Labor groups to DOLE: Check wage compliance

CEBU, Philippines - Coalition of labor unions and worker's organization Nagkaisa! will meet Bonifacio Day next week with a protest rally to compel the Department of Labor and Employment to issue a statement as to the percentage of compliance among Metro Cebu companies with regards to the newly-approved P13 per day increase in the minimum wage.

Jose Tomongha, Sentro ng mga Nagkaisang Manggagawa -Visayas spokesperson, said this was their decision in a meeting yesterday together with leaders of other labor unions, including the Associated Labor Unions-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines, the largest labor union in the country.

Aside from SENTRO and ALU-TUCP, Nagkaisa! members includes the Partido ng Manggagawa, Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino, Kilusan-Makabayan, Alliance of Genuine Labor Organization, PS-Link, Alliance of Progressive Labor-Central Visayas, among others.

Tomongha, however, said that pressuring DOLE is among the many agenda in their rally on November 30, which commemorates the 152nd birthday of Filipino hero Andres Bonifacio.

"We will pressure DOLE nga mopagawas sila og report og unsa na gyud ang status sa compliance aning bag-ong wage adjustment," he said.

The P13 daily wage adjustment for Metro Cebu’s minimum wage earners in the private sector took effect in October 10, 2015. This means that no private sector workers in Metro Cebu shall receive a salary less than P353 per day.

Businessman Robert Go, Philippine Retailers Ass.-Cebu Chapter president, said the P13 per day hike in minimum wage is easy to comply.

The Living Wage Coalition, of which APL is a member, and ALU-TUCP earlier filed a petition for a wage adjustment of P145 per day and P92 per day, respectively, for all workers in Central Visayas.

"We opposed the petition for wage adjustment before kay hapit P150 per day man sad to ilang umento nga gipangayo. Manira mi anang tanan. Pero ang P13 per day, I don't think it’s difficult to comply," he said.

Go believed that majority of their members are complying with the mandated minimum wage.

Tomongha, who is also the president of APL-CV, likewise said they have not received any complaints from their respectively employers about non-compliance with the newly-mandated wage adjustments.

The new wage is covered under Wage Order No. ROVII-19. — (FREEMAN)