Central Visayas workers and the Alyansa sa mga Mamumuo sa Sugbo-Kilusang Mayo Uno (Ama Sugbo-KMU) were insulted with the ₱39 wage increase recently approved by the Regional Tripartite Wage and Productivity Board (RTWPB)-Region 7. This will raise the daily wage of private sector workers in the region to only ₱500-₱540, far below the ₱1,200 family living wage.

Ama Sugbo-KMU chairperson Jaime Paglinawan said the meager increase in wages is a slap in the face of workers. He stated that workers keep the economy of Central Visayas afloat, which was called the “fastest-growing economy” in the country in 2024, but the state shows no concern for their situation.

Workers doubly resented the meager wage increase, especially as cases of breaches of public trust and corruption involving the government and contractors continue to surface one after another. “They already stole from the public treasury, they even stole the wage increase that should have gone to the workers,” Paglinawan said.

He said that amid glaring inequality, workers beg for wage increases while politicians in Congress, the Senate, and Malacañang receive salaries of ₱120,000 to ₱400,000 per month.

“The RTWPB was created not to ensure the dignity of workers, but to condemn them to poverty,” he said. Ama Sugbo and KMU have long called for the abolition of wage rationalization and classification, which set different wage rates for each region and serve as a means to pull down wage increases.

According to Paglinawan, every worker in the region and in the country has the right to a living wage that can provide them with a decent life. Ama Sugbo-KMU continues to call for an increase in wages to the ₱1,200 family living wage.