Senate President Juan Miguel “Migz” Zubiri on Friday, July 7, assured labor groups and all workers that he will keep fighting for a minimum wage increase of P150 in legislation to guarantee that Filipino workers earn a decent living income.
According to Zubiri, the wage board’s announcement of a minimum wage increase of P40 in the National Capital Region (NCR) is not enough, but a start instead.
“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,” the senator said.
The Senate Chief made it clear that he will continue to push for a P150 hike, particularly given that the P140 increase currently only applies to NCR.
He also emphasized that the minimum wage increase should not only be applied in NCR alone but to provinces as well.
“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,” he pointed out.
Zubiri had earlier filed Senate Bill (SB) 2002, or the Across-the-Board Wage Increase Act of 2023, which seeks to raise wages in the private sector across all regions by P150.00.
“A decent life costs a decent wage,” he said.
“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,’’ he added.
The P610 wage hike for the non-agricultural sector in Metro Manila will be effective on July 16.
