The Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board did not grant the Pandemic Relief Allowance (PERA) earlier sought by workers in Western Visayas.
RTWPB labor representative Wennie Sancho said members of the Board did not approve the request during their virtual meeting Oct. 27.
“The Board did not grant it since it was only in a form of manifestation and not a wage petition,” Sancho added.
In a collective decision, the Board agreed that they are not in the position to grant that manifestation because the proper thing that should be entertained is a wage petition.
Sancho said he vehemently opposed the decision of the Board, and asked for reconsideration from the management sector.
He insisted the need to have a P20 to P25 per day PERA since there was a reduction of 24 percent in the real wage since October 2020.
Sancho said the P395 per day minimum wage is only actually equivalent to P300.24 because of the series of increases in the prices of basic commodities amid the pandemic, and the oil price hikes recently. – MML
