Re-electionist Senator Risa Hontiveros on Labor Day calls to speed up the process of reviewing petitions to raise regional minimum wage rates, as the extraordinary rise in the cost of living in the past three years has pushed incomes of minimum wage earners to below the regional poverty lines.
“What’s taking so long? Ano mang delay sa paglalabas ng desisyon ukol sa minimum wage ay pwedeng magdulot ng kagutuman o kawalan ng pag-asa sa mga manggagawa na makaahon pa sila sa patong-patong na bayarin,” Hontiveros said.
It can be recalled that the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) announced in March that it is set to review the minimum wage amid the surging fuel prices. At present, the minimum wage in Metro Manila is at P537 and much lower in the rest of the regions.
The Senator said that the take home pay of minimum wage earners has been overtaken by the fast-rising cost of food, transportation and public utilities over the past three years.
“Tatlong taon nang walang adjustment sa regional minimum wages. Tumaas na ang gastos sa kuryente, pamasahe, pagkain at kinailangan pang gastusan ang internet. Oras na para tingnan at pag-aralan dahil hindi na sasapat ito sa gastusin ng mga pamilyang Pilipino,” she said.
Hontiveros furthered that it is unjust and inhumane that while the productivity of the workers has gone up in the last decade, the purchasing power of their wages has remained flat and is now sinking.
“Hindi pwedeng marami ang nagagawa at natatapos ng mga empleyado pero kakarampot pa rin ang kanilang sinasahod. Kailangang humabol ang pagtataas ng minimum wages, hindi lang sa presyo ng mga bilihin, kundi sa pagtaas din ng productivity ng mga manggagawa,” the Senator stated.
Hontiveros also urged DOLE to take its enforcement of minimum wage mandates more seriously, since even official statistics before the pandemic would show that 1 in 4 wage workers were receiving wages that were below the regional minimums.
“DOLE should report on the process of enforcing the implementation of past minimum wages. Base sa 2018 Labor Force Survey, may nasa almost 10 million of the 41 million employed workers ang hindi nakakatanggap ng minimum wage,” she said.
Hontiveros said that it is not too late for the employers and the agencies involved to act on the matter. Better late than never, she said. She is hoping that the new Malacanang appointments among business representatives in the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Boards will be released soon to expedite the review and to immediately come up with and release a decision.
“Ngayong Labor Day, maging hudyat sana ito ng pagkilos ng mga ahensya ng gobyerno para unahin ang kapakanan ng mga manggagawa. Dahil ang tunay na pagkilala sa kanila ay pagbibigay ng makataong sweldo at tamang benepisyo para sa kanilang serbisyo,” she concluded.
Labor took aim at the minister with campaign spokesman Jim Chalmers saying her comments were ‘remarkably desperate and remarkably unhinged’.
Finance Minister Simon Birmingham told Sky News on Sunday the comments were legitimate.
We have known that foreign interference is a real risk in the Australian electorate landscape and in Australian politics generally,’ he said.
‘It’s why we as a government put in place foreign interference laws as part of a range of different protections we have applied to Australia in response to the more aggressive and assertive stance of China and indeed other risks over recent years.’
Asked whether interference was occurring, he said: ‘That will be a matter for our intelligence analysts and others who would be no doubt monitoring these matters very closely.’
‘We have seen enormous hostility in the commentary from elements of the Chinese communist party and their mouthpiece organs in Beijing towards this government,’ he said.
We want to fight this election on the policies as they matter to Australia.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has described a possible Chinese military base in the Solomons as a ‘red line’, but is taking the Solomon Islands government at its word that no such base is intended.
Senator Birmingham said such a base ‘may necessitate other basing or operational decisions that the US or other partner countries might need to make into the future’.
‘We will continue to work with Prime Minister Sogavare and others across the Pacific and we acknowledge his public statements and ongoing commitments that there will not be foreign military bases established in the Solomon Islands.
And we will continue to provide the record levels of assistance.’
Asked how a Labor government would approach China, foreign affairs spokeswoman Penny Wong said it was a matter of ‘sensibly, calmly, and consistently’ managing differences in values and interests.
‘The reality is we had a prime minister who dropped the ball when it came to the Pacific … we will seek to (work) consistently and calmly,’ she told the ABC.
‘We have to work with all sovereign nations in our region.’
The news comes as the Labor Party holds its official campaign launch at the Optus Stadium in Perth.
WA Labor Premier Mark McGowan introduced Labor leader Anthony Albanese ‘the next prime minister of Australia’ at the event on Sunday as insiders say the party is confident it can win three Liberal-held WA seats in the upcoming Federal Election..
The premier on Sunday praised Mr Albanese’s understanding of the state’s important resources and highlighting his own government’s track record in managing the Covid pandemic.
He added that WA had produced two of the nation’s greatest citizens in wartime – prime ministers John Curtin and Bob Hawke, the latter having told him ‘he always identified as a Western Australian’.
‘We know that it is Labor governments that best manage our economy and responsibly manage our finances,’ Mr McGowan said.
Labor has sought to present Mr McGowan and his federal counterpart as close allies, playing down past visits to WA by Mr Albanese in which the pair did not publicly appear together.
Mr McGowan described Mr Albanese as resilient, authentic and one of the most experienced political figures in the nation.
‘He is a fundamentally decent person, driven by empathy and a deep sense of civic responsibility,’ Mr McGowan said.
‘I have every confidence he will make a fine prime minister.’