BACOLOD City – The General Alliance of Workers Association (GAWA), a local labor rights group, is pushing for a new round of wage increase this year.
Wennie Sancho, GAWA secretary-general, said they are filing a petition next week before the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board amid the “worsening economic conditions due to the ongoing pandemic and unabated hike in the prices of basic goods and services.”
According to Sancho, threats that companies would close shop if there’s a new salary increase were “merely a rehash of the same old reason that the government had been saying every time there is a demand for a wage hike.”
What’s more unreasonable, he said, was the pronouncement of Labor secretary Silvestre Bello III, echoing the stand of the business sector.
“It seems the labor chief is trying to preempt our call for wage increase like what he did in December 2020 when he hinted on the possible deferment of the 13th month pay only to backtrack later,” Sancho added.
Citing data from the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), Sancho said a worker may lose P23,000 annually due to pandemic.
In Western Visayas, the purchasing power of the peso slid to P0.79 as of December 2020.
“This meant there was a reduction in our nominal wage of P395 per day of about P82.95 per day, more or less. Our real wage in Western is only P312 per day. This does not include reduction in wages and wage-related benefits due to the implementation of flexible working arrangements like compressed workweek, job rotation and forced leaves under a ‘no work no pay’ policy,” Sancho explained.
Deductions on social benefits from workers’ wages would further reduce their “take-home” pay, he stressed.
“The time for another round of wage increase is now. It is not only reasonable, it is an economic necessity for workers,” Sancho stressed.
DOLE, for its part, said it has not yet received any formal petition seeking a minimum wage hike as of Friday.
“Petition for wage increase has yet to reach us. If they want to have an increase in their salary, they need to file a petition,” said Bello.
He, however, vowed a thorough study on wage increase petitions once these have been filed before the agency./PN
