New C. Visayas wage order seen next month

If everything goes according to schedule, workers in Central Visayas may expect an increase in the minimum wage to be announced next month, the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWP-7) said yesterday.

Ernesto Carreon, one of two labor representatives in the wage board, said the RTWPB-7 will hold a public hearing at the Sarrosa Hotel in Cebu City on Monday next week on two pending wage petitions filed by two labor groups.

After the Oct. 15 public hearing, Carreon said the wage board will meet on Oct. 22 to assess the results and have a final deliberation on Oct. 24.

Pending any last minute changes, the board can issue its wage order by Nov. 19.

On the table is a petition for a P90 across the board wage increase by the Associated Labor Unions-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (ALU-TUCP) and the P121.84/day wage hike filed by the Alliance of Progressive Labor (APL).

Carreon said 60 groups were invited to the public hearing.

“Stakeholders in Cebu, Bohol, Negros Oriental and Siquijor will also attend. It’s cheaper to hold the hearing here than in other provinces,” Carreon said . Those who can’t attend can submit position papers.

National Capital Region workers receive P466 daily while Metro Cebu workers in Region 7 workers get P305 daily.

Carreon said he wanted to close the gap. Region 7 workers pay for higher fuel and LPG prices than counterparts in Luzon while the poverty threshold in Central Visayas is not far from NCR.

Carreon said Central Visayas posted the biggest inflation rate of 6.1 percent in the country last July.