SEVEN out of the 17 Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Boards (RTWPBs) do not have any more reasons to snub wage hike petitions after the one year prohibited period on wage orders have expired.
Based on the data provided by the National Wages and Productivity Commission (NWPC), seven of the 17 regions in the country have already reached their respective wage order anniversary dates.
These are the National Capital Region (June 3); Davao Region (January 1); Bicol Region (April 7); Soccsksargen (April 18); Calabarzon (May 15); Cagayan Valley (May 16); and Western Visayas (May 31).
And with the one year period over, Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said these regional wage boards can begin the assessment on the possibility of issuing wage orders either through a petition filed or motu propio.
"The RTWPBs are now reviewing their current wage orders and assessing the socio-economic conditions in their respective regions as their wage orders reach their anniversary dates," Baldoz said.
On the other hand, six regions that have yet to reach their anniversary dates are the Cordillera Administrative Region (June 18); Ilocos Region (July 25); Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (September 21); Central Luzon (October 11); Eastern Visayas (October 16); and Central Visayas (December 7).
Under the law, all regional wage boards cannot entertain wage petitions within the one year period unless there is an existing supervening condition.
Meanwhile, four regional wage boards have already issued their respective wage orders, namely Mimaropa (February 1); Zamboanga Peninsula (June 10); Northern Mindanao (June 20); and Caraga (May 21).
And as to further criticisms that the RTWPBs are useless since they are just being used as tools to deny workers substantial wage adjustments, the labor chief said these claims are baseless.
She said this is because actual data showed that the NCR-based workers even have higher wages than those of other countries in the region.
"The minimum wage in the country is at par with our neighboring countries. This means that our minimum wage is competitive enough for investment growth and job creation," said Baldoz in a statement.
Baldoz noted how the minimum pay in Metro Manila is even higher than other countries at US$13.41.
Comparatively, the daily minimum wages in Central Luzon (US$7.91), Calabarzon (US$8.23), and Central Visayas (US$7.18) are akin with those of China (US$8.08), Malaysia (US$9.75), and Thailand (US$9.75). (HDT/Sunnex)