Progressive worker groups in Central Visayas denounced the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB-7) for its lack of immediate and determined action on the workers’ demand to raise the minimum wage to ₱1,200. The board remains deaf and numb to workers’ grievances amid workers’ collapsing livelihoods caused by skyrocketing prices of goods and fuel.

Alyansa sa Mamumuo sa Sugbo–Kilusang Mayo Uno (AMA Sugbo-KMU) secretary general Howell Villacrusis, BIEN Cebu’s Kyle Enero, and Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan)-Central Visayas’ Jaime Paglinawan at a July 25 press conference strongly condemned RTWPB-7’s inaction. They said the agency further prolonged workers’ suffering by refusing to immediately declare a “supervening event” that would have sped up the wage hike’s implementation.

Villacrusis emphasized that tensions in the Middle East exploded as early as March, triggering successive oil price hikes and rising prices of basic goods. Yet the government took nearly three months before acting even to hold a sham “consultation.”

“We have long been calling for a wage increase… The war in Iran erupted and drove prices up back in March. They tagged it a supervening event only nearly three months after. Based on their schedule, the increase will only be approved by September,” Villacrusis said.

AMA Sugbo-KMU estimates the real value of the current ₱540 minimum wage in the region has fallen to only ₱400 amid a 10.8% inflation rate in Central Visayas in May. This is the highest inflation rate in the country. The situation is even more dire for the poorest families (the bottom 30% of households), where inflation reached 15.4%.

BPO workers also denounced the proposal to prioritize “upskilling” or training over wage increases to make the country “competitive.” Kyle Enero of BIEN Cebu said this excuse has become a worn-out capitalist justification to suppress wages. He added that many workers perform tasks beyond their duties but are not fairly paid.

AMA Sugbo-KMU submitted an open letter to the wage board laying out the fair basis for a ₱1,420 family living wage. The alliance is consequently calling for an urgent ₱660 wage increase for Class A areas (to reach a ₱1,200 baseline) and a ₱700 increase for Class B areas currently fixed at ₱500.

Paglinawan of Bayan-Central Visayas countered business threats that higher wages would incur them losses. Data show Central Visayas’ Regional Gross Domestic Product (RGDP) continues to grow while big corporations and billionaires in the region amass greater profits.

He said it is only fair to return to workers the wealth they themselves create. As the government and capitalists remain deliberately indifferent, AMA Sugbo-KMU and the entire force of the working class in Cebu call to intensify unity, launch protests, and hold the regime accountable for its indifference to the people’s survival.