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Mayen Jaymalin - The Philippine Star
June 2, 2025 | 12:00am
Trade unions march from España Boulevard to Mendiola Peace Arch in Manila to commemorate International Labor Day on May 1, 2023, the first under the Marcos Jr. administration. Labor groups continue to call for wage increases and respect for the right of workers to organize.
Philstar.com / Kaycee Valmonte
MANILA, Philippines — Workers from different labor organizations are marching to Congress today to press for the immediate passage of the pending measure granting a P200 legislated across-the-board pay hike.
“With only six session days left this June, this is the moment of truth for the 19th Congress,” Federation of Free Workers (FFW) president Sonny Matula said.
“We urge Speaker Martin Romualdez and our lawmakers: be the House of the People – pass the P200 wage hike now,” Matula said, noting that the Senate has already passed its version of the legislated wage increase February last year.
According to Matula, the historic significance of the P200 wage hike cannot be overstated, for it will be the first legislated nationwide wage increase since 1989. He said that over five million minimum wage earners nationwide and their families expect the “long-overdue legislation” to lift them from poverty wages.
If the 19th Congress fails to pass it this June, Matula said the process will reset and start from step one under the 20th Congress.
“Non-passage would be a step backward, moving us further away from achieving a living wage – a right guaranteed by the Constitution but still unrealized nearly four decades since its ratification,” Matula pointed out.
The labor leader said wages nationwide have fallen to below 30 percent of the purchasing power of the 1989 wage.
Employers and business groups have warned that a legislated across-the-board wage hike would lead to downsizing and business shutdowns and dampen investments. They point out that the law leaves wage fixing to the tripartite productivity boards.
OFWs reeling from peso appreciation
Overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) are reeling from spiraling commodity prices back home and the continuing peso appreciation against the US dollar, according to migration expert Manny Geslani.
“As the dollar depreciates, the value of their remittances decreases,” said Geslani, noting that an OFW family loses P1,760 for every $500 sent by their loved one from abroad, thus affecting their monthly budget.
For the past months, Geslani said, the peso has gained strength with US President Donald Trump’s new policies rocking world trade and resulting in the slide of the US dollar against all foreign currencies.
“OFW families have to scrimp on their budgets for the next months as the dollar value is headed to the 54 to 55 range,” he noted.
While the peso appreciation means more value for local consumers and importers, Geslani said, exports and OFW families suffer.
Migrant Workers Day
Meanwhile, the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) said it is mounting a week-long celebration to mark the 30th Migrant Workers’ Day starting today, with the theme OFW@30: Bayan, Bayani, Bayanihan.
Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Cacdac said the DMW will honor contributions of OFWs as modern heroes and co-architects of nation-building.
He encouraged the public, especially OFWs and their families, to join the celebration and access the free services offered throughout the week.
The DMW is providing assistance to 100 beneficiaries of the Livelihood Program for OFW Reintegration, and conducting an on-the-spot poster-making contest for the OFW Children’s Club.
Various health and wellness activities, and entertainment also await OFWs and their families during the weeklong celebration at the DMW Central Office in Mandaluyong City.
