Labor officials scramble for 'win-win' wage hike

As they started Thursday the procedures for wage hikes in Metro Manila, labor officials assured both workers and employers of a "win-win" pay rate adjustment. National Wages and Productivity Commission executive director Ciriaco Lagunzad III said the Metro Manila regional wage board will consider the welfare of both labor and capital by inviting representatives from all stakeholders to public hearings. “Magkakaroon ng public hearing kung saan dadalo ang stakeholders na may taya sa decision. Didinggin sila para malaman ng regional wage board kung ano ang taya ng lahat ng stakeholders," Lagunzad said in an interview on dzBB radio. He said the wage board itself also has representatives from the labor and employers’ sectors. Lagunzad said the Metro Manila wage board was to convene Thursday and publish a notice of public hearing. The first public hearing will be scheduled 15 days after the publication of the notice, or end-April at the earliest. “Fifteen days after the public hearings, the wage board must come up with a decision. As to when the decision of the wage hike will be announced depends on the date of the last public hearing," he said. Lagunzad maintained the regional wage boards have no authority to declare wage hikes across the board, adding their mandate is limited to the determination of the minimum wage. Now, the minimum daily wage in Metro Manila stands at P404. After Labor Day Lagunzad said any wage hike in Metro Manila will come after Labor Day (May 1), given the procedures involved, including public hearings. He said a public hearing may be held 15 days after the publication of the notice for it. “Halimbawa pag-publish mo ngayon [ng notice], 15 araw pagkatapos nito doon pa lamang magkakaroon ng public hearing kung saan dadalo ang stakeholders na apektado sa anumang desisyon," he said. Other regions Lagunzad said the wage boards in other regions are also assessing the costs of living and will act accordingly. But he said some regions such as Cagayan Valley already imposed wage hikes earlier this year and may not grant another wage hike soon. “We do not expect all regional wage boards to issue a wage hike order, especially those that already did so earlier this year. Still, we can assure that the wage boards will look at conditions such as inflation, then act accordingly," he said. Earlier, the Labor Department cited “supervening conditions" that may merit a wage hike before a one-year ban on imposing a wage hike lapses in July. The law prevents more than one wage hike in a span of one year. The last wage hike in Metro Manila was in July last year. Lagunzad also noted inflation had gone above five percent, exceeding the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ target of three to five percent for this year, in six regions. “Yan isa sa tinitingnan kung may supervening condition pero pangunahin tingnan ang presyo ng bilihin at langis. pag may declared supervening condition yan ginagawa ... didinggin nang maaga ang petition," he said. At present, Lagunzad said there are wage hike petitions also pending in Central and Western Visayas. 'Substantial' wage hike Insisting they want no compromise, militant workers have continued to push for a “substantial" wage hike and not the adjustment offered by the Labor Department. “No compromise: we want a substantial wage hike. The Filipino workers and people will not be deceived by the trap of filing a petition for a wage hike in the National Capital Region wage board," Kilusang Mayo Uno said Thursday. KMU chairman Elmer Labog said the wage board’s opening to wage hike petitions is just a “cheap ploy" by the Benigno Aquino III administration to make it appear it is doing something to address the clamor for a substantial wage hike. Labog called for the abolition of regional wage boards “for being mere mechanisms for pressing down workers’ wages and for denying workers any substantial wage increase." He said the KMU is sticking to its stand for a legislated wage hike. Militants had called for a P125 across-the-board wage hike. Also, he said the more than 20-year record of the regional wage boards reveals they have not approved any wage hike higher than P26 – “a clear proof of their inability to give a significant wage hike which workers demand as an immediate relief from hunger, poverty and suffering." — LBG, GMA News