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Cordi workers file wage petition at the RTWPB

BAGUIO CITY (Dec. 1) — Members of the Cordillera Workers Alliance (CWA) submitted a petition to the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board on November 30 seeking a P125 increase in the daily wages of workers in the private sector here in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR).

The CWA petition cited the eroding real value of the prevailing minimum wage vis-a-vis the cost of living of a worker’s family, the hike of prices of basic commodities and the recently approved Expanded Value Added Tax Law (EVAT) as basis of their petition.

The petition further states that the present minimum wage for non-agricultural workers in the region, which is P174 plus P51 cost of living allowance (COLA) is way below National Wages and Productivity Commission’s projected living wage for a family of five in CAR pegged at P669.

The petition explained that a P125 wage increase could close the gap between the income of wage earners and daily cost of living.

Jose Macalanda, one of the convenors of the alliance and an employee of the Philippine Rabbit Bus Line, Inc. said that the demand for a wage increase is long overdue.

“We do not expect much but we are still hoping that the government may turn their ears to the plight of the poor wage earners who can no longer afford to have a good meal with their families, to bring their children to college or to get a decent housing,” Macalanda added.

The CWA is composed of worker’s unions and even workers who are not affiliated to any union here in the region. The Lepanto Employees Union, Philippine Rabbit Bus Line Employees Union and Baguio Country Club Employees Union are some of the members of CWA. # Leonida E. Tundagui/KMU

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