MANILA — The Federation of Free Workers and the NAGKAISA! Labor Coalition on Thursday asked a Navotas court to allow them to intervene in a case challenging the P85 increase in the daily minimum wage in Metro Manila.
The labor groups electronically filed an urgent motion for leave to intervene before Regional Trial Court Branch 287 in Navotas City, seeking the dismissal of a petition questioning the implementation of NCR Wage Order No. 27.
The case is separate from a petition filed before the Pasig RTC, which issued a temporary restraining order suspending the wage hike until Aug. 13.
FFW president Sonny Matula, also and NAGKAISA chairperson, said labor groups moved to intervene because workers themselves should be heard in a case that directly affects their wages.
Matula argued that stopping the wage increase runs contrary to the constitution's guarantee of social justice.
"Ibig sabihin ng social justice ay dapat those who have less in life shall have more in law. Pero dito ay binigyan na ng batas, tinanggal pa ng RTC," he said.
(Social justice means those who have less in life should have more in law. But here, they were given a law and the RTC took it away.)
Workers' groups have opposed the TRO, saying the Labor Code protects wage orders from court interference.
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'IMPROPER FORUM'
Matula called the move "unjust enrichment" for the rich because it takes away from workers.
"Kaya dapat lamang kumilos ang mga manggagawa at dapat mag-file ng intervention."
(That is why it is right that workers file this intervention)
The motion, filed on behalf of 13 labor organizations, argues that several of the groups participated in the wage-setting proceedings before the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board–National Capital Region (RTWPB-NCR) and should have been impleaded because the case directly affects their members.
The coalition also argued that disputes arising from wage orders should be resolved under the procedures provided by the Labor Code, not by regional trial courts.
"Bawal na bawal po at kung gusto nilang may reklamo sila sa wage order, dapat pumunta sila sa Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board na siyang may jurisdiction sa ilalim ng Article 124 ng Labor Code," Matula said.
(That is prohibited. If they want to raise a complaint against a wage order, they should go to the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board, which has jurisdiction under Article 124 of the Labor Code.)
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PASIG COURT TRO
The filing comes as labor groups continue to challenge the TRO issued by Pasig RTC Branch 152 on the petition by construction firms Readycon Trading and Construction Corp. and R-II Builders Inc..
The order halts implementation of the first P60 tranche of the P85 daily wage increase until August 13, while the court considers the employers' application for a writ of preliminary injunction.
A hearing was held on August 3.
Matula said labor groups have filed an intervention and a motion seeking the immediate lifting or dissolution of the Pasig RTC's TRO following Monday's hearing.
Meanwhile, the Department of Labor and Employment on Wednesday thanked senators for adopting Senate Resolution No. 577, which expressed support for the immediate lifting of the TRO and backed the DOLE, the National Wages and Productivity Commission (NWPC), and the RTWPB-NCR.
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