MANILA, Philippines – Nangako si Senate President Juan Miguel “Migz” F. Zubiri sa lahat ng labor groups at manggagawa na kanyang isuslog ang P150 legislative wage increase upang matiyak makatanggap ng disenteng living wage.
Sa pahayag, sianb ni Zubiri na tulad ng kanyang ipinahayag noong una, hindi sapat ang P40 pagtaas na sahod sa manggagawa sa National Capital Region, pero magandang simula ang desisyon ng wage board.
“This is why I am amenable to a P100 hike for NCR. It’s just mathematics—taken together, the P40 wage board increase and the P100 legislated increase brings us to P140, which is not far from our proposed figure,” ayon kay Zubiri.
Iginiit pa ni Zubiri na patuloy nitong isusulong ang P150 increase sa sahod dahil tanging sa Metro Manila lamang ang P40 pagtaas.
“Workers in the provinces toil just as hard as workers in Metro Manila, and contend with prices just as high as we do, so we need to make sure that their wages reflect this reality,” aniya.
Naunang inihain ni Zubiri ang Senate Bill (SB) 2002, o ang Across-the-Board Wage Increase Act of 2023, na naglalayong itaas ng P150 ang sahod ng lahat ng manggagawa sa buong bansa.
“A decent life costs a decent wage,” aniya.
“If workers are putting in hours and hours of labor, day after day, and yet are still unable to afford their rent, bills, and basic necessities, then there is a problem,’’ dagdag niya.
“In the Senate, we addressed the collective bargaining of our employees’ union for increased benefits, in accordance with the rising costs of commodities,” paliwanag pa niya. “And now, with this bill, I hope to answer similar calls from workers across the country, with an across-the-board wage hike.”
Sasakupin ng panukalang pagtass ang buong pribadong sektor agricultural at non-agricultural, kahit amgkaro ang capitalization at bilang ng empleyado.
Sa pagpasok ng bagong taon, umabot sa pinakamataas na inflation rate ang naranasan ng bansa sa loob ng 14 na taon na nakapagtala ng 8.7 porsiyento na bumagsak nang kaunti nitong Pebrero na nagtala ng 8.6 porsiyento.
“While our GDP (gross domestic product) is going up, we have to make sure that our economic growth actually cascades to our people. Otherwise, we’re just widening the gap between rich and poor,’’ paliwanag ni Zubiri.
“What we want is to lift everyone up, broaden our middle-income class, and ensure that every Filipino has the means to enjoy a genuinely decent life. That means empowering people not just to survive, but to actually achieve a level of comfort that allows them to pursue their personal goals and interests, beyond just their work,” dagdag niya. Ernie Reyes
