BY DOMINIQUE GABRIEL G. BAÑAGA
BACOLOD City – Local labor rights group General Alliance of Workers Association (GAWA) expressed dismay over the repeated postponement of hearings of the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB) for a proposed wage increase in Western Visayas.
Wennie Sancho, secretary-general for GAWA as well as the labor representative at the RTWPB, said the new dates for the hearings are May 12 and 13.
The original dates were supposed to be April 12 and 13. These were moved twice already, first to April 22 and 23, then to April 28 and 29.
Sancho said one of the reasons for the postponements was the unavailability of the wage board members.
But he said the hearings should still have proceeded with the absent board members just sending their representatives because the hearings were not anyway considered as final deliberations.
Sancho said he was suspicious of the repeated postponements, pointing out that the matter could be overshadowed by the payday after the May 9 elections.
In a petition submitted to the wage board, the Fishta Union of Employees for Reforms Through Solidarity Actions (FUERSA-SUPER) sought P750 new daily minimum wage for the private sector in Region 6.
The current daily minimum wages in the region are as follows:
* For non-agriculture / industrial / commercial – P395 in those employing more than 10 workers and P310 in those employing 10 workers and below
* for agriculture – P315
These rates took effect way back in Nov. 26, 2019.
There was no wage increase in 2020./PN
