Labor group: P31 minimum wage increase is insult to Central Visayas workers

In this 2016 file photo, Jaime Paglinawan, AMA Sugbo-KMU Chairperson leads a rally in Cebu City to stop the Marcos burial at the Libingan ng mga Bayani.

CEBU CITY, Philippines — The labor group Alyansa sa mga Mamumuo sa Sugbo-Kilusang Mayo Uno (AMA Sugbo-KMU) said the P31 minimum wage increase is an insult to Central Visayas workers.

On March 24, 2022, the Central Visayas Wage Board approved a P31 increase in basic pay for the region, lesser than the wage increase in Western Visayas, which was set at P55 to P110.

As it stands, the minimum wage in Central Visayas is now P435.

“Buot ipasabot sa atong wage board, mas barato diay ang palaliton diri sa Cebu kumpara sa Western Visayas? Dako kini nga insulto sa mga mamumuo nga nakahibaw sa tinuod nga presyo ug sa ka mahal sa mga palaliton diri sa rehiyon nga dili na paigo ang minimum wage,” said Jaime Paglinawan, the chairperson of AMA Sugbo-KMU.

(Does our wage board mean to say that basic goods are cheaper here in Cebu than in Western Visayas? This is a huge insult to the workers who know the real prices and the expensiveness of consumer goods here in the region, so much so that the minimum wage is not enough.)

AMA Sugbo-KMU, which supported the wage hike petition for the P750 national minimum wage last March, further asserted the need for a national minimum wage of that amount.

“Nagatuo kita nga ang P750 national minimum wage ang makahatag og makabuhing suholan sa mga mamumuo, aron mabuhi siya ug iyang pamilya nga adunay dignidad. Dapat ang P750 national minimum wage nga dugay ra gipanawagan sa mga mamumuo ang dunggon sa mga awtoridad, dili ang yangungo sa mga dagkong negosyante,” Paglinawan concluded.

(We believe that the P750 national minimum wage will give the workers a living wage, so that together with their families, they may live life with dignity. The longstanding call for the P750 national minimum wage should have been the call that the authorities listened to, and not the interests of big businesses.)

While the labor groups decried the minimal increase, the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industries (CCCI) said the increase is “fair.”

“I believe it’s a fair increase. It was higher than we expected but our workers also need it. Businesses need to focus now on increasing productivity and output in order to cope with the increase in labor cost so we can maintain our operations without letting go of workers,” said CCCI President Charles Kenneth Co.     /rcg

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