But only minimum wage earners in Metro Cebu will get adjustment
The Central Visayas wage board yesterday granted a P13 adjustment in the daily minimum wage of workers in Metro Cebu.
Minimum-wage earners in other parts of Cebu province, Bohol and Siquijor will get zero increase as they currently earn more than their counterparts in other cities with more progressive and competitive economies like Butuan and Iloilo, said wage board chairman Exequiel R. Sarcauga.
With the increase, non-agricultural workers in cities and towns classified as Class A will be receiving P353 daily from the current P340 while agricultural workers will get P303 to P335 from the current P290 to P322.
Non-agricultural workers from the rest of Central Visayas will continue to get a daily floor wage of P2955 to P320 while agricultural workers will still get P275 to P310 a day.
Philip N. Tan, business sector representative to the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB 7), said the employers would have no choice but to comply, although they still prefer a productivity-based gain sharing scheme over wage fixing.
Arturo Barrit, spokesman of the Associated Labor Unions-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (ALU-TUCP), described the amount as a “big disappointment to the workers, especially to those not covered by the increase.”
“We were disappointed by the wage board’s decision. You can’t factor wage rationalization by way of geographic area. The very purpose of having a wage board is to fix the minimum wage in every region. Otherwise, it defeats the purpose of having a wage board,” he said.
ALU-TUCP had filed a petition seeking a P92 adjustment in the daily minimum wage. The Cebu Labor Coalition first filed a separate petition seeking an across-the-board increase of P145.
Jose P. Tomongha, chairman of the Alliance of Progressive Labor and one of the two labor representatives to the board, was also dismayed by the amount granted.
“We are always at the losing end, so we, the labor representatives, decided to just submit to whatever the decision of the government representatives,” he said. The other labor representative to the board is Atty. Ernesto Carreon.
GOVERNMENT DECISION
Businessman Tan said he and Hidelito Pascual, another management representative to the board, pushed for P5 while Tomongha and Carreon negotiated for P30 during the board’s deliberation at the Casino Español yesterday.
“With the deadlock, we gave the authority to determine the amount of increase to the government side. We went out of the room and they continued meeting behind closed doors. Then they presented us with the amount of P12.50,” Tan told Cebu Daily News.
The amount took into consideration the erosion of the purchasing power of the peso in the region since the last adjustment was granted, he said. Government representatives computed the amount based on an approved formula by the National Wages and Productivity Commission, he added.
The board later decided to round it off to P13, upon the suggestion of the government sector.
Aside from Sarcauga, government is represented in the board by Department of Trade and Industry regional director Asteria C. Caberte and National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) regional director Efren B. Carreon.
COVERAGE
The adjustment will benefit minimum wage earners in the Class A cities of Carcar, Cebu, Danao, Lapu-Lapu, Mandaue, Naga, and Talisay, as well as in the towns of Compostela, Consolacion, Cordova, Liloan, Minglanilla, and San Fernando.
Sarcauga, who is also the regional director of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE 7), said they compared the wages in the region to those in other regions to come up with the decision.
“Usa gyod sa mga criteria nga atong gibasihan kanang (One of the criteria that we used was) comparable wages. If you take a look for instance at the wage in Siquijor, Camotes and Bantayan island, which is P290, it is much higher than the minimum wage of Butuan which is P268 only,” he said.
Siquijor, Bantayan and Camotes islands are classified as Class D areas while Butuan has a bigger economy, Tan said in a separate interview.
Sarcauga also cited as example the areas of Tagbilaran City in Bohol and even Dumaguete City in Negros Oriental, although Negros Oriental was no longer part of the discussion because it is part of the Negros Island Region.
COMPARING WAGES
Sarcauga said the workers in these areas receive P310 daily minimum wage as compared to Iloilo City workers who only get P298. Iloilo City has been growing faster than Tagbilaran or Dumaguete cities.
“If you compare the degree of development and the comparable wages of these cities, you will notice that Tagbilaran has a higher minimum wage. The board did not cover these areas in view of the basis of comparable wages with other or equally situated areas in the country,” he said.
“We tried to come up with a rationalized adjustment, taking into consideration other cities that are more or less proximate or not necessarily equally situated,” he added.
Sarcauga said they considered the erosion of the purchasing power of the peso in coming up with the amount.
“From March of last year, there was an erosion of our purchasing power, thereby losing about P12. So if we are to recover the eroded purchasing power of the peso, we have to adjust the wage by that amount,” he explained.
He said they did not favor either the management or labor sector.
“It was agreed by the board. That is what is best for region 7 in so far as the board is concerned. We have to approximate the needs of the workers and, on the other hand, of the employers. But what the board is going to say is what is beneficial, appropriate and advantageous not to labor, not to management, not to government but for region 7,” he said.
Other factors considered include the chances of employment generation if the board would give a much higher amount.
They also considered the congestion in Metro Cebu which was why they did not increase the wages in other areas so investments will go to the countryside, Sarcauga added.
The approved wage increase will be forwarded to the National Wages and Productivity Commission (NWPC) for approval. Once it will be sent back to Cebu, it will be published in the newspapers for general circulation. It will take effect 15 days after the publication.