THE wage board is set to decide on the existence of supervening condition on the pending petition for wage increase this week.
Department of Trade and Industry (DTI-7) regional director Asteria Caberte said the wage board already completed the public hearings within Central Visayas last month.
She said these would be the basis of the board’s decision.
“ On our meeting this week, we would definitely make the decision,” Caberte told reporters in an interview.
She said the board was looking on resolving the issue on the existence of supervening conditions as they still have to decide on whether the petition would be approved or not.
Caberte admitted that there were varying response from the transport and business sectors on the approval of the P75 wage increase filed by the Alliance of Labor Union- Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (ALU-TUCP) last April.
Last May, the Regional Tripartite Wage Board (RTWPB-7) met with the business and transport sector in Cebu city for a public hearings, where ALU-TUCP pointed out the increase of inflation rate, prices of basic commodities and tuition fees as a sign to declare supervening conditions.
The board also agreed to hold separate public hearing in Dumaguete, Tagbilaran and Siquijor which was completed last month.
The wage board should be made up of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) 7, National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) and the Department of Trade and Industry, two representatives from the private sector and two labor sector representatives.
Under the Labor Code, no new wage hike can be implemented within a one-year reglementary period unless “supervening” factors justify one.
The wage board is trying to determine whether there is a “supervening condition” to grant a wage increase earlier than a one-year limit from the last wage order.
The board can’t approve the wage hike petition filed by the Associated Labor’s Union-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (ALU-TUCP) since the Labor Code only allows a wage increase once a year.
However, if “supervening conditions” like successive price increase of fuel and other basic commodities would occur and the inflation rate would increase up to five percent, the wage board can approve a wage increase. /Reporter Candeze R. Mongaya