P155 pay hike petition filed

At least six labor organizations had petitioned for an across-the-board wage increase in Central Visayas, according to the Department of Labor and Employment’s (DOLE) Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board in Cebu.

Cyril L. Ticao, DOLE Central Visayas director and also chair of the region’s wage board, said the labor groups filed a petition for a P155.80-increase in daily minimum wage.

The groups were Cebu Labor Coalition, Lonbisco Employees’ Organization, Metaphil Workers’ Union, Nuwhrain-Montebello chapter, NLM-Katipunan and Union Bank Employees Association.

Separate petition

The moderate Associated Labor Unions-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines filed a separate petition for a P120 daily minimum wage increase.

Workers in nonagriculture and agriculture establishments in Central Visayas last received a wage hike on March 10 last year.

Ticao said the new wage petitions may now be heard because the last wage increase order had already passed the one-year “prescriptive period.”

He said the two petitions—the P155.80 and P120 wage increase—would be consolidated and “discussed in detail by all sectors concerned during a public hearing.”

Public hearings

All petitions to increase wages needed to be presented in public hearings, a requirement of the law on wages, Ticao said.

The first public hearing on the consolidated petitions would be held on April 12 in Dumaguete City in Negros Oriental, the DOLE regional chief said.

Another hearing would be held on April 13 in Tagbilaran City in Bohol province.

Balancing interests

On April 26, the regional wage board would hold another hearing in Cebu City, which would be followed by the last hearing on May 10 in Bogo City, northern Cebu province.

“Wage fixing is done on a regular basis to ensure that the welfare of those in the vulnerable sector is protected,” Ticao said.

“The task now of the board is to balance the interests of labor and management,” he said.

He said inputs gathered during the public hearings would be “instrumental for the board to arrive at a collective, accurate and precise decision—something which is beneficial not only to management and labor but also the entire region.”

Employers or businesses opposed to the wage increase petitions should file motions at the wage board before the public hearings start.

They would be allowed to get copies of the wage increase petitions and examine these during the wage board’s office hours.