DEPARTMENT of Labor and Employment (DOLE)-Western Visayas Director lawyer Sixto Rodriguez Jr. will lead the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB) in reviewing the current wage rates in the region in preparation for a possible consultation on salary hike.
“This is the marching order of Secretary Silvestre Bello III during the meeting of Dole’s top executives in Vigan,” Rodriguez said in a statement on Wednesday, March 16.
Bello earlier directed all RTWPBs to review the minimum wages to help workers and their families cope with the looming fuel crisis.
Rodriguez also said the regional line agency received a petition for wage increase through its Negros Occidental Field Office recently.
Asked on the possibility of a consultation for wage increase, Rodriguez said the petition is still being validated as to the capacity of the petitioner.
“We have to go by the process. We will verify if the labor union (petitioner) is registered with the regional office or with the Bureau of Labor Relations,” he said.
The petition also included a proposed uniform wage regardless of the industry and the number of workers.
The move to call for a wage hike is the effect of the rising prices of fuels and its domino effect on basic commodities.
Minimum wage workers in Western Visayas are earning from P310 to P395 per day depending on their work classification based on Wage Order 25.