DoLE backtracks on P25 wage hike

The P25 wage increase announced by the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board-National Capital Region (RTWPB-NCR) for private sector workers in Metro Manila is not yet official pending review by the National Wages and Productivity Commission (NWPC).

Labor Secretary Silvestre Belo 3rd. PHOTO BY RUSSELL PALMA

On Thursday, Malacañang spokesman Salvador Panelo and Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello 3rd issued separate clarifications that the NCR wage board’s announcement was not yet executory because the result of the final tripartite consultation held on Tuesday that pegged the wage adjustment at P25 per day would still be forwarded to the NWPC and to the Office of the President for their final say.

The Manila Times has learned that during Tuesday’s meeting, there was a deadlock between the P25 proposal of employers and the P100 proposal of the labor sector, which prompted the seven-man RTWPB to break it through voting.

“After the voting, the P25 wage increase proposal of the Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP) prevailed. The voting was 5 in favor and 2 against. The labor group was outvoted,” Alan Tanjusay, spokesman of the Associated Labor Unions-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (ALU-TUCP), said.

The RTWPB is composed of two representatives from the labor sector, two from employers and three from the government.

“We are now confused about what’s really happening. Although we already knew that the wage board has already a final decision, what ECOP did was they leaked the decision even as they know fully well that it has yet to go up to the NWPC, then to the Office of the President and then back to Secretary Bello for announcement,” Tanjusay said.

He expressed belief that the ECOP deliberately leaked the P25 wage increase approved by the wage board so that the NWPC would be forced to carry it out.

With the P25 wage increase already reported by media, organized labor reacted strongly, warning that it would create more trouble in work places because workers would continue to demand higher wages because of extraordinary increases in the prices of basic services and cost of services.

“We are warning our social partners, government and employers, that hunger and poverty will only escalate and this will cause more instability from the labor front. We are now telling you that labor groups will file for another wage increase as inflation will continue to rise,” ALU-TUCP vice president Louie Corral said.

Corral added that supervening events will continue to push down workers and the call for wage increase will escalate because the P25 increase is not a “realistic intervention.”

He warned that strikes would disturb the prevailing industrial peace.

Tanjusay said they would continue to fight for a just and substantial wage increase.

“We will invoke that supervening condition exists to justify another round of wage increases. We are not in a normal situation and we are already preparing our petition,” he added.

Tanjusay said the labor sector is pinning their hope on President Rodrigo Duterte.

“Traditionally and historically, we know that the board wage order is dominated by government and employers sector and both camps always connive to outvote the labor representatives and members of the board toward a meager and measly wage increase to keep businesses’ interest which is to keep wages to the barest minimum regardless of workers’ worsening condition just to keep margin of profit,” he added.

Militant labor group Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino (BMP) said P25 is a “pittance” and not enough to recover the value lost due to inflation. - By WILLIAM DEPASUPIL, TMT