Migrante Canada Statement on the Inaction of the Marcos Jr. Regime on the Urgent Call for Wage Hikes

Migrante Canada joins Filipino workers and labour rights advocates in the Philippines in condemning the continued inaction of the Marcos Jr.-controlled House of Representatives and Senate on proposals for an increase in the daily minimum wage. While workers and their families struggle with skyrocketing prices and the ever-worsening cost of living, this deliberate inaction exposes the government’s lack of concern for the plight of the working class.

The refusal to convene the bicameral conference committee to reconcile the House and Senate versions of the wage hike bill is a clear act of betrayal. It shows how Marcos Jr. and his administration are content to pass on the responsibility to the regional wage boards — institutions that have long denied the workers’ demand for a meaningful and nationwide across-the-board wage increase. Even the proposed ₱100 or ₱200 increases fall far short of the ₱1,200 family living wage that workers need to support a family of five with the most basic necessities.

Migrante Canada denounces the lies being spread by the Marcos Jr. government and big businesses that wage hikes would fuel inflation or harm capitalists. Research, such as that from IBON Foundation, proves otherwise. A ₱200 wage hike would reduce annual corporate profits by only 9% to 15%, a small price to pay to ensure that workers can live decently. In fact, increasing wages would stimulate the local economy, as workers would have more to spend on food, housing, and other basic needs.

As migrant workers forced to leave the Philippines because of low wages and joblessness, we stand in firm solidarity with our fellow workers in the Philippines. We echo their calls for a ₱1,200 family living wage, the protection of their right to unionize and to strike, and the need for genuine reforms to address the root causes of poverty and forced migration.

We call on all Filipinos, both in the Philippines and abroad, to strengthen the struggle for just wages, workers’ rights, and a truly pro-people government that prioritizes the well-being of the majority, not the profits and interests of a few. ###

Migrante Canada

17 June 2025