The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) filed a petition for a P430-increase in the minimum wage in Central Visayas.

The TUCP filed the petition for a wage hike before the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board-7 (RTWPB-7) based in Cebu City, on March 21, 2022.

If the petition gets approved, the minimum wage for non-agricultural workers in Tagbilaran City will jump from P 361 to P791 a day.

In the rest of Bohol, the current minimum wage among non-agricultural workers is P 356. If approved, the minimum wage will increase to P786.

Moreover, non-agricultural workers will get P781 from P351, if the petition for wage increase gets approved by the RTWRB-7.

The minimum wage rate in Central Visayas is P404 and will jump to P834, in the event the petition for wage increase is granted.

Raymond Democrito Mendoza, president of TUCP, revealed that it is time for Central Visayas to update its minimum wage rates.

He said it has been two years since there was a minimum wage increase. The last wage increase order was implemented back in Jan. 2020.

TUCP’s move comes as the country experienced petroleum price hikes as a result of the war between Russia and Ukraine. The labor group clarified that the increase in petroleum prices is one among the number of reasons why the group has filed a petition for a wage hike.

Based on the data presented by the TUCP, a family of five, in Central Visayas, needs P16,295 in order to survive.