Wage board deliberates on new hike petitions
The Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board in Central Visayas is expected to come out with a decision soon on the wage hike petitions after taking into consideration the region’s current economic conditions.
Once the wage board reaches a final decision, a new wage order will be issued, which will be forwarded to the National Wages and Productivity Commission (NWPC) for confirmation.
RTWPB-7 has started deliberating the wage hike petitions whether or not to adjust the current wages in Central Visayas.
DOLE-7 regional director Alvin Villamor, also RTWPB-7 chair, said the board has completed the four hearings and would continue to assess the regional economic conditions taking into consideration the inputs presented by other government agencies.
He said the board had consulted with other government agencies to study whether the present economic conditions in the region would warrant a pay hike or not.
The Philippine Statistics Agency presented and discussed the updated prices of basic agricultural products, inflation rate, and consumer price index.
Updates on the prices of basic prime commodities were revealed by the
Department of Trade and Industry, while the National Economic Development Authority presented the region’s economic performance and prospects.
The labor agency provided updates on the labor situation in Central Visayas including compliance to the minimum wage law.
Villamor pointed out the deliberation is part of the meticulous process the board has to go through.
“We assess not only the needs of workers and their families and the capacity of employers to pay but also the comparable wages and incomes across provinces in Region 7 and other regions comparable to it such as regions 3, 6, 10 and 11,” he said.
He cited also taken into consideration are the requirements of economic development in the light of the prevailing socioeconomic conditions in Central Visayas.
The board started conducting deliberations last May 16, followed by another one on May 22. The third deliberation will take place on June 7.
It will take around two weeks for NWPC to confirm the wage order. When everything is in place, the new wage order will be published in a newspaper of general circulation. Effectivity starts 15 days after publication.
The issuance of a wage order is aimed at providing a more effective protection to low-paid workers by setting a genuine floor or minimum wage as well as to encourage productivity and enterprise growth, DOLE-7 said.
It can be recalled the board received two wage hike petitions, which became the subjects of the series of wage public consultations and region-wide public hearings conducted.
In February, the RTWPB received the P155.80 across-theboard daily wage adjustment petition collectively filed by the Cebu Labor Coalition, Lonbisco Employees Organization (LEO), METAPHIL Workers Union (MWU), NUWHRAIN-Montebello Chapter, NLM-Katipunan, and Union Bank Employees Association (UBEA).
In March, the Board received the P120.00 across-the-board daily wage hike petition filed by the Associated Labor Unions-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (ALU-TUCP).