Ni NOEL ABUEL
Nagpasalamat ang Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) sa Senate Bill No. 2002 na inihain ni Senate President Juan Miguel “Migz” Zubiri na nananawagan para sa P150 across-the-board increase sa minimum wage ng mga manggagawa sa pribadong sektor sa buong bansa.
Ayon kay Deputy Speaker at TUCP party list Rep. Raymond Democrito C. Mendoza, nagpapasalamat ito at nauunawaan ni Zubiri ang nararanasan ngayong kahirapan ng mga manggagawa dahil sa inflation.
Una nang naghain ang TUCP ng House Resolution No. 635 na naglalayong pagpaliwanagin ang National Wages and Productivity Commission (NWPC) ang konsepto nito sa family living wage at kasabay nito ay idetermina ang dapat na dagdag na sahod at gabayan ang Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Boards (RTWPBs) sa ipapatupad na minimum wages.
“We welcome these various initiatives to increase the wages of workers because these many proposals, especially spearheaded by the Senate President, underscore the badly needed wage adjustment in light of the erosion of the purchasing power of workers’ wages due to inflation,” sabi ng kongresista.
“In the National Capital Region (NCR) alone, the real value of the minimum wage of workers decreased by P88 per day this month from the nominal daily minimum wage value of ₱570 to the now-real daily minimum wage value of ₱482. These are not decent wages that can sustain the health, productivity, and decent life of working Filipinos and their families trapped in subsistence conditions as the stubbornly high inflation persists,” dagdag pa ni Mendoza.
Base sa pinakahuling pag-aaral ng International Labour Organization (ILO) noong 2022, tinatayang 2.22 porsiyento ng working population ang nasa matinding kahirapan na nabubuhay sa mas mababa sa $1.90 o katumbas ng P100 kada araw.
“Most of our workers are poor because their wages are not enough to meet their basic needs and of their families. This is compounded by the fact that underemployment remains in double digits at 14.1% which translates to 6.65 million underemployed Filipinos. While they are classified as ‘employed’, these jobs do not earn decent wages nor provide for job security and deprive them and their families of needed wherewithal for their necessities,” paliwanag pa ng mambabatas.
Dismayado ito na sa kabila ng ipinangako ni Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma noong nakaraang taon na pag-aaralan ng regional wage boards ang kasalukuyang minimum wages sa gitna ng patuloy na pagtaas ng pangunahing bilihin ay hanggang ngayon ay hindi pa rin ito naipatutupad.
Panawagan pa ng TUCP sa regional wage boards na magpalabas ng emergency cost living allowance (COLA) upang makatulong sa mga manggagawa na makatugon sa inflation.
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