THE P481 minimum wage would not meet the needs of a family of five, labor group Nonoy Librado Development Foundation, Inc. (NLDFI) stressed in a statement on Friday.
The group calls the national administration to approve the P1,200 national minimum wage for Filipino families to live decently.
“We support workers’ right to a living wage, and a national minimum wage of P1200 is a step in the right direction,” the group stressed.
NLDFI during their consultative workshop with workers- taxi drivers, delivery riders, factory workers, workers in the services sector, vendors, and plantation workers- found at least P1,402.48 is needed to feed a family of five.
These needs only include food, housing and electricity costs. Other expenses such as medicines and hospitalization are excluded from the computation.
“The amount is a far cry from the current P481 minimum wage in the Davao region, of which it is only 34%,” the group said in a statement.
However, it is close to the P1,200 national minimum wage that labor groups in the country are clamoring for. The group stressed that not only the region but the entire country is experiencing high prices but very low wages.
To cite from 2019-2024, total wage increase in the region amounts to only P85, however, the inflation rate in the same period is 25.90%.
Considering the minimum wage in the region in 2019 was P396 per day, the group said there should have been a P102.56 increase.
Given the inflation rate, the group said the real value of P481 is only P358.47, citing 2018 statistics for a “basket of goods.”
According to Ibon Foundation research, since the Wage Rationalization Law in 1989, the real value of the minimum wage in Metro Manila has remained the same, while areas outside Metro Manila, including Davao, have decreased.
It added that while the real minimum wage in the region has increased by only 9%, the productivity of workers in Metro Manila has increased by 62% from 2000 to 2023.
Earlier this year, the Regional Tripartite Wage Productivity Board approved a P38 daily minimum salary adjustment for Davao Region, which was rolled out in two tranches- March 6 and Sept. 1.
With the adjustment, the new minimum wage for non-agriculture sectors is P462 from P443. Meanwhile, agricultural sector workers will receive P457 daily from the current P438.
Starting Sept. 1, the minimum wages for non-agriculture and agricultural sectors were raised to P481 and P476, respectively.
