ONE-TIME BIG-TIME WAGE HIKE PUSHED
THE Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP), the biggest group of Filipino laborers, urged the regional wage boards to issue emergency wage orders and propose to the government the creation of a financial assistance program to workers amid the surging inflation.
In a statement, TUCP president and Deputy Speaker Raymond Democrito C. Mendoza said the wage boards have been studying the wage review for too long.
“Now is the time for urgency and distance towards an immediate intervention to save our workers from the vicious cycle of poverty and hunger amid the difficult times forced by the record-high 8.7% inflation,” he said.
The TUCP is appealing to the regional wage boards to issue Emergency Cost of Living Allowance (ECOLA) in order to alleviate the plight of the Filipino workers without impairing the viability and sustainability of business and industry in the region.
ECOLA orders have been ordered several times before and across the regions. This is the immediate intervention necessitated by the surging inflation, the group stressed.
Likewise, the group demanded for the BBM Assistance Para sa Manggagawang Pilipino (BAMP) which is similar to Covid-19 Adjustment Measure Program (CAMP) for affected workers of firms that trimmed down or shut down their operations due to socio-economic downturn.
The TUCP proposed the BAMP to give one-time big-time P5,000 for four million minimum wage earners sourced from the government fund and/or Presidential Social Fund.
The purpose is to help both workers and businesses amid the inflation; pump prime the economy through consumption spending for basic needs while the construction sector is still gearing up; buy time for businesses as they are still recovering from the four crises of survival: COVID-19, Ukraine-Russia war, global recession, and climate change.
Meanwhile, the TUCP will file a petition for a wage hike in various regions.
The amount of wage increase per region is still being processed, pending the release of the First Quarter Inflation report.
“This is to ensure that our proposed wage hike will be actionable and reasonable for both workers and employers. In the meantime,” Mendoza added.
