Central Luzon workers demand P70 wage hike

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga — Labor unions in Central Luzon have petitioned for an across-the-board P70.50 minimum wage increase in the region as the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) has started conducting public hearings and consultations to find out how much of their demand could be granted.

The good news is that the management sector in Central Luzon is keeping an "open mind" about increasing wages, although not necessarily that much, DOLE regional director Josefino Torres told The Star yesterday.

Torres said the wage increase petition jointly filed by the Trade Union Council of the Philippines (TUCP) and the Association of Workers’ Union (AWU) in the region sought an across-the-board P42.50 wage increase considering the increase in the prices of basic commodities, plus another P28 as the workers’ sector’s share in the economic progress benefiting the region.

"They think that the region has developed so much that the benefits should somehow flow back to the factors of production, and that includes the workers, so they added P28 to their petitioned minimum wage increase," Torres explained.

The last wage increase in Central Luzon was granted in January 2002.

According to Torres, the inflation rate in Central Luzon has been in the range of 2.3 to 4.7 percent, which he said is "still insignificant."

He said that the Regional Tripartite Wage Board (RTWB) is also considering the request of Aurora province to be covered by Central Luzon's minimum wage rate. Aurora, which President Arroyo classified as part of Central Luzon last year, used to be part of Region 4, which has lower wage levels.

Central Luzon has about 3.2 million workers, while about 500,000 are unemployed, Torres said.