Labor groups on Friday pressed the government to protect workers’ purchasing power, protesting the suspension of Metro Manila’s wage increase and urging faster action on a pending wage petition in Central Visayas.
Members of Partido Manggagawa and Sentro ng mga Nagkakaisa at Progresibong Manggagawa (SENTRO), under the NAGKAISA! Labor Coalition, gathered outside the Department of Labor and Employment 7 office along Gorordo Avenue to demand immediate action on wage concerns.
The groups called for the lifting of the temporary restraining order (TRO) blocking the implementation of Metro Manila’s P85 daily wage increase and urged the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board 7 (RTWPB 7) to act on their motion seeking a declaration of a supervening event.
The mechanism would allow the regional wage board to reopen an existing wage order before the usual one-year waiting period when extraordinary economic conditions warrant a review.
Labor leaders said sustained increases in the prices of basic goods and services have placed additional pressure on workers and should prompt the wage board to revisit wage rates in Central Visayas.
The protest also raised concerns over what the groups described as the RTWPB 7’s “snail-paced” response to their petition.
While the TRO applies only to Metro Manila’s wage order, the labor groups said the case could have wider implications for the country’s wage-setting system.
They warned that allowing employers to use court proceedings to delay approved wage increases could weaken the authority of regional wage boards and set a precedent for similar challenges in other regions.
The Pasig Regional Trial Court Branch 152 issued the TRO against NCR Wage Order No. 27, which granted minimum wage earners in Metro Manila an P85 daily increase. The wage adjustment was supposed to take effect on July 25 in two phases.
The court issued the order after two construction firms challenged the validity of the wage increase. The TRO remains effective until Aug. 13 unless the court lifts it earlier.
Labor groups maintained that challenges to wage orders should first pass through the administrative remedies provided under the Labor Code before employers seek judicial intervention.
The Office of the Solicitor General has asked the court to lift the TRO, arguing that the petitioners failed to exhaust the available administrative remedies. Malacañang has likewise backed the lifting of the restraining order, saying concerns over the wage order should have been brought before the appropriate wage-setting bodies.
In Central Visayas, labor organizations are seeking a declaration of a supervening event based on what they described as persistent increases in the prices of essential commodities since the region’s last wage adjustment.
If the RTWPB 7 grants the request, the declaration would allow the board to reopen wage deliberations before the one-year review period expires.
The labor groups said workers cannot afford further delays as rising living costs continue to erode their purchasing power.
The protest ended Friday morning with labor leaders reiterating their call for the regional wage board to act promptly on the pending petition.
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