Wage hike sought anew

CEBU, Philippines - The Cebu Labor Coalition headed by the Alliance of Progressive Labor is seeking another wage hike and may file for this within this month following the rising cost of transportation and basic commodities.

APL chairman Jose Tomongha said they will probably file for an increase of P100 to P150 across the board.

Tomongha said that they will have a meeting this week to discuss the petition further.

Tomongha said the recent oil price hike has caused the rise of the prices of basic commodities which continues to erode the worker’s purchasing power.

It can be recalled that the Cebu Labor Coalition filed for a P128.60 across-the-board wage hike petition for Central Visayas before the Regional Tripartite Wage Productivity Board as well as the Associated Labor Union-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines in 2009.

However, the RTWPB only approved an increase of P18 per day for the minimum wage earners last year.

The Partido ng Manggagawa, a militant-partylist group slammed the P18 wage hike for Cebu workers calling it “loose change”.They also called for the abolition of the regional wage boards for “betraying the working class” as it is even not enough for workers to buy a kilo of commercial rice or even the cheapest NFA rice worth P25 per kilo.

According to a study by PM the cost of living for a six-member family in Metro Cebu has already reached P900 per day as of April last year.(FREEMAN)