BY CHRYSEE G. SAMILLANO
The wage increase of P55 per day (commercial/industrial sector) for workers in the private sector in Western Visayas effective June 5 was negated by the unabated increases in the prices of basic commodities and services due to skyrocketing inflation, General Alliance of Workers Association secretary general Wennie Sancho said.
Inflation was flying high from 4.9 percent to 5.4 percent in recent months and is now 6.1 percent nationwide, he said.
Sancho said the consumer price index (CPI) which is an indicator of the changes in average retail prices is at 115.50 as of June reduced the purchasing power of the peso (PPP) to 0.87 centavos.
Erosion in the amount of minimum wages results to the decline in the purchasing power of the minimum wage earners when the prices of goods and services are rising. The higher the CPI, the lower the decline in the workers’ purchasing power, he said.
The wage increase failed to restore the purchasing power of the workers. The daily minimum wage of a worker in Western Visayas which is P450 was reduced to P391.50 in terms of real wage, Sancho said.
The worker is losing about P58.50 per day or P1,521 in 26 working days. The wage hike was merely symbolic. It was nullified by the high cost of living, he added.*
