Wage rates under review in 3 regions

Wage rates in Visayas and Zamboanga are now under review as three regional wage boards received petitions for a salary adjustment from various labor groups. In a release posted on the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) website, the labor agency said the National Wages and Productivity Commission (NWPC) and the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Boards (RTWPB) in Eastern and Western Visayas and Zamboanga received the petitions. The RTPWB in Zamboanga is the latest to receive a petition from the Philippine Integrated Industries Labor Union (PIILU) asking for a P50 across-the-board wage increase, the statement read. In Western Visayas (Region VII), meanwhile, 10 labor unions petitioned for a hike of P128.60 in the minimum wage. Eastern Visayas (Region VI) likewise received a petition for a P50-increase in the daily wage. “The wage hike petitions cited the need to help workers cope with the rising cost of living and to recoup their purchasing power which eroded due to spiraling cost of oil, rice and other basic commodities," NWPC executive director Ciriaco Lagunzad III said. DOLE Secretary Marianito Roque added the regional wage boards are regularly assessing the socio-economic situation in their areas to come up with options that will benefit both workers and employers sectors. “The Regional Wage Boards are continually performing the delicate and difficult task of balancing the interests of workers and employers. The Boards have constantly upheld the mandate of providing a decent standard of living for workers and ensuring the survival and viability of businesses, more so, of micro, small and medium enterprises," Roque said in the statement. The petitioners include the Alliance of Progressive Labor (APL), Shemberg Employees Independent Union (SEIU-NUWHRAIN-APL), Employees Association of Robinsons Supermarket (EARS), Nagkahiusang Mamumuo sa LBF Hardware (NAMA-LBF), Kan-Irag Employees Labor Organization (KELO), Bank of the Phil. Islands Cebu Employees Independent Union (BPI-CEIU), Grand Majestic Convention Center Employees Union (GMCC-EU), Lonbisco Employees Organization (LEO), NUWHRAIN-Montebello Chapter and PIALO, Inc. In the National Capital Region, where the prevailing minimum wage rate is pegged at P382 after an increase of P20 was granted in June 2008, Roque said no petition for another round of increase has been lodged. Lagunzad meantime explained that in setting the minimum wage, the Regional Wage Boards take into consideration various socio-economic indicators to ensure a fair and reasonable wage adjustment. The criteria include needs of workers and their families, employer’s capacity to pay, as well as economic indicators such as gross domestic product, employment/unemployment, inflation and price movements. Prices of fuel and cooking gas currently remain stable, but prices of some basic commodities such as rice, sugar and bread continue to surge.—Jerrie M. Abella/JV, GMANews.TV