MANILA (Mindanao Examiner / Aug. 5, 2013) – The Confederation of Labor and Allied Social Services-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines has filed petition for a P79.50 wage increase before the regional wage board in Laguna province.
Ramon Certeza, of the CLASS-TUCP, said that workers lagged behind in terms of reaping the fruits of development in the CALABARZON region and heavily burdened with the rising prices of basic commodities.
CALABARZON is an acronym for the provinces of Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal at Quezon.
Certeza said while CALABARZON has been one of the fastest growing regions in terms of economic development, averaging 5% yearly growth from 2002 to current year. The sad fact is workers are still in miserable state, with the current minimum wage pegged at P349.50 eroded by 2.7% to 3% due to inflation and high cost of basic needs.
He further stressed that with the unabated increase of oil prices, rising costs of electricity, water and transportation continues to erode workers’ meager take home pay.
Given the wage board granted the petition for a P79.50 increase, the new minimum wage would be of P429.00. However, this amount is still way below the living wage in the region.
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