MALACAÑANG on Wednesday, January 9, said it would look into the proposal of a labor group to abolish all wage boards in the country and replace them with a singular wage-fixing body thay will determine a uniform minimum wage rate nationwide.
In a statement, Panelo said the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Boards (RTWPB) were created by law and can be abolished only by Congress.
Panelo nevertheless said the executive branch would carefully study the proposal to create a sole wage-fixing body instead of having the regional wage boards.
"Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Boards are created by law. The call of certain groups to abolish these and replace them with a singular wage-fixing body requires congressional fiat," the Palace official said.
"The Executive however will review and study the proposed change of structure of these boards," he added.
Panelo issued the statement after Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TCUP) president Raymond Mendoza urged President Rodrigo Duterte to overhaul the 30-year-old tripartite wage-setting structure in the country.
Mendoza on Sunday, January 6, emphasized the need to replace the old system, noting that the current minimum wage-setting mechanism "only favors those businesses and no longer balances the interest of workers."
The 17 regional wage boards across the country were created through Republic Act 6727 of 1989, otherwise known as Wage Rationalization Act.
Panelo explained that the regional wage boards were formed because of "different characteristics and peculiarities apropos their respective commercial settings, a vital factor in determining the applicable wages of the subject constituents."
"The President will initially defer to the wisdom of both houses of Congress as to amending the pertinent provisions relating to the existing wage boards," he said.
"Whether the extinguishment of these boards is beneficial cannot be decided by one interest group alone. It requires consultation among our partners in various sectors, including those legitimately representing labor," he qdded.
Apart from TCUP, other labor groups also proposed last year the abolition of regional wage boards because of supposed failure to provide living wages to workers.
House Bill 8616, filed in November last year, seeks the abolition of "irrelevant" and "non-responsive" regional wage boards. (SunStar Philippines)