P10 wage hike in Western Visayas pushed

AP FILE PHOTO

ILOILO CITY, Philippines—The suspension of the implementation of a wage increase in areas devastated by last year’s Super Typhoon “Yolanda” in Western Visayas has been stopped by the National Wages and Productivity Commission (NWPC) due to lack of public consultation.

The NWPC also ordered the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board in Western Visayas (RTWPB-6) to conduct public consultations because the suspension of the implementation of wage orders was not within the authority of the board.

“We cannot implement the suspension of the wage order because we did not comply with the required process,” Ponciano Ligutom, RTWPB-6 chair and regional director of the Department of Labor and Employment, told the Inquirer.

Ligutom said the board would conduct a consultation on May 27 in Bacolod City, Negros Occidental province, on the board’s resolution suspending the implementation of a P10 wage increase in areas devastated by the Nov. 8 super typhoon as determined by the Office of Civil Defense and  upon application of employers in these areas.

He said the board would decide on its actions after the consultation.

The RTWPB-6 approved a P10 increase on the daily minimum wage in the region on Oct. 30 last year, which took effect on Nov. 29.

The order raised the daily minimum wage to P287 for workers employed in nonagriculture, industrial and commercial establishments employing more than 10 workers, while those employed in establishments employing 10 workers and below will get P245.

Plantation workers will receive a minimum wage of P255 while those in nonplantation companies will get P245, according to the new wage order.

But in the aftermath of the super typhoon, employers under the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry  Western Visayas sought a moratorium on wage increases until such time that small and medium enterprises had fully recovered from this catastrophic event.

The business leader said several of their members had reported the closing of their establishments due to lack of capital to reconstruct damaged or destroyed infrastructure and to replace lost machinery and transport equipment.

Business owners also reported damage to personal properties.

The super typhoon severely affected Western Visayas, especially the provinces of Capiz, Aklan and parts of Negros Occidental, Iloilo, Guimaras and Antique.

Acting on the request of business owners, the wage board issued a resolution on Dec. 16, 2013, that held in abeyance for six months the implementation of the wage order in the areas severely affected by the super typhoon.

The militant labor center Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) Panay earlier condemned the suspension of the wage order as “unfair” to workers.

“Workers and employees were also victims of the supertyphoon and they need additional income to cope with their losses,” said KMU Panay coordinator Elmer Forro.