Workers under Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) condemned the Bicol Regional Wage Board for granting a paltry ₱20 regional minimum wage increase.

“This is a huge slap in the face of workers!” KMU secretary general Mary Ann Castillo declared. She said the current minimum wage of ₱430 is already too low, and even with the ₱20 increase, it amounts to only 38% of a living wage.

Castillo condemned the Marcos regime, which she said shows “not even a speck of concern” for workers.

“The weight of unbearably high prices is already breaking workers’ backs” she said. “And the government claims twenty pesos is ‘enough’?”

She said workers cannot expect anything from Marcos, who is “busy securing his capitalist cronies’ enormous profits.”

“He has no interest in granting a living wage,” she added. “That is because he benefits from kickbacks, bribes, and theft from the billions collected in VAT.”

Castillo called on workers to unite, assert, and fight for the immediate implementation of the ₱1,200 living wage for all nationwide.

“Fellow workers, make noise, protest, and lead the struggle against the greedy, and for urgent relief in this time of crisis,” she urged.

Living wage becomes more urgent

Massive increases in petroleum prices raised inflation rates to 4.1% in March.

“The demand for a living wage becomes even more urgent and justified in this situation,” said KMU. According to its report, the real value of wages has collapsed by ₱101 to ₱155. The ₱695 daily wage of workers in NCR is now worth only ₱539. The hardest-hit are workers in BARMM, earning just ₱411 a day—which means their real wage is only ₱309.

“Government aid and band-aid solutions are not enough,” said KMU. “We need a minimum wage hike across the country to a level that meets living standards—₱1,200 nationwide.”

KMU is presently preparing for a large-scale workers’ mobilization on May Day to demand the immediate fulfillment of this urgent call.