No wage hike in sight — DOLE

Workers are not likely to get a pay increase in the near future despite anticipated increases in the prices of essential commodities as a result of rising oil costs, the labor department said yesterday.

Labor Undersecretary and spokesman Benedicto Ernesto Bitonio said a wage hike is not expected anytime soon, pointing out there is no pending formal petition for salary adjustments at this time. "No wage petitions were filed by any labor union in the 16 regional wage boards as of now," Bitonio said in an interview.

The Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Boards (RTWPBs), he said, are the ones authorized under the law to determine and grant wage increases.

But Bitonio noted all RTWPBs are currently monitoring the prices of goods and would possibly grant financial relief to workers at the appropriate time. He did not elaborate.

Earlier, the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) said their affiliate unions are not yet inclined to file formal salary petitions before the wage boards. — Mayen Jaymalin