Metro wage board to decide whether to hike workers’ pay Tuesday

MANILA, Philippines—The regional wage board of Metro Manila will decide on Tuesday (Apr. 12) whether workers in the capital should get a wage increase in the wake of spiraling oil prices, according to Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz.

Baldoz said on Monday the National Capital Region (NCR) wage board would decide whether the recent spate of price hikes constituted a “supervening event” that necessitated a minimum wage hike or increases in non-wage benefits, like the Cost of Living Allowance (COLA).

She added that other regional boards across the country would come out with their decisions for their own regions on Wednesday.

“(The) NCR (wage board) will have a meeting tomorrow (on Tuesday) and will try to come out with its decision. This will already be their third meeting on the matter,” Baldoz told reporters on Monday

The labor chief said that the wage board would have to carefully study the matter since the inflation rate in Metro Manila, a factor in deciding the wage hike, went down to 4.0 percent in March from 4.6 percent in February.

“So, it does not (meet) one major indicator (of declaring a supervening event) which is the inflation. But of course, there are other factors,” Baldoz said.

She said National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) officials have been asked to brief the NCR wage board about the impact of the recent price hikes in oil, transportation, and basic commodities.

“I don’t know how NEDA will explain the impact of that in terms of the COLA allowance and how this will compare with the previous adjustments in light of (price) increases in basic commodities,” Baldoz said.

Baldoz said she has also instructed the National Wages and Productivity Board to inform wage boards in regions where inflation breached government targets to submit their “plan of action.”

“I want to know what they are planning to do, especially in areas that have exceeded government (inflation) targets,” she said.