Workers press wage hike to cope with El Niño, rising prices

With less than a month to go before Labor Day, militant workers pushed anew for a "substantial" wage hike, citing the hardships brought by the El Niño phenomenon. The Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) and Anakpawis said the effects of the long dry spell had been a factor in recent rounds of price hikes of basic goods. “Since 2001, Gloria Arroyo has just sat on the persistent call of workers for a P125 legislated nationwide wage hike up to this point wherein the combined effects of El Niño and new rounds of price hikes make survival very difficult for Filipino families," said KMU chairman Elmer Labog, in an article on the KMU website. Labog noted that prices of electricity and food items have continued to rise because of the dry spell. Oil companies, he added, have also raised pump prices of diesel and gasoline four times since last month. Labog said the continued denial of the P125 wage hike “pushes more Filipinos into the abyss of hunger and poverty." The KMU lamented minimum wage levels in all regions are stuck at 2008 levels despite the economic crisis for almost two years now. In five regions, prevailing wages are actually below the fixed minimum wage in those regions, it added. “It has been established that prices far outpace any increase in wages. But with stagnant wages vis-à-vis skyrocketing prices on a nationwide scope, workers are facing worse situation, perhaps near-death hunger," Labog said. KMU cited several studies showing that hunger incidence is higher in areas with low incomes, including last year’s Gallup International world hunger survey, wherein the Philippines ranked no. 5 among 55 countries. — with Nikka Corsino/LBG, GMANews.TV