Monday, April 14, 2008 Zubiri pushes for wage hike of P60-P70
TO COPE with increases in prices of commodities such as rice and fuel, Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri is proposing an across-the-board daily wage increase of P60 to P70.
Zubiri wants the salary increase legislated by district. He said he will file a Senate bill for the pay hike soon.
Zubiri, who was in Cebu yesterday, also urged the government and the public to start using alternative fuel without compromising food security.
He cited Thailand as “perfect” example, saying the country has both biofuel and food production for its people.
Food, fuel
“If Thailand can do it, why can’t we? If done properly, biofuels and food security can co-exist as long as we will not enter into agricultural areas. We can plant malunggay and jatropha in barren idle lands and in mountainous lands where we can’t plant palay and other food crops,” he said.
Biofuels, considered as cleaner alternative to fossil fuels, are made from such sources as sugarcane, coconut and jatropha.
After the 20th awarding rites of Don Sergio Osmeńa Sr. Academic Excellence at White Gold House yesterday (see related story in A6), Zubiri met with the media and commented on the increase of prices of petroleum products.
Global
Oil prices have increased for the seventh time this year, with the most recent hike amounting to P0.50 per liter.
“Actually, we can’t do anything with price increase of fuel. It’s a global phenomenon. That is why we should seek alternatives. Otherwise, we can’t do anything. Two years ago, when I estimated the fuel to rise to P50 per liter, many laughed at me and didn’t believe me. Now, premium gasoline has reached P50 already,” he said.
The senator said he is worried that by 2009, fuel prices will reach P70 per liter. He reiterated his proposal for replacements such as ethanol and biodiesel, “which may cost only P30-P40 per liter.”
He also said the public should learn to adjust to the possibility of using solar-powered cars, bicycles, and motorcycles and mass transport systems that use alternative fuel.
“If we won’t prepare now, when it is still early, we might be caught by surprise, like in the food crisis. By 2009 or 2010, we might have a fuel crisis, disabling us from using our cars to transport goods from farm to market while jeepney fares keep increasing until there is no one to be blamed but us,” he said.
Zubiri also criticized the move by some schools to increase tuition.
Pressure
“High prices of food, high prices of fuel, add them with high tuition increase, I think foul na kaayo na. I think we should put pressure not to increase tuition,” he said.
Zubiri said he does not agree with increasing jeepney fares to cope with the increased fuel prices. While he asked the government to continue the rice subsidy to the people, Zubiri said he believes that a wage hike would compensate for all the increases.
“P60 to P70 is something the more moderate labor groups such as Trade Union Congress Party are asking for because employers will not agree to P125 across-the-board,” he said.
“I think the employers would understand the needs of our employees because prices of commodities—vegetable, rice, fuel, energy—increased. It’s about time that salaries of the people should also increase. It would be impossible not to do so because the salary is the only thing that is stagnant in the past few years,” he said.
Task force
Cebu City Councilor Edgardo Labella, meanwhile, proposed in a resolution the creation of an anti-hunger task force to expedite the implementation of the government’s hunger mitigation programs such as “Gulayan ng Masa” and Barangay Food Terminals, which seeks to distribute crop goods to urban areas and metropolis.
Labella believe this is one way to offset the City’s vulnerability to hunger.
“The people will be spared from the gut-wrenching pain of hunger under these very difficult times, characterized by dwindling supply and soaring prices of rice and other food essentials,” he said. (NRC)
