Eleven labor groups are demanding the Pasig Regional Trial Court lift the TRO that blocks the ₱85 minimum wage increase in Metro Manila, blasting the order as an overreach and arguing that the court has no authority to stop a wage order issued by the regional board.
The groups filed an urgent motion seeking permission to intervene before Pasig RTC Branch 152. They were the Federation of Free Workers, Sentro ng mga Nagkakaisa at Progresibong Manggagawa, National Federation of Labor, Unified Filipino Service Workers, Partido Manggagawa, Kapatiran ng mga Unyon at Samahang Manggagawa, Vishay Philippines Employees Union-FFW, Ninja Van Riders Union-FFW, Workers and Peasants Party, Kamanggagawa party-list and Young Christian Workers of the Philippines.
They said the TRO was depriving more than 1.1 million minimum-wage earners of an increase that had already been approved.
The wage order grants a ₱60 daily increase effective July 25, raising the minimum wage for nonagricultural workers from ₱695 to ₱755. Another ₱25 increase is scheduled for January 20, 2027, which would bring the daily rate to ₱780.
The labor groups cited Article 126 of the Labor Code, which they said prohibits courts, tribunals and other bodies from issuing injunctions or restraining orders against proceedings before the National Wages and Productivity Commission or regional wage boards.
They argued that the companies should have appealed the wage order before the wage commission rather than going directly to court.
The groups described the suspension as a “legal snatching” of workers’ wages, saying minimum-wage earners continue to lose income each day the TRO remains in effect.
“A street snatcher strikes once. But if the TRO is not lifted today, this legal snatching will be repeated every working day,” they said.
The court order has sparked protests outside the Pasig RTC and the Department of Labor and Employment, while support for lifting the TRO has grown across the political spectrum, including from 21 senators who jointly called for its removal.
The wage increase has the backing of President Bongbong Marcos, who called for higher wages nationwide during his fifth SONA.
