THE Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) has filed a petition before the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB) seeking an increase in the minimum wage of workers in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR).
The petition seeks to raise the minimum wage in the region from P350 per day to some P410 per day.
According to the TUCP, the last wage order issued in the CAR was in 2019.
The 2019 wage order provided an increase that ranged from P30 to P45 in Baguio City, La Trinidad and Tabuk City in Benguet and P25 to P40 in other areas in the region.
“After two years and six months since Wage Order RB I-20 was issued, the P25 to P45 increase has long dissipated,” the petition stated.
The TUCP said that with the inflation and the cost of living currently, the minimum wage of P340 to P350 per day is only equivalent to the purchasing power of P310.
“The daily take-home pay of minimum wage earners is a measly P332.15 and P312.15 per day after the government mandated deductions with a purchasing power of only P294.98 and P277.22, respectively,” the labor group said.
“The budget per meal per person is between P12.42 to P12.82. Clearly, it cannot provide for the recommended nutritional requirements for a family of five,” the TUCP said.
