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Friday, June 10, 2005
Banana industry opposes another wage adjustment
By Jenny Molbog-Mendoza
THE Pilipino Banana Growers and Exporters Association (PBGEA) has expressed strong opposition over the implementation of another wage adjustment in Region 11.
PBGEA president Stephen Antig said Wednesday that the issuance of another wage order would cause additional burden to the banana industry.
Antig also said during the Club 888 Forum of the Marco Polo Hotel that the industry that is now owned mostly by small growers cannot afford another round of minimum wage increase.
"Instead of improving the welfare of small growers mas lalo lang natin silang ibabaon," he said.
Antig said some of the growers are still indebted to the Land Bank of the Philippines and will be placed in a very difficult situation paying their debts if there is an increase in the cost of production.
Antig said PBGEA had been supportive of the Regional Tripartite Wage and Productivity Board (RTWPB) saying they had been the first to comply with any wage increase passed by the board.
"We had made salary adjustments that ranges from as low as P8 per day to a high of P20 per day and in terms of compensation those working with us have the highest in the country," he said.
The wage rate of our workers already is between P300 to P600 per day, he said.
Antig said the banana industry is a labor-intensive industry and could generate employment however with the escalation of minimum wage increase the sector would have a hard time creating more jobs.
He also said that an increase in the minimum wage would only benefit about ten to 15 percent of the workers.
"The new entrants to the work force can not enjoy an adjustment of salary," he said.
Antig explained that even if they do not agree with the minimum wage increase, they are still supporting the RTWPB.
Antig however said that in a worst case scenario, we always comply with the decision.
"The banana industry is a fixed pricing industry because prices are negotiated yearly," he said.
Antig explained that while it is true that the industry is already in the global market, the total area planted to banana is not even 30 percent of the 130,000 hectares in Latin America.
He also said that if there will be problems in the markets of our competitors, the tendency for instance of Latin America producers is to dump their produce to the major markets of the Philippines like Japan and China.
"And this will have tremendous effect to our producers," he said.
Antig said their competitors have an edge because their country is subsidizing their operation like fuels.
He said that the fuel of vessels that bring the bananas produced in Latin America are reimbursed by their government.
"Our government is not doing that for us," he said. Antig also said that what is happening lately is the imposition of new fees to production sites.
In Compostela Valley province, the local government unit he said has imposed a regulatory fee of P1,000 per hectare per annum which is termed as Environmental Rehabilitation Fee even as he said that they already submitted their position paper to the LGU.
The business sector of Davao will take the lead in advocating population management to their workers.
The regional wage board conducted a public hearing on the proposed wage adjustment at the Linmarr Apartelle in Agdao, wherein both the management and labor sectors from all over the region participated.
For Bisaya stories from Davao. Click here. (June 10, 2005 issue)
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