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Region I wage board sets payhike on June 30

SAN FERNANDO CITY, La Union (May 30) — Workers in the region will have to wait until the end of June for another round of minimum wage increase, an official of the Regional Tripartite Wage and Productivity Board (RTWPB) said on Monday.

The RTWPB is “cautious” that imposing any increase will disrupt the industrial peace in the region, regional board secretary Exequiel Guzman said. He added that Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) comprising 95% of the region’s industries would be “severely affected” should a high wage hike be implemented.

Booming micro-establishments which are fast becoming a potential absorber for unskilled workers will also be threatened by an “impulsive wage order,” he said. Establishments with capitalization above P3 million and not beyond P15 million belong to SMEs while micro-enterprises have assets below P3 million.

Guzman said no exact amount for the increase has been determined as there were no petitions filed before the board from local labor groups.

“But definitely, there will be an increase to set a safety net for the workers, especially the unskilled force, from labor exploitation,” said Guzman.

Describing a “silent labor atmosphere” in the Ilocos region, he clarified that the board is considering a raise for minimum wage-earners that would sustain the industrial peace in the region.

Exempted

On Labor Day, Arroyo assured workers of an increase within 30 days which expired on the 31st, urging regional wage boards to come up with amounts to ease the burden of rising prices among laborers.

Guzman said the deadline, which varies in different regions depending on their previous wage orders, is not applicable to the region. The Ilocos regional wage board last imposed a wage raise on November 11 last year through Wage Order no. 9. The raise ranged from P2-P10 in basic wage and P10 in the Cost of Living Allowance (COLA) which gave workers between P141-P190 higher minimum wage.

Guzman said the high inflation rate in the region, placed at 10%, is a “supervening factor” for an allowable round of wage order imposed within a year.

Vicious cycle

The board nonetheless seems exasperated by constant demand for wage increase from labor groups. Guzman lamented that demands to increase minimum wage had become a “vicious cycle”, urging labor groups to look into the issue “in its totality”.

Eliseo Flora, a workers’ representative, acceded to the board’s strong consideration of the region’s capacity to absorb a new wage increase. Flora said, “While workers are suffering from incessant increase in prices of basic commodities, an “overpriced” wage increase might mean their jobs or would even encourage skilled workers from other regions to migrate and displace the unskilled ones here”.

Guzman urged local government units to augment productivity in the supply of basic commodities to sustain the purchasing power of a wage increase. The board expects to deliberate on an amount for the wage increase in the region on the third week of June after a series of provincial and regional consultations.

“By the end of June, workers in Ilocos region will get their share of wage hike,” Guzman added. # Jhong dela Cruz for NORDIS

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