Manila: Labor groups on Wednesday filed a petition asking the Supreme Court (SC) to nullify the Pasig Regional Trial Court's (RTC) orders against the implementation of the PHP85 minimum daily wage hike in the National Capital Region.

According to Philippines News Agency, Kamanggagawa Party-list Rep. Eli San Fernando and eight labor organizations submitted a 39-page petition for certiorari and prohibition. The petition challenges the temporary restraining order (TRO) issued by Pasig RTC Branch 152 Judge Marie Joyce Manongsong and the status quo ante order by Branch 154 Judge Achilles Balauitan. The groups argue that lower courts lack the legal authority to intervene in decisions made by the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB) and the National Wages and Productivity Commission (NWPC).

In their petition, the labor groups stated that the lower courts and judges involved have overstepped their mandates by addressing an issue outside their jurisdiction. They emphasized that these courts do not possess the necessary knowledge or expertise to evaluate the appropriateness of wage orders.

Previously, workers' groups, led by Akbayan Party-list, requested the SC's judicial integrity office to investigate the circumstances surrounding the Pasig RTC's decisions against the PHP85 wage increase for the private sector. The law prohibits courts from issuing injunctions against wage hikes, instead allowing a 10-day window for appeals to be made to the board that ordered the increase.

The injunctions from the lower courts were based on a petition filed by construction firms Readycon Trading and Construction Corp. and R-II Builders Inc. In response, the labor groups are urging the SC to issue an order directing lower courts to dismiss any petitions against wage orders.

Other petitioners include the Workers and Peasants' Party of the Philippines, UNI Global Union-Philippine Liaison Council, Federation of Free Workers, National Federation of Labor, Sentro ng Nagkakaisa at Progresibong Manggagawa (Sentro), Unified Filipino Service Workers, Partido Manggagawa, and the Council of Teachers and Employees in Schools, Colleges and Universities in the Philippines.