Very recently, the National Wages and Productivity Commission (NWCP) has affirmed the wage orders submitted by the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Boards (RTWPB) in Central Luzon along with two other regions in the country. The said board had issued Wage Order No. RBIII-24 last September 19, 2023, granting a wage hike petition. Except for Aurora Province, the wage order gives a hike of P40 to workers to their present minimum wage.
With the latest wage increase, the daily rate of workers in non-agriculture sectors in the region will increase to P500, agricultural workers to P470 and those in the retail and service industries to P489 in the province of Bataan, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga and Tarlac.
An estimated 1.5 million non-minimum wage workers may benefit from the said wage hike due to the upward adjustments at the enterprise level arising from wage distortion corrections, the NWCP said. Aside from the benefit of the wage increase for workers, the said board has also approved an increase of P500 in the monthly salary of domestic helpers or “kasambahays” in the region, setting it to P5,500 per month.
The said increase has exemptions however, and these covers retail or service companies with not more than 10 workers as well as businesses affected by natural calamities and disasters.
Meanwhile, the latest wage increase has brought various reactions from workers. Although most are happy about it, many still consider it as insufficient to cover the expenses of most families who are considerably below the poverty line. For them, the amount of P40 is far from what they believe to be sufficient enough to live a decent life.
Considering the high cost of rice today, a daily staple food for Filipinos even with the availability of noodles and bread, the recent increase is not enough for a big family to make both ends meet. The price of pork meat, fish, vegetables and canned goods likewise frequently increase, adding burden to workers aside from other families’ expenses.
There are a great number of families who do not still own their own dwelling and merely rent some spaces in apartments. This means that they have to set aside a portion of their monthly income or earnings for the rentals alone. Add to this is the families’ expenses for water, electricity and internet.
Add to these is the expense for transportation or fuel for any family member who has to go to their workplaces or their children who have to go to school. Fuel today is not cheap and the public transportation fares.
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I fondly recall that during my younger years, we would go to grocery stores and fill up our push carts with basic and even non-essential goods to the tune of around P2,000 or P3,000. The shopping cart then is truly filled with various items. The said amount today is not even enough to fill a shopping basket. At the most, one needs around P15,000.00 to P20,000.00 to buy basic goods for home. This is the picture of the high cost of commodities now.
The question now lies whether the P40 increase is life-changing or at least life-helping. We have to thank the government anyway for the imposition of the increase although such is really far from what a family of a worker needs.
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