Cebu labor groups mull wage hike petition

CEBU — In anticipation of the approval of the fare hike petition of transport groups, the Associated Labor Union-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (ALU-TUCP) yesterday admitted yesterday that it might file a petition for wage increase.

Joy Lim, spokesperson of ALU-TUCP , said they are still studying the amount of the increase but it might depend on the amount of fare hike that might be granted.

Marianito Ventura, national vice president of TUCP, said that the prices of basic commodities will also serve as the basis for the petition.

DTI regional director Asteria Caberte, who is also the wage board vice chairman here, said that prices of basic commodities had so far remained stable except the price of chicken, which was affected by the bird flu scare.

She said that the wage board is scheduled to meet on Feb. 26 for preliminary talks on the petition for wage hike. Three years ago, the wage board denied the labor sector’s petition for daily wage hike of more than P60.

Meanwhile, organized labor yesterday pressed for a P60 across-the-board increase nationwide in their daily take home.

The militant labor group Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) said the workers must be provided with an additional P60 in their daily pay at the soonest possible time or they could no longer afford even their basic needs.

"We need an urgent wage increase to survive the current economic crisis," KMU chair Elmer Labog said, adding that the salary adjustment they are seeking is just enough to augment the lost value of the peso.

Labog explained that the real value of workers’ wages was already eroded by as much as P36 because of the steep drop in value of the peso and the increase in prices of petroleum products. — Freeman News Service, Mayen Jaymalin