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Friday, June 10, 2005
Caraga wage board okays P11 daily wage hike
By Ben Serrano
Caraga correspondent
* Caraga daily wage now placed at 190
* Opposing groups can file protest within 15 days
BUTUAN CITY -- After holding four public consultations in the cities of Surigao, Bislig, Butuan and San Francisco, Agusan del Sur, the Regional Tripartite Wage and Productivity Board (RTWPB) of the Caraga Region finally approved Thursday an P11 daily wage hike to the region's nearly 300,000 workers.
Department of Labor and Employment (Dole) Caraga officer-in-charge Chona Mantilla, who chairs the board said they finally came up with an P11 increase after full deliberations with other six members of the tripartite body Thursdays.
She said they weighed the pros and cons of their decision to the labor and business sector especially its effect on the hemorrhaging economy of the region.
Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Regional Director Brielgo Pagaran, RTWPB vice chairman told Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro that the P11 pay increase will be added on the P179 minimum wage pay making it P190, the new minimum pay of the daily wage earners of this highly impoverished region.
Pagaran however said this order would take effect after 15 days notice or publication for the general public.
"Hopefully we can start the public information dissemination tomorrow June 10 and will end up on June 25," Pagaran said.
Mantilla however claimed any opposing groups or individual with the recent decision of the board can address their protest to the board within the prescribed period.
Mantilla stressed that exemptions are also being drawn to small-scale business entrepreneurs in implementing the new minimum wage hike.
She said those business establishments having less ten workers or salesladies are exempted from implementing the increase.
Mantilla also stressed those business firms who have declared bankruptcy and those with approved exemption applications by the board are exempted in the implementation of the new wage hike.
The RTWPB Caraga is composed of Dole OIC regional director Chona Mantilla as chairman, DTI regional director Brielgo Pagaran as vice chairman, NEDA Regional Director and two representatives each from labor and business sector.
Earlier, the labor sector in the region had asked at least a P115 daily wage increase while some in the business sector especially those in the wood industry offered an scattered P15 daily pay increase.
The labor sector claimed this offer is like candy offered to a crying child saying the offered increase is insufficient in offsetting the spiraling increase of prices of basic commodities like rice, fish, meat, vegetables and others in the region.
Meat prices in most public markets in the region are now being sold at P130 to P140 per kilo depending on its kind while rice are sold at minimum P22 per kilo of commercial rice.
(June 10, 2005 issue)
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