'Wage boards may hike pay outside Metro Manila even without a petition'

MANILA, Philippines - Wage boards may raise the minimum salaries of workers outside Metro Manila even if there are no petitions for an increase, an official of the National Wages and Productivity Commission (NWPC) said yesterday.

NWPC executive director Ciriaco Lagunzad said there had been times when wage orders had been issued even without anyone filing petitions.

“Historically, about half of the wage orders were issued through what you call motu propio. On the initiative of the boards, they conduct consultations, studies, hearings to find out whether there are already enough grounds to increase wages. So you can expect that,” Lagunzad said on the sidelines of the NWPC Stakeholders Consultation Forum at the G Hotel in Malate, Manila.

Lagunzad said wage hike petitions have already been filed in five regions - National Capital Region, Western Visayas, Central Visayas, Zamboanga Peninsula, and Davao Region - while another petition is expected to be filed in Northern Mindanao.

He said any decision would depend on the evaluation of the Regional Tripartite Wage and Productivity Boards. – Helen Flores