Major groups push for P200 wage hike on Labor Day

Major labor groups and at least 10,000 rallyists marched to Chino Roces (formerly Mendiola) bridge on Labor Day to push a bill proposing to increas the daily minimum wage by P200.

Members of the National Wage Coalition (NWC), said they want to give a “strong message” to Marcos and Congress to support the said minimum wage increase.

“[Our] call for President Marcos [is] to lead from the front, not behind recycled directives to defective regional wage boards, towards certifying as urgent the historic first-ever P200 legislated wage hike in 36 years since 1989,” NWC said in a statement.

The coalition added that the call came from three years without a single dialogue between the President and the Philippine labor movement.

“Hangga’t walang certification as urgent, parang walang ginagawa dito sa usapin ng sweldo, at patuloy lamang bababa pa ‘yung approval at trust ratings lalu sa usapin ng pagpapataas ng sweldo,” Carlos Miguel Onate of the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) said.

TUCP party-list Rep. and House Deputy Speaker Raymond Democrito Mendoza urged the president to go into dialogue with them as the wage hike is “the only solution.”

The P200 daily minimum wage hike bill was approved on second reading by the House of Representatives last February. The lower chamber of the 19th Congress has the period of June 2 to June 13 to approve the measure on third and final reading.

‘LIFE Assistance’

The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) and Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) launched its Labor, Intervention, Financial, and Economic (LIFE) Assistance Program on Labor Day to support individuals who faced challenges related to labor rights.

Under the program, workers and their kins will be given support packages, including livelihood assistance, scholarships, government internship programs, Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) training, and referrals to the appropriate agencies or offices for necessary interventions and programs based on their specific needs.

“Through this initiative, CHR and DOLE affirm their joint commitment to ensure that Filipino workers and their families can live with dignity—free from fear, and empowered to claim their rights,” the CHR said.

The LIFE program was a result of the two agencies’ memorandum of agreement (MOA) and data sharing agreement (DSA) on October 20, 2023.

“This cooperation also affirms CHR’s commitment under Executive Order No. 23, s. 2023 on “Reinforcing and Protecting the Freedom of Association and Right to Organize of Workers,” the CHR added.

‘Don’t politicize’

Presidential Communications Office Undersecretary Claire Castro said in a press briefing on Wednesday that the free train ride program of the government should not be politicized. 

“Huwag naman po nating bigyan ng malisya. Hayaan po nating makinabang iyong taumbayan sa mga maaaring itulong ng gobyerno sa kanila,” Castro said.

The free train ride program will be implemented from April 30 to May 3 as a gesture to honor and pay tribute to Filipino workers in time for Labor Day.

She also dismissed claims that the program was politically motivated due to the drop in the approval and trust ratings of Marcos in recent surveys.

“Ang May 1 po kasi International Labor Day po ito. Hindi naman po natin puwedeng ibigay ito sa mga manggagawa sa December,” Castro told the media.

The Department of Transportation (DOTr) will shoulder the expenses of the program, with P10 million each for the MRT-3 and LRT-1 per day and around P7 million for the LRT-2.