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BORACAY – The Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB) is still gathering opinion on the proposed wage increase in Western Visayas.
Labor and management groups may still submit position papers until tomorrow, Nov. 20, RTWPB chairperson Salome Siaton said.
“After that, all comments will be deliberated by the wage board to come up with a certain wage order,” said Salome, officer-in-charge of the Department of Labor and Employment regional office.
Among those that have submitted their position papers were Metro Bacolod-Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry; Confederation of Sugar Producers Association, Inc.; Bacolod Filipino-Chinese Chamber of Commerce, Inc.; and the Iloilo Business Group, which comprises Iloilo Business Club, Federation of Filipino-Chinese Chamber of Commerce of Panay, Inc., Iloilo Multi-Sectoral Business Organization, Ilonggo Producers Association, and the Philippine Retailers Association, Inc.
Groups from Boracay said they will come up with their own position paper.
On Thursday, Nov. 17 the wage board held in this island resort its last public hearing on the petition for wage increase filed by the Philippine Agricultural, Commercial and Industrial Workers Union.
The labor group is pushing for the following wage increases: P113.57 for commercial and industrial workers, P100.75 for agricultural workers in plantations with more than 24 hectares, and P96.95 for workers in non-plantation and plantations with less than 24 hectares.
Currently workers in commercial and industrial companies with more than 10 workers in the region get P298.50 each daily.
In the agriculture sector the minimum wage for plantation workers is P266.50 and for non-plantation workers, P256.50.
The current rates are not enough for the workers’ needs amid the continued increase in the prices of prime commodities and basic services, the group stated in its petition filed on Aug. 24.
It claimed the last P11.50 wage increase that took effect in May 2015 “does not answer the real needs of workers.”
Siaton said the last public hearing was held in Boracay because of the high number of businesses and workers affected by the petition. Labor and management representatives attended. Previous hearings were held in Bacolod, Iloilo and Capiz.
The RTWPB comprises three sectors: workers, employers and government. (PNA)
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