Regional wage boards may conduct online hearings on pay hike petitions

THE regional wage boards may now conduct online consultations and public hearings for processing new wage hike petitions amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

This, according to the updated Omnibus Rules on Wage Determination, which was issued by the National Wages and Productivity Commission (NWPC) in January.

“When physical or face-toface meeting is not feasible for some or all members of the Board, consultations and public hearings may be conducted through the use of tele/ videconferencing technology,” the 20-paged NWPC issuance said.

Prior to the issuance of the guidelines, NWPC Executive Director Maria Criselda R. Sy said the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Boards (RTWPB) were required to conduct face-toface consultations and public hearings.

She noted this prevented RTWPBS from attempting to process new wage petitions since the government’s community quarantine restrictions greatly limited mass gatherings.

No wage board has issued a new wage order since March 2020, when the government started its community lockdowns to slow down the spread of infection.

Aside from online consultations, the new NWPC issuance also allowed wage board to commence their minimum wage determination—either through motu proprio by the board or virtue of a petition— within 60 days before the anniversary date of the previous wage order.

As of last Friday, NWPC said only the RTWPB in NCR is tackling wage petitions.

The petitions include the P100 across-the-board minimum wage hike, recently filed by Defend Jobs Philippines; and the P750 pay increase, filed by Unity for Wage Increase Now (UWIN) way back in 2019.