Wage hike for Metro workers by May or June

MANILA, Philippines - Workers in Metro Manila may have to wait a few more weeks before enjoying a salary increase despite President Aquino’s order for wage boards to fast track the granting of salary adjustments.

Raymundo Agravante, Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE)-National Capital Region (NCR) director and Metro Manila wage board chair, said they hope to finish deliberations and come out with a decision next week.

“It has long been set by the board even prior to the President’s order to issue a new wage order by second week of May,” Agravante disclosed.

He, however, stressed that the schedule would still largely depend on results of the public hearing, which began yesterday, as well as deliberations on the petition filed by the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP).

“It is only appropriate to have a legislated measure to address the mounting call of ordinary workers for a wage increase considering the habitual escalation of prices of goods and services,” he said.

Under the rules of minimum wage fixing, a public hearing is necessary in any petition to adjust the minimum wage. After the hearing, the wage board would deliberate on how much and in what form the wage increase would be.

But even if the board could come out with a decision by next week, workers may not get to enjoy a salary hike until the end of the month or early June.

Labor officials explained that the law also mandates that a newly issued wage order could only take effect within 15 days after publication in a national paper.

Thus, if the new wage order is issued by May 9 and published the following day, it is expected to take effect only by the end of May.

Sen. Ramon Revilla Jr. welcomed the directive of President Aquino for the regional wage boards to conduct a speedy process for the demand for wage hike of private employees.

“I welcome the President’s directive to the regional wage boards to expedite the process of hearing the petition of private employees for a wage hike,” he said.

Despite this, Revilla, chairman of the Senate committee on public servces, said he will continue to push for a legislated daily wage hike of P125 across-the-board.

Earlier, the TUCP filed a formal petition before the Metro Manila wage board seeking an across-the-board increase in daily pay of workers in the region.

As the wage board in Metro Manila convened for its public hearing, the militant Partido ng Manggagawa (PM) also clamored for the immediate granting of P75 increase in the daily take-home pay of workers in the region.

PM chair Renato Magtubo said the wage boards, for once, should grant substantial increase in pay to improve the living conditions of workers nationwide.

“We ask the wage board to break expectations and approve the P75 petition since our study reveals that the cost of living for a family of six in Metro Manila as of March this year is already P1,010 a day,” Magtubo said.

He said President Aquino broke tradition during the Labor Day celebration by giving nothing to workers, not even a consuelo de bobo of non-wage benefits.

“Even if NCR wage board approves the P75 petition, it will not be enough to bridge the huge gap between the minimum wage and the cost of living. The disparity between the P404 minimum wage and the cost of living is P606,” Magtubo explained.

The group also pushed for an overhaul of the wage fixing system in the country and the establishment of a National Wage Commission to replace the existing regional wage boards.

Magtubo explained that the National Wage Commission can bridge the gap by a host of mechanisms like direct wage increases, tax exemptions, price discounts and social security subsidies for workers.

“This is a reform that is addressed to Congress. The regional wage system is a 22-year-old structure that badly needs fixing. It has disadvantaged workers and fostered cheap labor in the country,” he said.

Distressed OFWs  want repatriation

Meanwhile, a group of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) yesterday demanded the immediate release of P24 million for the repatriation of over a thousand distressed workers in Saudi Arabia.

John Leonard Monterona, Migrante-Middle East regional coordinator, said 1,084 distressed workers have long been suffering and are just seeking shelter under the bridge while awaiting their repatriation.

“Why prolong the agony of the stranded OFWs, who have obtained travel documents and suffer a lot staying in a crowded refuge center in Saudi Arabia when there is sufficient budget for their repatriation,” Monterona said.

He noted that the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) has P13 billion that could be used for the services and welfare programs like providing airfares for distress OFWs. – Christina Mendez