By Nitz Arancon, Correspondent
What can P12 buy these days? This, in essence, is what the Alliance of Labor Unions-Trade Congress Union of the Philippines (ALU-TUCP) is asking the Regional Wages Board of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) on the Wage Order it issued a month ago.
Nicandro Borja, ALU-TUCP vice president for Northern Mindanao, in an interview, decried Wage Order No. 18 calling it a “biased” increase since the amount of the wage increase will only serve business interests and not the labor sector.
He added that the new wage order is virtually “heartless” to the plight of workers in the region. “Labaw pa kana sa sinsilyo nga increase sa sulweldo, kay wala may tibo-ok nga P12.00 pesos. Arang-arang unta kon P20.00 pesos, kay na-a may tibo-ok papil nga P20,” said Borja.
Borja explained that the P12-wage hike is a pittance considering the rising prices of basic commodities, fuel, electric and water rates in the region.
Borja said that on July 18, last year they filed a petition for an P89-salary increase across the board for Northern Mindanao.
However, under the new wage order, the Regional Wage Board only approved a P12-wage hike for the region. From 1990 up to the present, the Regional Wage Board, on its own (motu propio), issued wage orders eight times and nine times by virtue of petitions such as the one filed by the ALU-TUCP last year.
Starting July 6, this year, Wage Order No. 18 will increase the daily minimum wage of workers in the region to P318 from P306 under Wage Order No. 17.
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