RTWPB-7 needs more data to justify wage hike

The Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board in Central Visayas (RTWPB-7) is needing more data to establish the presence of supervening conditions that would warrant the P150 per day wage hike filed by five labor organizations.

The board, in a meeting yesterday, asked the Department of Trade and Industry, the National Economic Development Authority, the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board, and the Department of Energy to present the region’s economic conditions on November 19.

RTWPB needs to declare a supervening condition first before it can take actions on the pending petition for wage increase because of the one year period prohibition, said Jose Tomongha, one of the labor sector representatives in the board.

Wage boards are prohibited to issue wage order within one year from its last wage order unless there is a supervening condition.

The supervening conditions include the unstable oil prices, the increase in the prices of basic commodities, the reduction of the purchasing power of the peso, and the impending hike in the transportation fare, among others.

RTWPB-7 earlier approved a P10 to P50 daily wage increase for minimum wage earners in the private sector. Wage Order No. 21 took effect on August 3, 2018.

Tomongha said the declaration of the supervening conditions would warrant an increase in the minimum pay of workers in the non-agricultural and agricultural sectors.

The data from the said government agencies will help determine the supervening conditions, he said.

The pending petition was lobbied by the Cebu Labor Coalition, Lonbisco Employees Organization, Nagkaisang Lakas ng Manggagawa-Katipunan, Metaphil Workers Union, and Unionbank Employees Association.

“This new round of wage adjustment will provide the wage earners the necessary safety net from falling into the poverty mire and should be mandated and should be across the board," the wage petition read.

Metudio Belarmino, spokesperson of the group, said the presence of supervening conditions is very clear, based on their computation.

The group cited the insufficient increases from the past, the reduction of the purchasing power of the peso, unstable oil prices, inflation rate, consumer prices index, R-VAT, increases in the prices of basic commodities, increases in tuition fees, implementation of the TRAIN Law, impending fare increase, among others as grounds.

"The organized labor group demands for a P150 across the board wage adjustment in the minimum wage, which does not live up to the constitutionally guaranteed living wage," Belarmino said.

Based on the 2006 data from the Philippine Statistics Authority, a family of six should have P842 daily income in order to adequately meet their basic needs, he said.

The minimum wage in Metro Cebu is currently at P386 a day. "This is far below NEDA's determined living wage of P842 per day for a family of six," Belarmino said.

Belarmino is hopeful that their petition will be taken into consideration despite the one year prohibition.

"Hopefully ma-consider sa board despite of the one year ban rule," he said. —