Thursday, July 13, 2006
Wage board okays P16 hike in living allowance
By Ben O. Tesiorna
DAVAO CITY -- While the labor sector has long been hankering for a P125 across the board daily wage increase, they will have to make do with a P16 increase in the cost of living allowance (Cola) by end of July.
The Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB)-Southern Mindanao approved the P16 Cola increase last Monday and published as wage order 13 in a local daily Wednesday.
The minimum wage of P224 in the region thus, gets an additional P16 in Cola for a total of P240. The minimum wage in the provinces will however be P2 lower compared to employees in the cities.
Employees in agricultural plantations will be receiving lower, from P209 to P230 depending on the size of the companies they are working at.
As expected, the labor representatives in the wage board are scoffing at the P16 Cola increase saying the amount is not enough to cope up with the rising inflation expected in the next months.
Virginia Camus, labor representative, said the least they were expecting was a P19 increase although she said the ideal daily minimum wage in the region is P623, a far cry from the P240.
Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industries Inc. president Bienvenido Cariaga however said the P16 increase is the practical amount for the businessmen to comply with the wage increase and not jeopardize businesses in the region.
Wage board chair and Department of Labor and Employment Regional Director Ma. Gloria Tango said they hope employers would immediately comply with this latest wage order saying that the workers also deserve an increase to ease their economic burden.
The wage order will take effect on July 27.
Tango said they expect a low compliance rate in the first three months, but assured the workers that this will pick up in the coming months. (Sun.Star Davao/Sunnex)
(July 13, 2006 issue)
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