MANILA, Philippines — Kamanggagawa Partylist Rep. Elijah “Eli” San Fernando on Tuesday slammed the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) over the “secret” approval of a new Metro Manila wage order that effectively cuts the previously approved P85 wage increase to P60.
San Fernando accused DOLE and the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board-NCR of quietly approving Wage Order No. 28 late Monday night, without informing workers’ organizations of the proceedings.
“This is the first wage decrease in history,” San Fernando said during the House budget briefing.
The new wage order came after a Pasig trial court suspended Wage Order No. 27, which granted an P85 wage increase to Metro Manila workers, with P60 to be given in the first tranche and the remaining P25 in a succeeding tranche.
San Fernando said replacing the suspended order with Wage Order No. 28 effectively stripped workers of P25 from the approved increase, while also preventing them from receiving the hike retroactively from July 25.
He accused DOLE of responding to the court challenge by creating another wage order instead of defending and enforcing Wage Order No. 27.
“The DOLE betrayed workers and conceded instead of enforcing their own wage order,” San Fernando said.
What drew particular ire from the lawmaker was the manner in which Wage Order No. 28 was approved, which he described as a process conducted through “secret meetings” that excluded workers and their organizations.
San Fernando said DOLE’s failure to coordinate with organized labor had effectively allowed corporate interests to dictate the outcome of the wage dispute.
He called on workers to unite against what he described as collusion between government officials and oligarchs, as he and the National Wage Coalition prepare to discuss possible actions against the new wage order.
“We are being insulted right to our faces by the very agency tasked with protecting us,” San Fernando said.
