The Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board in Central Visayas (RTWPB-7) held on Thursday, the first of a series of consultations on the wage increases proposed by two labor groups here.
But newly installed labor Regional Director Alvin Villamor, who is also the RTWPB-7 director, missed the gathering held in Dumaguete City because of the need to back to Mimaropa to finish some concerns.
Another round of consultation is scheduled in Tagbiliran City in Bohol province today.
Joe Tomongha, chairman of the Alliance of Progressive Labor (APL) and the labor sector representative at the RTWPB-7, expressed apprehension that the appointment of a new Dole-7 director would cause delays in the conduct of the wage hike consultations.
“There’s a possibility that schedules of wage petition’s public hearing might be reset, because we have a new regional director,” Tomongha said.
RTWPB-7 has scheduled four separate consultations this month to hear public sentiments on the P155.80 across the board wage hike proposal filed by the Cebu Labor Coalition (CELAC) and the P120 increase sought by the Associated Labor Union-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (ALU-TUCP).
Consultations in Cebu City and Bogo City are scheduled on April 26 and May 10 respectively.