IN TIME for the 122nd Labor Day commemoration, the Nonoy Librado Development Foundation (NLDF) called for a P1,200 national minimum wage and stronger legal protections for gig and platform-based workers.
NLDF noted that the current minimum wage in Davao City is P501, far below the estimated family living wage of P1,182 as of March 2025. The group said this wage gap is a key struggle faced by working families.
The foundation also stressed the urgent need for legislation that protects gig or platform-based workers. Despite the estimated 1.5 million Filipinos engaged in this kind of work, they remain excluded from the country's labor laws.
Leah Emily Miñoza, executive director of NLDF, urged the national government to legislate a living wage and pass the proposed Magna Carta for Workers in the Digital Economy. This bill aims to guarantee social protection, job security, and freedom of association for digital workers.
“Decent work cannot exist alongside poverty wages,” Miñoza said. “Workers’ rights should not be left at the mercy of algorithms. Dignified work must be a guarantee, not a gamble.”
Miñoza noted that while the number of platform workers continues to grow, there is still no clear legislative agenda to protect them. Many of these workers, especially those in ride-hailing and delivery services, face low and unstable incomes, long working hours, and lack of access to social security and health insurance.
These workers shoulder the cost of fuel, maintenance, and mobile data, leaving them with little take-home pay,” she added. “The lack of algorithmic transparency makes them vulnerable to exploitation.”
She also criticized the common misclassification of platform workers as independent contractors, freelancers, or partners, which leaves them legally “invisible and unprotected.”
Miñoza cited a now-amended ordinance in Davao City that had previously required delivery riders to obtain business permits. She praised local lawmakers for correcting this in December 2024, calling it a “positive step.”
Meanwhile, labor groups led by Kilusang Mayo Uno–Southern Mindanao (KMU–SMR) and Bayan Muna Party-list held a Labor Day rally at Freedom Park on Roxas Avenue, demanding a ₱1,200 minimum wage and stronger worker protections.
In the Davao Region, the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB) recently approved a ₱29 daily wage increase under Wage Order No. RB XI-23. Effective March 7, 2025, the minimum wage now stands at ₱510 for non-agriculture workers and ₱505 for those in agriculture.
Domestic workers also received an increase under Wage Order No. RBXI-DW-03, which took effect on March 6, 2024. They now earn ₱6,000 monthly in chartered cities and first-class municipalities, and ₱5,000 in other areas.
Despite these adjustments, labor advocates argue that current regional wage hikes remain far below the living wage. They continue to call for a legislated ₱1,200 national minimum wage to address income inequality and uplift all Filipino workers. RGP