SP Zubiri on P100 Wage Hike

I assure our labor groups and all of our workers that I remain committed to pushing for a legislated minimum wage hike of Php150, towards ensuring that our workers receive a decent living wage.

As I have said before, the wage board's announcement of a minimum wage increase of Php40 in the National Capital Region is not enough. But it is a start.

This is why I am amenable to a Php100 hike for NCR. It's just mathematics--taken together, the Php40 wage board increase and the Php100 legislated increase brings us to Php140, which is not far from our proposed figure.

That said, I will continue to advocate for a Php150 increase, especially since the Php40 increase is only for NCR at the moment. Workers in the provinces toil just as hard as workers in Metro Manila, and contend with prices just as high as we do, so we need to make sure that their wages reflect this reality.