Palace pressures regional boards

MANILA, Philippines - President Gloria M. Arroyo Thursday deviated from her traditional Labor Day speeches, opting instead to personally observe the proceedings of regional wage boards, which she has ordered convened amid rising prices of basic goods. No labor packages were announced by the President Thursday except for the formal signing of an order allowing a 10% pay hike for state workers, which the government had already announced last month. A provisional Palace schedule showed that the President was expected to go to the World Trade Center (WTC) in Pasay to visit a job fair and to interact with labor groups. She was then expected to proceed to the Occupational Health and Safety Center in Quezon City, where the National Capital Region (NCR) wage board held public consultations. But Mrs. Arroyo skipped her schedule in WTC and went immediately to Quezon City where she listened in to the meeting of the NCR wage board. She then moved on to Angeles, Pampanga to observe the meeting of the Central Luzon wage board. "I’m sitting in two tripartite meetings, NCR and Region III, not to exert undue pressure. That is why I did not say anything and just to see for myself how things are doing," she said. The President stressed that while Labor Day is a holiday, the wage boards should work overtime to fast-track their deliberations on workers’ wages. Pending decisions by wage boards, Mrs. Arroyo has urged businesses to provide their employees non-wage benefits like rice, canned goods, and shuttle services. While private sector employees would have to wait for a new wage order, Mrs. Arroyo confirmed that she has signed the executive order (EO) providing state workers a 10% pay hike. "Yes, I signed it [order hiking the basic pay of government workers] already," Mrs. Arroyo told reporters when asked if she had already signed the directive. The still unnumbered EO, which takes effect this July, is expected to benefit more than a million state workers. The Budget Department said the 10% hike in the basic play of state workers would cost P9.2 billion for six months. The pay increase will come from the P41-billion Miscellaneous Personnel Benefits Fund of the 2008 National Budget. Last month, Ms. Arroyo called for the convening of the wage boards, stressing the need to help workers cope with the rising prices of commodities. Under the law, wage boards cannot issue a new wage order until a one year prescription period has lapsed from their last order. They, however, can order adjustments in the daily minimum wage after declaring that extraordinary — or "supervening" — conditions exist in their regions. National Wages and Productivity Commission Executive Director Ciriaco Lagunzad III said in an interview Thursday that 13 of the 17 regional wage boards in the country have already declared such condition and are now assessing the appropriate level of adjustment. The regions that have yet to act are: the Ilocos and the Cordillera Administrative regions, as well as Western and Southern Mindanao. Mr. Lagunzad added all wage boards should have announced their respective orders by June. The National Capital Region, as well as Central Luzon, the two southern Tagalog regions and Central Visayas may announce their orders within this month, he said. This is not the first time that the NCR wage board granted a wage hike because of "supervening events." In 1992, wages were adjusted twice because of the effects of the Gulf War. In 2005, it was also adjusted even before the moratorium lapsed because of the impact of the expanded value-added tax. The Department of Labor and Employment, on the other hand, has reported that eight wage boards — NCR, Central Luzon, CALABARZON, Western Visayas, Central Visayas, Northern Mindanao, Davao and Caraga — have received 10 petitions for wage increase ranging from P50 to P150.45 per day. Labor Sec. Marianito D. Roque previously admitted that a wage adjustment may not be accomplished by Labor Day, but asserted that the wage board discussions are moving. "The government and wage boards are working even on Labor Day, so a wage adjustment can be made within this month and provide relief to our workers," he said in a radio interview. Jorge V. Sibal, dean of the University of the Philippines’ School of Labor and Industrial Relations, said Ms. Arroyo’s decision to monitor the wage board meetings affirms her support for a wage hike through this system, designed to balance the interests of employers and workers. "She [Ms. Arroyo] respects [the process of wage boards]. A few weeks ago, she issued a statement calling for the convening of wage boards. Before, she was neutral about it. This means that she is for wage increases," he said in a phone interview. "Current economic conditions like rising prices of oil warrant wage increases." Mr. Sibal believes that the regional wage boards should continue to decide on wage increases as they are more familiar with the conditions of stake-holders. "The wage adjustments should be determined by employers and laborers. Wage determination should be made by the actors in the industry. The government or Congress does not know the situation of industries," he said, arguing against a legislated across-the-board wage hike that does not take into consideration peculiar conditions of each region. Last year, Ms. Arroyo announced a labor package composed of non-wage benefits like the distribution of dividends to Pag-Ibig members, development projects for sugar workers, intensified campaign against illegal recruiters, scholarships from the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office, livelihood assistance for informal sector workers, and microfinance programs. Last Wednesday, Labor Usec. Lourdes Trasmonte said Ms. Arroyo would announce a labor package that will include Philippine Health Insurance coverage for an additional 2,000 workers in the informal sector, livelihood assistance for workers, as well as loan interest condonation for Social Security System and Government Service Insurance System borrowers. For Kilusang Mayo Uno spokesman Prestoline Suyat, however, Ms. Arroyo’s actions Thursday were "all for show." For Alliance of Progressive Labor secretary-general Josua Mata, on the other hand, her non-appearance in centrist Trade Union Congress of the Philippines’ (TUCP) event was "symptomatic of how she really feels for workers." Both groups have long been calling for a legislated across-the-board wage hike, saying the current wage-setting method via tripartite regional boards could not respond to workers’ needs. TUCP spokesman Alex Aguilar said that what is relevant is the declaration of supervening events by the wage boards. TUCP filed last month a petition seeking an P80 increase in the daily minimum wage. "We’re expecting it should be higher, considering there is the declaration of the supervening condition and [prices of] everything is rising," Mr. Aguilar said. "If the regional wage boards will give lower than [what was given] last year, I think they are up for abolition." The Metro Manila wage board ordered a P12 increase in August last year, bringing the base pay in the metropolis to a maximum P362 per day. Employers’ Confederation of the Philippines President Sergio Ortiz-Luis, Jr. said the declaration by wage boards of supervening events — the rise in prices of basic commodities such as rice, oil, and power rates — proves they are responding to workers’ needs. He said business is ready "to give anything that the wage board decides...We employers normally follow what has been deliberated on." - BusinessWorld