TUCP to ask for P85 hike in NCR minimum wage

The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) will file a petition to increase the minimum wage in Metro Manila by P85 pesos, the group said Tuesday. “We want the working people here in the metropolis to cope financially against the adverse impacts of  a series of rising prices of basic foods and costs of services incurred in the past few months and prepare them against impending wave of increases in tuition, mass train transport fees, and costs of electricity particularly before and after June,” said TUCP Partylist Rep. Raymond Mendoza. Last year, TUCP petitioned for a P90 increase in the minimum wage. The Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board-National Capital Region issued Wage Order 17, approving rises of P20 in June and P10 in November. It also integrated into the basic pay the P22 cost of living allowance (COLA) approved in 2011. The group will file the petition on Wednesday at the National Capital Region Wage Board of the National Wages and Productivity Commission (NWPC). The minimum wage for the National Capital Region is currently P456. The TUCP argued that a family of six needs at least P1,022 a day to live on. “This amount is neither too small nor too big but it is just enough balance the needs of the employees and their employers,” said Mendoza. Mendoza said TUCP will also file petitions to raise the minimum wage in the cities of Cebu, Davao, and Cagayan de Oro. — BM, GMA News