THE Pasig Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 152 ruled on Tuesday that labor groups can intervene in the legal battle over Metro Manila’s P85 minimum wage hike, but said the suspension of the implementation of the increase remains.
The court denied the Office of the Solicitor General’s (OSG) motion for reconsideration, leaving in force its earlier injunction against the implementation of Wage Order NCR-27.
The court also reduced the injunction bond required from employer-petitioners Readycon Trading and Construction Corp. and R-II Builders Inc. from P10 billion to P5 billion, giving them 30 days from receipt of the order to post the reduced amount.
The Nagkaisa Labor Coalition on Wednesday demanded the payment of wage differentials for Metro Manila workers, saying the court’s decision to allow them to participate in the wage legal dispute does not remedy a fundamental jurisdictional defect.
”With due respect, the granting of leave to intervene came too late to erase the harm caused by the injunction or to cure the court’s jurisdictional defect. Workers must now be paid the wage differentials that were withheld,” Nagkaisa spokesman Rene Magtubo said.
The coalition is demanding wage differentials covering July 26 to Sept. 25, arguing that workers should not continue bearing the financial consequences of the injunction.
It said that its participation in the RTC proceedings does not mean it is abandoning its challenge to the court’s jurisdiction.
”The bond was cut in half. Our jurisdictional objection remains whole. Neither reducing nor posting a bond can give a court jurisdiction that the law does not confer,” said Nicey Coronacion, Sentro deputy secretary-general and Nagkaisa convenor.
Wage Order NCR-27 provides an P85 increase in the minimum wage in Metro Manila, to be implemented in two tranches: P60 effective July 25, 2026, and another P25 starting Jan. 20, 2027.
The RTC’s Aug. 13 order granting a writ of preliminary injunction stalled the implementation of the wage order, prompting labor groups to seek intervention and challenge the court’s authority to restrain the wage-setting process.
In its latest order, the court ruled that labor organizations had a direct legal interest in the case because their members stood to be affected by the suspension of the wage increase.
It granted the intervention motions filed by the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines, Akbayan and various labor federations, unions and worker organizations, including the Federation of Free Workers, Sentro, Partido Manggagawa, National Federation of Labor, Kamanggagawa Party-list and other groups.
The court said allowing the labor groups to participate would avoid multiple suits and would not substantially prejudice the rights of the employer-petitioners.
The coalition urged government lawyers to join labor groups in seeking appropriate relief before the Supreme Court following the RTC’s denial of the OSG’s motion for reconsideration.
