Workers are facing a double blow, Wennie Sancho, General Alliance of Workers Association secretary general, said on Sunday, June 22.
First, Congress failed to approve the legislated wage hike, which would have provided some relief to workers struggling to make ends meet, he said.
And now with the significant increases in the prices of petroleum products triggered by the escalation of the war between Israel and Iran, the workers are facing another economic squeeze, he added.
The fuel price hikes in the Philippines are expected to go higher than initial estimates as the US joined Israel in bombing Iran.
“The rising cost of fuel will have a ripple effect on the prices of goods and services making it even more difficult for workers and their families to afford the things they need. This is a double whammy for the workers and it’s unacceptable.” Sancho said.
Sancho is apprehensive that the workers will experience a period of economic strangulation once the excessive increase in the price of petroleum products begins.
Congress should listen to the voices of the workers and take action to address their economic struggle, Sancho said.
A wage hike should be granted, he said.
The workers deserve better since they are acknowledged by the 1987 Constitution as “the primary social economic force”, he added.*