THE Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board in Central Luzon supports the call for activation of all Local Price Coordinating Councils (LPCCs) in the region to stabilize prices of basic necessities and prime commodities.
“The Wage Board is supporting the call for activating or re-activating all LPCCs in Central Luzon to manage price increases of basic commodities and to stave off further hardship among workers especially during these times when both workers and employers are gradually recovering from the catastrophic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic,” Department of Labor and Employment in Central Luzon Regional Director Ma. Zenaida Angara-Campita said.
This, after the Wage Board observed that prices of basic necessities and prime commodities in public and private markets sometimes get unreasonable and excessive, especially during periods of calamity, emergency and similar situations.
The board is composed of the Department of Labor and Employment in Central Luzon Regional Director as chairperson, National Economic and Development Authority and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) regional directors as vice-chairpersons, and two representatives each from the labor and employer sectors.
After reviewing the minimum wage rates in Central Luzon, which turned one year in effectivity on January 1, 2021, the Wage Board passed Resolution No. 5, Series of 2020, supporting the call of the DTI-Central Luzon and Department of Agriculture (DA) to activate/reactivate LPCCs in provincial, city and municipal levels. Creation of LPCCs is mandated under Republic Act No. 7581 otherwise known as the “Price Act.”
“Workers are primary consumers and as such, they shall be provided with protection against hoarding, profiteering and cartels with respect to the pricing of goods,” the resolution said.
Jerome Yanson, head of the Wage Board secretariat, said that the Wage Board passed the resolution with reference to Joint Memorandum Circular No. 3, Series of 2020, on Strengthening the Role of Local Price Coordinating Councils and the Local Government Units in Managing Unreasonable and Excessive Price Increase of Basic Necessities and Prime Commodities, issued by the DA, DTI, Department of the Interior and Local Government, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, and Department of Health.