P145 wage hike petition junked

There would be no wage increase this year as the regional wage board recently junked a petition seeking an additional P145.10 per day for workers in Central Visayas.

The wage hike petitioners are the Cebu Labor Coalition, Lonbisco Employees Organization, Metaphil Workers Union, and Unionbank Employees Association.

Metudio Belarmino, spokesperson of CLC, said he was informed by Jose Tomongha, the labor representative of the wage board, that their petition was dismissed for lack of supervening conditions.

Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board-7 Chairman Cyril Ticao said there is no finality of the decision as the board has yet to issue an order for its dismissal.

Belarmino said the petitioners will file a motion for reconsideration once they receive a copy of the dismissal order.

"We will file a motion for reconsideration and we will attach all our documents to prove that there is really supervening conditions," Belarmino said.

He earlier insisted the presence of supervening conditions to merit the P145.10 wage increase.

He said prices of basic commodities have soared high, crippling the purchasing power of the workers, worsening the inflation rate and shrinking value of the peso, as well as impending hike in transportation fare.

He also cited the rise in the prices of fuel at least eight times, which, he said, will result to an increase in the fare in jeepneys.

RTWPB is barred from entertaining wage petition within one year from the last wage order unless there are supervening conditions, which include price increase, and inflation rate, among others.

RTWPB-7 issued Wage Order 20 early this year mandating P13 increase in the daily minimum wage for workers in Central Visayas. It was implemented last March 10.

But less than a year since the last wage order, the four workers groups filed another petition seeking P145.10 increase in the daily wage of workers in non-agricultural and agricultural sectors.

Palaubsanon/KBQ