Government employees expose Malacañang’s ‘fake salary hike announcement

Published on May 5, 2011

The Gabriela representative also said a legislated wage increase for workers in both the private and public sectors would be more beneficial.

“President Aquino is undermining the urgency of the people’s need for wage and salary hikes. He is also insulting workers by dangling meager, piecemeal and sporadic wage hikes. Filipino workers need a substantial wage increase that will help their families cope with non-stop increases in the prices of oil and basic commodities. Workers need a substantial wage increase that will lessen the gap between real wages and what it actually costs to live a decent life,” she said.

Aquino continues Macapagal-Arroyo’s anti-worker governance

Bayan Muna party-list Rep. Teddy Casiño also criticized the Aquino administration’s refusal to implement a genuine wage hike. He said that the Aquino government was as “a patently anti-worker continuation of the much-despised Arroyo regime.

“The absence of any wage hikes, salary upgrades and lack of relief from price hikes on oil and basic commodities make the first Labor Day under P-Noy an insult to Filipino workers and the people who he called ‘his boss’ when he assumed power,” Casiño said.

“Where are the workers in Aquino’s so-called ‘daang matuwid?’ They’re lying in the gutters, exhausted and slowly dying from the effects of poverty. The president in his Porsche doesn’t notice and drives past them.”

Casiño said that non-wage benefits were the least degrading gift President Aquino could’ve given to workers last Labor Day. He said that Aquino should have issued his full support for the two legislative proposals in Congress calling for across-the-board salary and wage hikes.

“These are urgent economic relief measures that are not only timely for the country, but a matter of social justice and government responsibility to its people,” Casiño said.

The country’s last legislated wage hike was in 1989 when government approved a P30 across-the-board increase (US$0.69).

“The P404 (US$9.49) minimum wage in the NCR is too far from the estimated P957 cost of living (US$22.25) . Adding P125 is not enough, but it would all the same be definitely useful and help workers buy more food and other basic goods. The minimum wage will be raised to P529 (US$12.30) if the HB 375 is fast-tracked into law,” Casiño said.

The Bayan Muna legislator also took a swipe against what he said that Aquino’s “clueless, yet manifest bias towards big business over labor.”

“Aquino should stop buying greedy business owners’ baseless alibi that wage hikes would result in layoffs, cost-cutting measures and company shutdowns. A National Statistics Office (NSO) survey in 2008 revealed that companies with over 20 employees each collectively realize profits of about P895.2 billion (US$20,818,604). Implementing a P125 across-the-board wage hike means companies will spend only P135.6 billion (US$31,534,883) for workers’ salaries. Businesses will still net a mega-profit of P759.6 billion (US$17,665,116) after workers’ salaries are deducted. Aquino has so far continued to side with greedy taipans and companies on wages, job security and contractualization,” Casiño said.

Casiño said that the president should assess his diminishing political capital with his continuation of the same anti-labor policies of the previous administration.

“Ignoring the plight and spitting on the demands of workers add to the growing discontent with the Aquino government,” he said.