EDITORIAL - Wage board overhaul needed

While we should all avoid violent clashes today in observance of Labor Day, clashes in opinions should be encouraged so that this country may finally emerge from its helplessness in dealing with labor issues, particularly on the matter of wages.

Wages have always been a contentious issue and will always be one. Employees will always feel they are not paid enough. On the other hand, employers will always take the opposite view. It is a situation that always begs for arbitration.

Sometime ago, it was determined that the matter should be resolved by means of wage boards. These boards were made regional due to the fact that conditions do vary from region to region.

The regional wage boards were usually made up of seven members, two members representing the labor sector, another two representing the business sector, and the remaining three members representing government. 

At first this seemed like a set-up that inspires confidence. But that confidence quickly evaporated when it became apparent that in almost all its decisions, government representatives always tended to take the side of the business sector.

In other words, petitions for upward wage adjustments almost always got rejected outright or, in the few cases they were granted, were scaled down to such ridiculously low levels they became nothing more than a big fat joke.

This sorry situation resulted in calls to for legislated wage adjustments. This of course is far worse than leaving the matter to wage boards. Legislation will only tend to produce laws based on populist views rather than real economic conditions.

Before things get worse and drive people to accept the popular but wrong option, maybe there is still time to reinvent the regional wage boards. Maybe they need to be reorganized in such a way that the independent members do not side with one or the other.