The Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board in Region 6 (RTWPB6) started its regionwide stakeholders’ consultation on the petition filed by the United Labor for Western Visayas and the Iloilo Pepsi Cola Workers Independent Union for a P100 daily minimum salary hike July 20 at the NEDA office in Iloilo.
Labor and Employment regional director, Atty. Sixto Rodriguez Jr., who is also the RTWPB6 chair, said the consultation aims to come up with a fair and just wage adjustment that will benefit both the employers and the workers.
“Through this consultation, we hope to gather insights from you, which will shape policies that are grounded on the actual needs of the workers and the current economic situation, and give us the idea of how to approach and address wage concerns,” Rodriguez said.
The workers’ sector anchored their petition on the effect of the inflation rate to the purchasing power and the value of the peso, the DOLE said in a statement July 21, adding
the wage recovery would compensate for losses in their salaries due to the effect of the inflation.
Inflation rate, as of June 2023, stood at 6.8 percent, while the purchasing power of the peso is at 81 centavos, based on the 2018 index.
The groups said that granting their petition would have a positive effect on the region’s economy, adding that the salary hike ordered last year helped the economic development of Western Visayas to accelerate ahead of the other regions.
Effective June 5, 2022, the minimum wage rate in non-agriculture/industrial/commercial establishments employing more than 10 workers is P450, or an increase of P55 per day, and P420 for those with 10 employees or less, while workers in the agriculture sector are paid P410 a day.
But the labor sector claimed during the consultation Thursday that the present salary could not cope with the high transportation expenses, tuition, and the demand for internet connections and gadgets needed in school. “Additional amount for wage recovery is necessary for a worker’s decent living.”
The business and management sector, meanwhile, claimed that raising the salaries of the workers could stagnate and slows down business activities that could result in limited job opportunities.
The management said increasing the daily wage could also mean losing more opportunities as investors prefer areas with lower labor cost. They underscored the high price of production, such as the cost of power and the transport of goods, considering the mode of transportation in the region.
The business sector, on the other hand, offered an upscaling of the skills of workers to increase productivity. They also suggested that the salary increase should be productivity or performance-based.
Rodriguez said the RTWPB will hold similar dialogues in other provinces in Western Visayas, including in Negros Occidental, for data gathering and to know the sentiments of the stakeholders. ||
