ECOP bucks wage hike

MANILA, Philippines - The country’s biggest group of employers yesterday rejected the demand of workers for an P85 increase in their daily take home pay.

Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP), in a statement, said the petition for salary hike was “premature and baseless.”

ECOP further cited that rules issued by the National Wages and Productivity Commission (NWPC) strictly prohibits the granting of successive wage increases in one year.

Unless there is a supervening condition, ECOP said, the wage board cannot entertain wage petitions filed within a year period.

ECOP furthermore said prices of fuel and other petroleum products have remained relatively stable and that inflation rates are within manageable levels, noting that inflation rate in the National Capital Region (NCR) was pegged at 2.4 percent as of February this year based on government figures.

According to ECOP, a petition questioning the granting of a P30 wage increase last year is still pending before the Court of Appeals (CA) until this time.

But the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) maintained that workers are in dire need of salary increases to help them cope with the rising prices of essential commodities.

Aside from prices of essential commodities, TUCP said, workers are also facing the impending increase in tuition.

Labor Undersecretary and NWPC chairman Ciriaco Lagunzad III said the different wage boards are undertaking a review of the current economic conditions to determine whether there is a need or not for salary increases.

He added the different wage boards are also prohibited to entertain new wage hike petitions until after the one year restriction.