Davao Region workers condemned the regional wage board for its recently approved ₱30 wage hike for non-agricultural workers and ₱20 for agricultural workers.

Already meager, it will also be implemented in two tranches. The increases will take effect on March 13. The daily minimum wage will only be ₱505 and ₱540 in the region—far from living wage of ₱1,280 estimated in January.

“Some say the ₱30 wage hike in the Davao Region is positive. But for workers who toil daily, the ₱30 wage hike newly ordered by the regional wage board is an insult,” KMU-SMR spokesperson Jeffry Uypala said in a February 27 statement.

He said the amount is mere loose change compared to the sharp increases in prices of basic goods and services. Rates for utilities and public services in the region spiked last year and early this year. In January, Davao Light raised its rates by ₱2 per kWh. The Davao City Water District also imposed a price hike. These increases piled on top of the unrelenting rise in fuel prices—gasoline, diesel, kerosene, and LPG.

“All these show that workers’ current income cannot keep up. The ₱30 wage hike has almost lost all meaning and value under these conditions,” Uypala said.

He added that the wage board and the government are detached from the daily realities workers face.

“With these meager or very low wage increases, the wage board and the Marcos Jr regime only protect the profits of big businesses and corporations,” Uypala said. “Ordinary workers remain oppressed, while the capitalists grow even richer.”