3 regional boards reviewing wage pleas

MANILA, Philippines - Workers in the Visayas and Mindanao may soon get increases in their daily take home pay.

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) reported that wage boards in the Visayas and Mindanao are now looking into the possibility of granting additional pay to workers in their areas of jurisdiction.

Labor Secretary Marianito Roque said the wage boards in eastern and western Visayas as well as in Zambonga are now reviewing formal petitions for salary adjustments filed recently by labor groups in the three regions.

Roque said the regional wage board in Zamboanga received the petition for P50 across-the-board increase in take-home pay from the Philippine Integrated Industries Labor Union.

In western Visayas, Roque said labor unions are seeking a P128.60 increase in the minimum wage, while workers in eastern Visayas are demanding a P50 adjustment in their daily basic pay.

The workers are seeking salary increases to help them cope with the rising cost of living and to recoup their purchasing power, which has eroded due to spiraling cost of oil, rice and other basic commodities.

According to Roque, the different Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Boards nationwide are regularly assessing the socio-economic situation in their respective jurisdictions in an effort to come up with the best possible options that will benefit both the workers and their employers.

“The regional wage boards are continually performing the delicate and difficult task of balancing the interests of workers and employers. The boards have constantly uphold the mandate of providing a decent standard of living for workers and ensuring the survival and viability of businesses, more so, of micro, small and medium enterprises,” Roque said.

Ciriaco Lagunzad III, executive director of the National Wages and Productivity Commission, explained that in setting the minimum wage, the regional wage boards take into consideration various socio-economic indicators to ensure a fair and reasonable wage adjustment.

“The criteria include needs of workers and their families, employer’s capacity to pay, and other critical indicators such as gross domestic product, employment/unemployment, inflation and price movements,” Lagunzad said.

Neglecting any of these factors may result in negative implications to the country’s economy, he added.