Tuesday, August 14, 2007 Wage board to hear petitions for salary hike
KIDAPAWAN CITY -- After a series of public hearings scheduled this Wednesday and Thursday, the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTPWB) in Central Mindanao will decide as to how much salary adjustment is needed for employees in the private sector.
The board is set to hear petitions Wednesday for wage hike from different labor organizations in Tacurong City in Sultan Kudarat. Another hearing is set in General Santos City the following day.
During wage consultations, representatives from different labor organizations would be given opportunity to articulate their positions on wage hike issues.
Gonzales, however, said that even without the petitions, the board is monitoring and reviewing the wage condition in the region.
After those meetings and consultations, the board would decide if an increase in the workers' daily pay is needed in the region, said RTWPB 12 secretary Joel Gonzales.
"We have just increased the salary of the private sector in Region 12 last year. After a series of hearings, we have to determine if we have to increase or not the minimum wage in our region," he stressed.
The board has issued Wage Order 13 in August 9 last year.
For employees in the non-agriculture sector, the board approved an increase of P11 per day in the cost-of-living-allowance (Cola) and P10 daily for workers in the agriculture sector.
Gonzales said the adjustments would depend on the region's economic situation.
Also, the order setting a new minimum wage in the region would be in accordance with government's efforts to fast track the issuance of new wage orders.
Militant labor organizations have demanded a P125 across-the-board daily wage increase.
In 2006, when Congress passed the bill for a P125 across-the-board wage hike for the private sector, many employers in Mindanao expressed alarm because they believe the move would impede the economic growth of the region.
They cited a study that said the P125 across-the-board wage hike would negatively affect Mindanao where 10 of the poorest provinces are located.
Also, Gonzales stressed that such increase can never be implemented "unless approved by the board."
He used as basis the provisions in the Republic Act 6727 -- an act that rationalizes wage policy determination by region. He said the minimum wage rates would be adjusted in a fair and equitable manner, considering existing regional disparities in the cost of living and other socio-economic factors. (Malu Cadelina Manar)
