Wage hike may have to wait until ‘23 amid inflation rise–nwpc

DESPITE soaring inflation, workers may still have to wait until next year to get a possible minimum wage increase since the regional wage boards have yet to declare a “supervening event.”

The National Wage and Productivity Commission (NWPC) said the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Boards (RTWPB) are still reviewing the economic indicators in their respective regions, which can help in the determination of a supervening event.

“They have to be diligent and at the same time cautious in terms of assessing the socioeconomic conditions because there are a lot of factors that we really have to consider this time,” NWPC Executive Director Maria Criselda R. Sy told reporters in an interview.

Anniversary dates

SHE noted among the considerations of the RTWPBS for declaring a supervening event are the impacts of a pay increase to employment and the anniversary dates of their wage orders.

Under NWPC rules, RTWPBS can only come out with a new wage order a year after they implemented minimum wage hike unless they declare a supervening event due to unusual economic incidents, such as extraordinary increase in petroleum products and basic goods and services for a long period.

A supervening event exempts the RTWPB from the one-year ban in issuing new wage petitions.

All of the wage orders issued this year by the 16 wage boards under NWPC, including Rtwpbnational Capital Region (NCR), took effect last June.

Pending petition

AS of last Monday, Sy said there is currently one pending wage petition in Metro Manila, which was filed ahead of the anniversary date of the previous wage order in the region.

The petition for P100 daily minimum wage hike was filed by the Kapatiran ng mga Unyon at Samahang Manggagawa (KAPATIRAN) to help workers cope with rising inflation, which reached 8 percent last month.

The RTWPB-NCR is set to meet next month to look into the said petition.

Sy said the wage boards are cautious in granting additional minimum wage hikes since it can contribute to inflation.

“When you increase it, the effect is massive at the macro level. So we will have to look at that to ensure [economic] growth will continue,” Sy said.

Better prepared

NWPC said the government is now much better prepared to provide support for minimum wage earners (MWE) without the need of increasing minimum wage rates unlike in the 2008 Global financial crisis.

During the said crisis, Sy said some regional wage boards declared a supervening event since the government has limited funds that time to help MWES.

She said this is no longer the case since the government can now afford to provide “targeted intervention” to the vulnerable, such as providing them free rides in public transportation.

Likewise, she said the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas has also implemented measures to control inflation.