Metro Manila Workers Lose P2.5 Billion Due to Stalled Minimum Wage Hike

More than 1.1 million workers in Metro Manila have lost an estimated P2.5 billion in wages since the implementation of the P85 minimum wage increase was halted, labor group Sentro ng mga Nagkakaisa at Progresibong Manggagawa (SENTRO) said on Tuesday. The group urged the Labor department and the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board-National Capital Region (RTWPB-NCR) to enforce Wage Order (WO) No. NCR-27, saying workers are losing about P66 million in wages for every day the increase remains unimplemented. “Every day of delay means another P66 million lost by workers,” SENTRO said in a statement. The wage order, which provides for an P85 increase in two tranches, was supposed to take effect on July 25 with the first P60 tranche, and the remaining P25 scheduled for January 2027. Its implementation was halted by a Pasig Regional Trial Court (RTC) writ of preliminary injunction issued on Aug. 13 in a case filed by Readycon Trading and Construction Corp. and R-II Builders, Inc. The injunction was conditioned on the posting of a P10-billion bond. SENTRO said the companies have yet to post the bond and instead sought reconsideration of its amount. “If the condition for the injunction has not been met, there is no reason to keep WO 27 from being implemented,” the group said. Meanwhile, NAGKAISA! Labor Coalition likewise called on Labor Secretary Francis N. Tolentino, the National Wages and Productivity Commission and the RTWPB-NCR to defend and enforce the wage order, saying the Pasig RTC petition should be dismissed for lack of jurisdiction. “From our point of view, jurisdiction comes first. If a court has no jurisdiction over the case, whatever order it hands down is a nullity from the beginning. A P10-billion bond cannot cure the absence of jurisdiction — it cannot breathe life into a void order,” NAGKAISA! Chairperson Jose Sonny G. Matula said in a statement on Tuesday. NAGKAISA! also said the injunction should not be enforceable if the required bond has not been posted and approved. The labor coalition said employers may question a wage order through remedies provided by law, but that such challenges should not transfer wage-setting authority from the RTWPB to a trial court. SENTRO also renewed its call for a national minimum wage complemented by industry-based wage setting and stronger collective bargaining. “There should be a decent national floor below which no worker can fall,” SENTRO said. “For now, the immediate demand is simple: enforce WO 27.”