Senatorial candidate and Leyte Rep. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez on Thursday batted for a decent wage for all Filipino workers to allow them to cope with rising prices and feed their families.
Romualdez made the statement following the filing of a petition by the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines seeking a P154 across-the-board increase in their daily take-home pay.
“The government claims that the economy has been doing very well in the past six years. But why is it that it has been denying workers a fair wage commensurate to what they contribute to the growth of the economy?” Romualdez asked.
Last year, workers filed a formal petition seeking a P136 across-the-board increase in the daily wage of workers in Metro Manila, but the Regional Tripartite Wage and Productivity Board in the region only granted a P15 wage hike for minimum wage earners.
“I know that government must strike a balance between the demand of workers for a wage hike and the need for business enterprises to maintain their viability for the long term,” Romualdez said.
“But we should also give our workers the means to survive from day-to-day. Last year’s P15 minimum wage increase is good only for buying a half-kilo of the cheapest NFA rice,” he added.
Government, Romualdez said, should show malasakit or compassion for our workers who keep the economy going at full throttle but find it increasingly difficult to cope with the rising cost of living especially in Metro Manila.
Workers are saying that the current wage level in Metro Manila fell by 24 percent since January as a result of the rising cost of living in the region, so based on their computation, every worker needs an increase of P154 in their daily pay.
Romualdez is seeking a set in the Senate to pursue his advocacy of “compassionate governance” with focus on jobs, health, education, disaster resilience and peace and order.
