ILOILO City – Labor groups and workers in Western Visayas’ private sector have welcomed the proposed across-the-board increase of P100 in the daily minimum wage.
Senate Bill No. 2534 was approved on its third and final reading yesterday, making it a step closer to becoming a law.
Mario Andon, spokesperson for the United Labor-Western Visayas, said any increase in the salaries of private workers is a welcome development.
“It enhances their purchasing power,” he stressed.
“The inflation rate decreases because of the salary increase, and the economy benefits from the workers’ increased capacity to spend,” Andon added.
He referenced the recent trend of declining inflation rates in the region following a P30 increase in the daily minimum wage starting November 2023.
Andon dismissed concerns that the proposed P100 wage increase would lead to small business closures and layoffs, noting that the daily minimum wage for private workers in the region had increased by P85 from 2022 to 2023 without any reported business closures.
According to Andon, the P100 wage hike is actually insufficient. He cited studies indicating that a daily income of P1,250 is necessary for a family of five to live decently.
Rene Santiago, president of the Iloilo Pepsi Cola Workers Independent Union, echoed the need for a salary increase in the private sector due to the rising cost of living.
He said the current P480 daily minimum wage in the region is inadequate for supporting a family of five.
“The head of the family requires an income of at least P20,000 per month to provide a decent living,” Santiago said.
Baby Girl Maprangala, an employee at a textile company in Barangay Calumpang, Molo district for 12 years, supports the P100 increase in the daily minimum wage.
“With the cost of goods rising, the wage hike would significantly help us, especially with our transportation and daily meal expenses,” Maprangala said.
Catalina Farriolan from Miag-ao, Iloilo, believes a P100 increase would greatly assist in saving more, considering her daily expenses on transportation and food amount to around P150.
Alias Jessa, working in Jaro district, finds the P100 wage hike significant but is concerned about employers’ ability to comply.
Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri recently said if the measure becomes law, it would mark the first nationwide legislated pay hike since the enactment of Republic Act No. 6727 in 1989, which established regional wage boards.
“This measure has come further than similar bills in many years,” Zubiri said.
He emphasized the importance of increasing the minimum wage, especially for workers in the Visayas and Mindanao, who currently earn P360 a day.
Effective November 16, 2023, private sector workers in Western Visayas received a P30 increase in their daily minimum wage, as affirmed by the National Wages and Productivity Commission through Wage Order No. RBVI-27.
The current minimum wage rates in Western Visayas are P480 for non-agricultural/industrial/commercial employers with more than 10 workers, P450 for those employing 10 workers or less, and P440 for agriculture.
In March 2023, two labor groups in Region 6 filed petitions seeking a minimum wage increase for all workers in the private sector to P550, proposing a P100 increase. (With a report from the Philippine Daily Inquirer/PN)
