Marcos calls for review of minimum wage rates --- Gaea Katreena Cabico - Philstar.com

MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Wednesday ordered a review of minimum wage rates across the archipelago, taking into account the impact of rising prices of goods and services. Groups have been calling on the government to raise the minimum wage to keep up with the rising cost of living. “I call on the Regional Tripartite Wage and Productivity Boards (RTWPBs) to initiate a timely review of the minimum wage rates in their respective region with due consideration to the impact of inflation among others, within 60 days prior to the anniversary of their latest wage order,” Marcos said in a speech on Labor Day. “I call on the National Wages and Productivity Commission (NWPC) to review its rules to ensure that the boards are able to maintain a regular and predictable schedule of wage review, issuance and effectivity to reduce uncertainty and enhance fairness for all stakeholders,” he added. The NWPC develops policies and guidelines on wages and productivity, and exercises supervision over the RWPBs, which implement incomes and productivity rules in their respective regions. In Metro Manila, the minimum wage for those working in non-agricultural sectors is P610 per day. Meanwhile, the minimum wage in the Bangsamoro region is only P361. According to the IBON Foundation, a P690 across-the-board wage hike would increase the average minimum wage of P440 nationwide to meet the current P1,207 average family living wage. The think tank stressed that a P690 wage hike “corrects decades of injustice where workers create huge profits for employers but receive meager wages.” Workers from various sectors took to streets to call for the protection of their rights and protest the government’s public utility vehicle modernization program (PUVMP), which will force old jeepneys off the road.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

PCG: China’s bullying in West Philippine Sea undermines international law --- Ghio Ong - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — Letting China sustain its aggression in the West Philippine Sea would make other countries doubt the strength of international law currently being asserted by the Philippines, Commodore Jay Tarriela of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said. “Allowing China to blatantly disregard the established rules-based order threatens the very foundation that we all depend on,” he wrote in a post on X last Tuesday. He added, “If we permit this, countries worldwide may forget why this order was created in the first place. Nations could begin to doubt the significance of adhering to international law if powerful bullies can easily violate it.” Tarriela also said defiance of other countries to a rules-based order would result in the prevalence of cruelty. He wrote, “This could lead us back to a time when might makes right, undermining the global structures that keep human greed, savagery and barbarism in check. Such a scenario would not only invite challenges from aggressive ...
Read more

China ships maintain presence in key West Philippine Sea areas --- Michael Punongbayan - The Philippine Star

STAR / Michael Varcas MANILA, Philippines — While Chinese vessels in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) have decreased in number, they have maintained a presence in three key land features where naval and coast guard ships have intensified operations in the past seven days, according to the Philippine Navy. Latest monitoring by the Philippine Navy showed armed ships of the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) maintaining a menacing presence around the grounded BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal, Panatag Shoal and Escoda Shoal. According to the Philippine Navy, there are 17 Chinese military vessels and 28 China Coast Guard (CCG) boats spotted inside the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) between Sept. 23 and 30, or one vessel more than in the previous week Sept.17-23. Five of the warships were seen roaming around the vicinity of Escoda Shoal, along with 10 CCG vessels and 12 maritime militia vessels (MMVs). There are also two PLAN ships in Ayungin Shoal as well as 10 CCG boats and 12...
Read more

Social media seen as cause of rising intermarriages --- Helen Flores - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) sees social media as the main reason for the rising number of Filipinos marrying or becoming partners of foreign nationals. In 2022, the CFO recorded 6,854 marriages or partnerships with foreign nationals, a 40.1 percent increase from the 4,891 “intermarriages” recorded in 2021. “First of all, what we see in the increase in the marriage rate of Filipinos or Filipinos with foreign partners is because of social media, (that) is number one; matchings; letters, introduction of their friends,” CFO chairperson Romulo Arugay said at the Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon public briefing yesterday. Arugay said the agency has been registering a high number of intermarriages since 2007, but the figures went down during the COVID-19 pandemic. From over 6,500 Filipinos who married foreign nationals, only 600 are men, he said. Most of them are married to Americans, Japanese, Germans, Canadians and Australians, Arugay said. Arugay warned Fi...
Read more