Palace keeps hands off ECOP call for wage hike moratorium

Malacañang is keeping its hands off a call by employers for a moratorium on wage hikes for the rest of 2010, saying the issue is already being tackled by wage boards. Communications Group official Herminio Coloma advised the Employers' Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP) Monday to bring their request to the wage boards. Coloma said President Benigno Simeon Aquino III will not interfere with the operations of the wage boards where employers can present their petitions for a moratorium on wage hikes. "May proseso yan, di kara-karaka ginagawa yan. Kaya tayo may wage boards. Makokonsulta naman agad lahat, walang abrupt procedure diyan (There is a procedure in place. A wage hike is not given recklessly, that's why we have wage boards that consult all parties concerned. There is no abrupt procedure)," Coloma said in an interview on dzXL radio. "Di manggagaling sa pangulo ang aspect na yan. Walang kumpas o senyales na ganyan tungkol sa issue na yan (The president will not give any signals to the wage boards. He will let them do their work)," he said. ECOP president Edgardo Lacson earlier urged government to focus on job generation 10 million unemployed or underemployed Filipinos instead of considering proposals for a minimum wage increase. Lacson said businessmen are just starting to recover from the slowdown in global demand. — RSJ/ VVP, GMANews.TV