Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB) in Region 1

[MikeLigalig.com]

P12 hike granted to Ilocos minimum wage-earners
By Jennilyne O. Casimiro
SAN FERNANDO CITY, La Union (29 June 2005) -– A P12.00 per day across the board minimum wage hike has been approved by the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB) in region I recently.

The increase will be in the form of cost of living allowance (COLA) for all workers in the private sectors in the region.

The Wage Board announced in a press conference held recently that Wage Order RB-1-10 was approved on June 21, 2005 which will take effect July 7 or fifteen (15) days after its publication in major local papers.

“The decision to increase wages, after a series of public hearings in the entire region was in consonance with the President’s meeting with labor leaders during the May 1 Labor Day celebration,” DOLE-1 regional director and RTWPB Chairman Gerry Cirilo said.

Also, he emphasized that according to law, the Wage Board is prohibited from issuing another new wage order after a 12-month period from its latest issuance, wherein only last November 11, 2004, Wage Order No. 9 was approved. But the continuous oil price increase and increase in the prices of basic commodities, along with the double-digit inflation rate in the region justified another round of increase.

DTI regional director and Wage Board vice-chair Florante O. Leal emphasized that certain factors were considered by the Board in arriving at a P12.00 daily COLA increase.

These factors include the required basic needs of the workers, the capacity of establishments to pay, the comparative wage scheme in the adjacent regions and the requirements for economic development in the region.

Leal also said that job preservation and the promotion of micro and small business enterprises were among the other considerations set by the Board. He explained that possible higher wage increase might hinder potential investors to invest in the region and might lead to closure of small establishments, thereby negating the President’s agenda of jobs generation.

“The increase is meant to preserve and generate jobs and augment salaries of workers considering that majority of business establishments in the region are medium and small enterprises,” wage board management sector representative Salvador P. Roserio added.

Despite absence of wage increase proposal from the labor sector and opposition of another increase by the management sector, Board Labor representative Eliseo Flora believed that the P12.00 new wage increase will restore the lost purchasing power of consumers in the Ilocos region. (PIA Ilocos)

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