The Associated Labor Unions-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines is planning to revise its P320 wage hike petition to reflect the 6.2-percent third-quarter inflation rate in their bid for a substantial wage increase for workers in Metro Manila in a scheduled wage hike consultation on Monday, Oct. 22.
ALU-TUCP spokesman Alan Tanjusay said the P320 wage hike petition they filed in June this year only reflected the prevailing conditions of the first-quarter inflation rate of 5.2 percent.
However, due to higher inflation in succeeding quarters, the real value or purchasing power of the daily wage fell to P340 a day, Tanjusay added.
“Prices of food and costs of services continued to rise since June. So we are crunching the numbers to faithfully reflect the needs of workers and their families to cope with current 6.2 percent inflation rate,” he said.
“We might amend our first wage hike petition so that the Wage Board would have a real-time appreciation of realities surrounding the challenges facing workers,” Tanjusay said.
The Regional Tripartite Productivity and Wages Board-National Capital Region is set to meet at 9 am tomorrow in the first of three sectoral consultations and public hearings to determine the wage increase for workers in the region.
Metro Manila workers are currently receiving a minimum wage of P512 a day.