P50 wage hike petition opposed

BUSINESS groups of the Metro Bacolod Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MBCCI) and the Bacolod Filipino-Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BFCCCI) are oppose to the P50 per day wage hike petition for the private sector filed by the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) for Western Visayas recently.

Lawyer Benjamin Ortega, BFCCCI president and Roberto Montelibano, president of MBCCI, in a petition letter to the regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB) in the region, said their reasons for their opposition to the wage increase, that include the statement of Labor Secretary Margarito Roque, “that there is no economic basis to grant wage increase or a supervening event to warrant wage review and grant an increase.”

The only thing that could prompt the wage boards to increase wages is extraordinary increase in prices of basic commodities, said Roque.

In January 2010, the National Statistic Office reported that inflation in January 2010 was 4.3 percent or 0.1 percent lower than the December inflation of 4.4 percent.

This reduction was brought about by the lowering of food and housing repair prices, which offset the increase in the prices of fuel, light and water, NSO figure showed.

Bothe the business groups said that the duty of the business sector today is to overcome the lingering effects of a global recession to save the jobs of the workers and create productive opportunities, so more jobs could be offered inside the country.

RTWPB conducted a hearing for wage increase in Iloilo on February where the Iloilo-based business sector also opposed the wage increase.

They proposed that the increase be reflected on non-wage benefits of the workers.

RTWPB’s next meeting is on Feb. 12, in Bacolod City.

The position paper of the Negros and Bacolod businessmen was made after their meeting at the MBCCI office Monday.

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