Minimum wage in NCR to increase by at least P20 in October — DOLE

There could be a slight hike in the minimum daily wage in Metro Manila next month, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) said Tuesday.

According to a report on GMA's "24 Oras," the minimum wage in the National Capital Region could go up by P20 or more.

"At least P20 ho, at least. It could be more, but at least P20," Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said in the report.

At present, the minimum daily wage in Metro Manila is P512, following the approval of a wage hike in September 2017.

However, the Federation of Free Workers said the increase is too small given the increase in consumer prices.

"Mababa 'yung para sa mga manggagawa at kulang sa pagtaas rin ng inflation na kinakain 'yung value ng peso," said the labor group's president Sonny Matula.

Inflation clocked in at 6.4 percent in August, the fastest in over nine years since the 6.6 percent in March 2009.

"Sa amin, kaysa wala, mabuti nang meron," said Nice Coronacion of the Sentro ng mga Nagkakaisa at Progresibong Manggagawa.

For its part, the Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP) said the government must keep in mind that the increase should not be "excessive."

"Kapag masyadong excessive 'yung pagtaas ng minimum wages, some employers may resort to laying off their workers and passing on the additional cost of operations to the prices of goods and services," ECOP director-general Jose Roland Moya said. — Jon Viktor D. Cabuenas/BM, GMA News