THE Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP)-Nagkaisa is asking President Aquino to implement a government-initiated discount card for minimum-wage workers and unemployment insurance for laid-off employees to cope with the day-to-day cost of living.
According to TUCP-Nagkaisa, the P15 wage increase approved by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) for Metro Manila workers is not enough for workers to cope with the food-price increase, transport fares, electricity and water-rate hikes.
The group is also proposing to Mr. Aquino to approve a majority coconut-farmer administered trust fund to ensure the proceeds of the P77-billion coco levy are used to promote jobs in the coconut industry; ensure the completion of Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program with respect to lands under current Notice of Coverage; and assist the peasant farmers through appropriate support measures and financing including trainings, appropriate technology and easy-term credit.
These demands, TUCP-Nagkaisa said, are “doables” which President Aquino can think about for the benefit of minimum-wage earners during the Holy Week.
“Among the measures which will assist and empower the basic sectors include an unemployment- insurance policy for the 3.4 million minimum-wage earners providing three months of minimum wage-salary coverage in cases of retrenchment and a minimum discount card that serves as a voucher or CCT-like program for minimum-wage employees to give them discount on tuition, purchase of rice, basic food commodities, medicines worth P2,000,” said Gerard Seño, TUCP-Nagkaisa vice president.
The group cited that from March 1 to 7, the Pulse Asia Survey on urgent national concerns surfaced that four of the top 5 concerns relate to the daily survival needs of ordinary Filipinos. It showed 46 percent are crying out at inflation, 44 percent have said salaries are too small to cover daily expenses, and another 34 percent said there are no decent jobs.
On March 18 the wage board approved only a measly P15 daily-wage increase for the minimum wage in Metro Manila amid the TUCP-Nagkaisa petition of P136. They said the government value of the current minimum wage is only P356.64, or P7,846.08 a month salary, or P931.92 short of the P8,778 national poverty threshold set by the National Economic and Development Authority and Philippine Statistics Authority for 2014.
TUCP-Nagkaisa Executive Director Louie Corral said labor groups are encouraged by the President, reminding the leaders of the Filipino-Chinese Chambers of Industry last week that by giving a greater share to their workers, they are encouraging increased consumer spending which itself expands the economy.
However, Corral said the government must also do the greater part of aiding workers who are not benefiting from a growing national economy.
“TUCP-Nagkaisa interprets this as a clear signal from the President to the business sector to share the gains that have brought many of them to the Forbes list of the wealthiest with the workers who have been in the forefront of the struggle to create our nation’s wealth. But to stably uplift the lives of workers who are not benefiting from high gross domestic product growth, Mr. Aquino must step right in and make the government make the impact long lasting,” Corral said.