MikeLigalig.com

by PNA

Workers in the Calabarzon provinces of Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon Region are likely to get a wage hike after the Holy Week, labor authorities said.

Dole IV-A Regional Director, Atty. Ricardo S. Martinez Sr., said Calabarzon’s Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB) has already conducted at least five public consultations and is expected to issue a wage order and wage advisory after the Holy Week.

Martinez said he has no idea yet on how much increase the regional wage board would grant, but has been considering the possibility of raising wages before the Trade Union of the Philippines (TUCP) filed a petition on March 26, seeking an P86-wage hike for the workers in Southern Tagalog.

In fact, it was not necessary for the petition to be filed before the study can proceed because the last wage increase in Calabarzon was granted over a year ago, he said.

Martinez said that under the Republic Act No. 6727 or the Wage Rationalization Act of 1989, the issuance of a new wage increase is prohibited within 12 months after the previous one was issued, unless the wage board declares the existence of a ‘supervening condition,’ such as the fuel price hikes.

The TUCP petition asked the regional wage board to add P86 to the basic pay of Calabarzon workers, citing as reasons the continuing increases in the prices of basic commodities triggered by a series of price hikes on gasoline, diesel and liquefied petroleum gas; and automatic adjustments in rates of electricity and other utilities in the region, he said.

The petition was filed by TUCP president Democrito Mendoza at the RTWPB-Calabarzon office here at around 10 a.m. on March 26, he added.

According to Martinez, the current minimum pay for workers in Calabarzon is P337. If the RTWPB approves the petition, the minimum daily wage in the area would be raised to P423 for non-agriculture workers. The raise, according to TUCP, is a little more than half of the P809 per day needed by a family of six for their basic needs, he said.

The TUCP, citing government data in Calabarzon, said that as of December 2011, the purchasing power of the P337 daily minimum wage has been eroded by 42.4 percent due to inflation, Martinez said.

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