RTWPB Central Visayas lumps P13 Cola, wage

THE Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB) 7 approved the integration of the P13 cost of living allowance (Cola) in the minimum wage.

Businessman Philip Tan, a member of the RTWPB, said in a text message to Sun.Star Cebu that the integration of the Cola is in the final stage and awaits the signature of Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz.

The minimum daily wage in Central Visayas for the non-agriculture sector ranges from P295 to P340 as specified in a March 21, 2014 wage order. Those who work in the agricultural sector should have a minimum wage of P275 to P322 a day.

Art Barrit, spokesman of the Association of Labor Unions-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (ALU-TUCP), said the minimum daily wage of P340 is not enough to feed a family of five as the worker still has to pay mandatory premiums for Pag-IBIG, Philhealth and Social Security System.

Barrit said that because of the mandatory deductions, the average take-home pay of a worker ranges from P269 to P279 per day.

He pointed out that a family of five consumes about three kilos of rice at P40 per kilo. A minimum wage earner can hardly pay for the household's utility bills and the tuition of his children, he said.

"ALU-TUCP is planning to file another wage increase petition before May 1, 2015," Barrit said.

Cebu City Councilor Gerardo Carillo said labor and management sectors should not only focus on salary but also on the quality of labor.

Carillo said that if a company has high productivity and more profits, it would be able pay higher wages. - By Elias O. Baquero / SunStar

FB Kilusan inks CBA with First Balfour

Congratulations to the  recent Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) signing last Friday attended by union members of FB Kilusan and the management. The CBA covers the next three years between employees and management.

Combating Precarious Work

In cooperation of Friedrich Ebert Stiftung , the NAGKAISA held a 2-day  Workers’ Symposium on Policies and Regulations to combat Precarious Employment

Some types of precarious employment arrangements would include:
• outsourcing, contracting-out or subcontracting
• casualization, contractualization, contingent or fixed-term contracts, leading to the creation of a large pool of permanently 'temporary' employees
• use of labour agencies
• bogus “self-employment” and independent contractors
• abusive use of seasonal and probationary employment and traineeships

Precarious work in all its forms - when it is not being praised, encouraged and promoted for contributing to labour market 'flexibiilization' - is usually discussed in relation to declining living standards, discrimination, the feminization or poverty etc.

A typical example would be "Precarious employment is employment that is low quality and that encompasses a range of factors that put workers at risk of injury, illness and/or poverty. This includes factors such as low wages, low job security, limited control over workplace conditions, little protection from health and safety risks in the workplace and less opportunity for training and career progression." (Gerry Rodgers & Janine Rodgers, Precarious Jobs in Labour Market Regulation; the Growth of Atypical Employment in Western Europe, 1989).

Campaign goals:

• To stop the massive expansion of precarious work
• To make wages and conditions of precarious workers equal to those of regular workers
• To get workers directly hired and discourage indirect employment
• To limit precarious employment to cases of legitimate need

EAGA urges immediate implementation of MRAs

​MANILA, Philippines - The special committee on the East Asean Growth Area (EAGA) has urged President Aquino to push for the immediate implementation of Mutual Recognition Agreements/Arrangement (MRAs) entered into among Association of Southeast Asian Nations member states covering eight professional services.

The panel, chaired by TUCP party-list Rep. Raymond Democrito Mendoza has adopted House Resolution 1482 urging Aquino to issue a memorandum circular to concerned agencies to fully implement the MRAs, affecting eight professions in the country, including engineering services, nursing services, architecture, surveying, medical practice, dental practice, accountancy and tourism services.

Arts Business and Science Professionals party-list Rep. Catalina Leonen Pizarro, author of the resolution, said the implementation of the agreements will help enhance safety nets and other measures for local professionals in the light of the Asean integration in 2015.

Leonen-Pizarro cited the objectives behind the MRAs, including to facilitate mobility of practitioners with the Asean region; to exchange information and enhance cooperation in respect of mutual recognition of practitioners; promote adoption of best practices on standards and qualifications; and to provide opportunities for capacity building and training of practitioners.

The eight professional services of which the government is a signatory under an MRA with the Asean were concluded separately from Dec. 9, 2005 to Nov. 9, 2012, the lawmaker said.

She said since Dec. 15, 1995 the regional grouping has recognized and emphasized the growing importance of trade in services through the adoption of the Asean Framework Agreement on Services (AFAS).

The AFAS aims to substantially eliminate restrictions to trade in services among Asean member states, enhance cooperation in services, liberalize trade in services, and promote efficiency and competitiveness of service suppliers in the region.

The AFAS establishes the general guidelines for mutual recognition, denial of benefits, dispute settlement, institutional mechanism and other areas of cooperation in the services sector, she pointed out.

Article V of the AFAS, the resolution noted, provides that the Asean member states may recognize the education or experience obtained, requirements met, and licenses or certifications granted in other member countries for the purpose of licensing or certification of services suppliers.

Leonen-Pizarro also said Asean heads of states in 2003 signed the Bali Accord II and declared the establishment of an Asean Community which comprises the political, economic, and security communities to include the completion of MRAs for qualifications for major professional services by 2008 to facilitate free movement of professional, skilled labor, and talents in the region. - By Paolo Romero (The Philippine Star)