There's good reason for the labor sector to burst out laughing at Labor Secretary Francis Tolentino's harpings about the recent minimum-wage hikes for workers in Metro Manila.
To them, Tolentino's declaration that the P85 daily wage increase is "historic" is just another of those "exaggerations" (read: lies) trumped up by the Marcos administration to boost the spirits of a nation on the verge of rebellion.
But the reality of our current wages is, for the average Filipino earner, more sad than funny.
Let's be blunt here: P780 a day (in Metro Manila) will simply not cut it for the average Filipino family, even if considering that both partners are working.
Calculations made by the think tank IBON Foundation estimated that the average family living in Metro Manila, for instance, needs an average "living wage" of P1,279 a day.
And let's not forget that the cost of living in some areas in Laguna province is now almost equivalent to that of Metro Manila.
As a matter of fact, IBON Foundation’s calculations may be out of date in the coming months, considering that our overall inflation rate of 6.8 percent last May is still high by ordinary standards (even as they eased from a record 7.8 percent reported last April).
The truth is that simply raising wages would not be enough to alleviate the suffering of our ordinary workers already reeling from the high prices of basic goods and commodities.
Not to mention the fact that the big business oligarchs who control our economy have been allowed to get away both with paltry wages and high prices of utilities.
Unfortunately, it appears that the current struggle for political power is proving to be a potent distraction for our so-called “public servants,” at the expense of concentrating on providing a decent living for Filipinos.
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