Business can’t afford P125 daily wage hike
Published: December 24, 2006 by The Bohol Standard
With a shade of gray, the government agency supposedly tasked to look at the welfare of laborers, was the first to howl on the recently approved legislated P125 across-the- board pay increase.
Department of Labor and Employment (Dole 7) Regional Director Elias Cayanong said, as reported by Sunstar-Cebu Thursday, “the legislated wage increase will put to waste the regional wage boards’ efforts in maintaining industrial peace.â€
Cayanong chairs the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB) in Central Visayas.
About 90 percent of businesses in the country are small scale and are vulnerable to economic shocks brought about by such wage increase. Any mandatory wage increase will only end up getting passed on to consumers, through higher prices of basic commodities, he added.
“The employers’ last resort is termination. Thousands of workers could end up losing their jobs,†Cayanong pointed out.
RTWPB, however, does not enjoy the trust of laborers as its dominant members come from the business sector.
In July this year, the regional wage board granted a P18 increase for workers in Cebu, P15 for workers in the provinces of Bohol, Negros Oriental and P10 Siquijor and the islands of Camotes and Bantayan.
“Mitiyabaw man gani ang business sector sa P18 nga atong gihatag, unsa na kaha kanang P125? (The business sector howled when we approved an increase of P18 this year, how much more with P125),†Cayanong was quoted saying.
The legislated increase is staggered over three years; P45 during the first year, and P40 for the second and third year.
The Bohol Standard was able to contact Bohol Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) president Norris Oculam who is presently in China through his mobile phone. He said he will discuss this recent development with the chamber as soon as he comes back.
Meanwhile, Central Visayas labor representative to the RTWPB Mariano Ventura said “the timing and motive of congressmen in adopting the bill is no doubt part of the usual drama of the politicians to get the support of the labor sector in the 2007 elections.â€
For two years, the house bill lay in the House of Representatives archived but after the failed constituents’ assembly (con-ass), in a sudden turn of events, the bill was passed on its third and final reading with a unanimous vote of 150-0.
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