Ni MJ SULLIVAN
Inihain ng Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) ang petisyon sa Regional Wages and Productivity Board – VII (RTWPB-VII) para sa dagdag na P430 daily minimum wage sa Central Visayas.
Nakasaad sa petisyon ng TUCP na ang minimum wage earners at kanilang mga pamilya sa Cebu, Bohol, Siquijor at sa iba pang malalayong lugar ay halos nahihirapan na sa kanilang pamumuhay dahil sa kakarampot na kita sa trabaho.
Sinasabing simula 2018 tumaas nang husto ang presyo ng mga pangunahing bilihin at bumagsak ang purchasing power ng kasalukuyang minimum na arawang sahod na ₱404.00.
Sa taong ito, inaasahan ng Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas na tatama sa 5.1 porsiyento ang inflation dahil sa patuloy na pagtaas ng presyo ng produktong petrolyo bunsod na rin ng pagsalakay ng Russia sa Ukraine at nadulot ng economic at digital war.
“With the current high prices of food and other essential items, the measly income of workers can only accord them and their families with nutritionally deficient survival meals. We are deeply concerned that with the looming price hikes in the basic commodities, including electricity and transport fares, our workers and their families could really go hungry this time and that is unacceptable to us. We are filing our wage petition today to help our workers and their families in Cebu and in the entire of region VII to at least survive,” sabi ni TUCP president Raymond Democrito Mendoza.
Ayon pa sa TUCP, ang ₱18-peso increase sa daily minimum wage na ibinigay ng RTWPBVII noong Enero 2020 ay matagal nang nabalewala dahil sa mataas na halaga ng pangunahing bilihin.
“Today, we are waging war against malnutrition and imminent hunger of our workers and their families in Central Visayas. We are fighting for a minimum wage that at least will save them from starvation. We are not even asking for wage adjustment that will also cover the increasing costs of non-food items which are also necessary to the daily lives of our workers and their families,” ayon pa kay Mendoza.
“With the current minimum wage in Region VII, a measly ₱15.00 per meal can be allocated per member of the family which is P41.17 lower compared to ₱61.17/meal/person estimated by the Ateneo Policy Center using the Food and Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI) of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) Pinggang Pinoy model, and the March 2019 PSA Media Service Market Price of Selected Commodities. What kind of food can be bought by ₱15.00? Do our workers deserve just to eat nutritionally deficient foods while they continue breaking their backs to sustain and expand the economy?” tanong pa nito.
OnlineBalita news 