Workers in E. Visayas may get wage hike

MANILA, Philippines - Workers from areas hit by Super Typhoon Yolanda may still enjoy a wage increase, the National Wages and Productivity Commission (NWPC) said yesterday.

NWPC executive director Criselda Sy said the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Boards (RTWPB) in Eastern Visayas and other typhoon-affected areas are monitoring the situation and may grant a salary hike if necessary.

Sy explained that although the wage board in Eastern Visayas has issued a resolution deferring indefinitely the scheduled wage consultations in the region, “it does not mean that there will be no wage increase because the RTWPB can still decide on its own whether to grant pay hike or not.”

The wage board in Central Visayas, where a number of provinces were also hit by Typhoon Yolanda, also has pending wage consultations, “so it will really depend on the board whether it would grant or not a pay hike,” Sy said.

Earlier, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) said that some wage boards were considering deferring wage consultations to help commercial establishments which were severely affected by the typhoon and could no longer afford additional operational costs.

Based on DOLE’s data, half of the commercial establishments in Tacloban City and Ormoc City are still closed due to the devastation wrought by the typhoon, resulting in the displacement of 12,000 workers.

Meanwhile, Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said workers in Western Visayas have received a P10 increase in their daily basic pay.

She said the newly issued wage order in the region took effect last Nov. 29, so non-agriculture, industrial and commercial establishments employing more than 10 workers have increased the daily wage of their employees to P287.

Workers in establishments employing 10 workers or less will get P245, while workers in the agriculture sector and plantations will receive a minimum wage of P255. Non-plantation workers will get P245.

Western Visayas is comprised of the provinces of Aklan, Antique, Capiz, Guimaras, Iloilo and Negros Occidental, including the component city of Bacolod and the highly urbanized Iloilo City.