According to Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello, the minimum wage in Metro Manila may not be enough for workers and their families, given the sharp rise in the price of fuel and other essential items.
Bello stated in a statement that he ordered the country’s Regional Tripartite Salaries and Productivity Boards to speed up the evaluation of minimum wages.
“The current daily minimum wage in the National Capital Region (NCR), for instance, of P537 may no longer cope with the price of basic commodities such as food, electricity, and water bills,” Bello said.
The Labor Secretary expressed confidence in the RTWPBs’ ability to present recommendations before April 30.
Bello, who chairs the Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board, said that the RTWPBs, in collaboration with the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA), the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), and representatives from both labor and employer groups, should monitor wage levels, assess economic factors, and make recommendations for minimum wage adjustments across the country as a matter of procedure.
Minimum wage in NCR no longer enough – DOLE
“Setting and adjusting the wage level is one of the most challenging parts of minimum wage fixing. Minimum wage cannot be very low as it will have very small effect in protecting workers and their families against poverty,” he said.
“If set too high, it will have an adverse employment effect. There should be a balance between two sets of considerations,” Bello added.
RTWPBs across the country receive petitions to raise the minimum wage in their particular areas.
“Every year, we have what we call an anniversary period where we make an assessment of all petitions received. One petition called for a uniform increase of P750 in the minimum wage nationwide,” Bello said.
The national Social Weather Survey of December 12-16, 2021, found 40% of adult Filipinos saying their quality-of-life was worse than twelve months before (termed by SWS as “Losers“), 24% saying it got better (“Gainers“), and 36% saying it was the same (“Unchanged“), compared to a year ago.
The resulting Net Gainers score is -16 (% Gainers minus % Losers), classified by SWS as mediocre (-19 to -10).
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