A little victory for the workers of the mountains here this week—the region’s powers-that-be have elected to allow a nominal increase in the minimum wages for its workers.
P40 might not seem like a lot, but the funny thing is that the smaller the base, the bigger each increase is. If you are stable and well-to-do and earn enough to be taxed a significant amount, it might seem like nothing, but for someone who earns minimum wage, you are getting what is basically two extra days’ worth of salary per month (assuming a 5-day workweek).
For us on the lower rungs of the economy (I may not be a minimum wage earner but to appraise myself any higher than that would be a lie) an additional P40 a day is a significant chunk of change.
But it is far, far, far from enough. Wages have gone up, but what else has gone up in the same time? Living expenses. These go up and up and up. Even just in comparison to what I, a fairly “young-ish” individual with a shoddy memory, can remember, the cost of daily living is significantly higher.
I remember there was a time when gasoline was half its cost, when an allowance of a hundred pesos was enough for one to still have savings, and when pork cost at least a third cheaper than it does now.
Back then, I had no wages of my own, and the fact is that it is significantly harder to value things when you do not have to earn them yourself.
But now that I earn a “livable” wage (citation needed), I know better than ever both how big a change this hike is, and also how insufficient it is. Data—not up to date, and chances are current figures are significantly worse—indicates that the cost of living in the capital is anywhere upward of P36,000. LivingCost Org puts the Baguio cost at slightly lower at P32,500 monthly.
To compare, the current minimum wage is P430 in the Cordillera region. P430, five days a week, four weeks a month is a measly P8,600.
(I am aware that many minimum wage earners work more days in a week, but in the same way we assume penguins are cylinders for the purpose of physics, we assume that the average workweek allows for two rest days.)
The wage hike would put that up to P9,400 a month. Consider how significantly less that is compared to that little P32,500.
I just want to highlight that the minimum wage should indeed go higher, and that we should be happy that it has gone up. It must go higher.
A gainful life is the right of every person, not just those lucky enough to earn high paychecks. It starts with the minimum, then we go higher and higher after.
