family of five.

Using Ibon’s computations, the resulting NCR minimum wage of P645 is only 53.9% of the FLW, and amounts to around P15,157 a month, still lower than the P15,587 poverty line for a family of five.

Ibon research also shows that the minimum wage in Metro Manila has, in real terms, remained the same since 1989, when the Wage Rationalization Law was approved. In contrast, the minimum wage in regions outside Metro Manila have shrunk in value during the same period.

The P35 minimum wage hike in Metro Manila does little to advance workers’ right to a living wage. It does not even meet the government’s claim that wage hikes should recoup the value of the minimum wage that has been eaten up by inflation. In 2000-2023, for example, labor productivity increased by 62% while wages increased by a mere 9%.  A significant wage hike will only amount to a small reduction in employers’ profits – around 4%, according to Ibon.

The P35 Metro Manila minimum wage hike yet again shows that the country’s regional wage boards can only approve meager wage hikes and cannot increase wages significantly. CTUHR will continue to support workers’ groups’ call for the country’s legislature to approve a significant wage hike.###