Group seeks P250 wage hike in Western Visayas
ILOILO CITY—Citing the crippling effects of the recent oil price shocks and soaring inflation, labor alliance United Labor Panay petitioned the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB) on Thursday for a P250 increase in the daily minimum wage for workers across Western Visayas.
The filing of the petition was accompanied by a protest staged by the group and several allied organizations outside the RTWPB office here.
According to United Labor, the region’s inflation rate has been on a continuous upward trend since September last year. However, it noted a sharp escalation in recent months, driven primarily by the spike in oil prices stemming from the Middle East conflict.
The labor alliance stressed that even before the Iran war disrupted global markets, workers and their families were already struggling to survive.
The current regional minimum wage of P550, it said, falls short of the regional family living wage, which independent think tank IBON Foundation estimates to be at P1,030 per day.
United Labor also noted the diminishing purchasing power of the peso, which currently stands at P0.76. Adjusted for inflation, the group claims that the real value of the P550 daily minimum wage is only P418.
To illustrate a long-term stagnation in workers’ compensation, the group noted that in 1989—the year the Wage Rationalization Act established the regional wage boards—the real value of wages was equivalent to P434 today. This proves that there has been no significant improvement in workers’ real wages over the past 37 years under a regionalized wage-fixing mechanism, United Labor said.
While the petition seeks immediate regional relief, the group said it is ultimately advocating for the abolition of the Wage Rationalization Act and the establishment of a national family living wage of P1,200.
Anticipating pushback from the business sector, the labor group clarified that their fight is not against micro and small enterprises. United Labor acknowledged that these small businesses are often victims of the same macroeconomic pressures created by large-scale domestic and foreign capitalists.
Increase in N. Mindanao
To prevent small businesses from going under, the group urged the government to implement wage subsidies and tax breaks.
Beyond economics, the group said the wage increase is a fundamental human rights issue.
“The right to live is not merely accounted for by the ability to breathe air; more than ever, the right to live also speaks of the quality of life that every Filipino should be afforded,” United Labor said.
In Northern Mindanao, minimum wage earners are set to enjoy an additional P14 in their daily rate as the second tranche of increase takes effect today, Labor Day. The first tranche took effect mid-January this year, at P25 per day.
But such an increase does not sit well with lawyer Proculo Sarmen, counsel of the Federation of Free Workers, saying the wage level does not reflect what laborers need for a decent living condition.
Sarmen said the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) data used in the formulation of the new wage order in December 2025 did not reflect the current conditions of workers.
He noted that Northern Mindanao’s poverty threshold was P13,873 per month as computed from 2021 generated data.
Once fully granted on May 1, minimum wage earners in the private sector would be entitled to P500 for a day’s work which translates to P13,000 gross monthly income, way below the P14,519 average salary of full-time workers that the PSA computed in its 2024 Occupational Wage Survey, Sarmen said. —WITH REPORTS FROM CONG CORRALES AND URIEL QUILINGUING
