P70.50 wage hike for Central Luzon workers junked

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga — The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) said yesterday the demand of Central Luzon workers for a P70.50 across-the-board wage increase cannot be granted.

The exact minimum wage adjustment will be known on Monday, DOLE regional director Josefino Torres told The STAR.

"I’m 99 percent sure that the regional tripartite wage and productivity board will reach an agreement on the minimum wage (adjustment) that can be given to workers in Central Luzon," he said.

Torres could not say how much will the minimum wage increase be.

He, however, said the P70.50 across-the-board wage increase which the labor sector is demanding for Central Luzon workers is "definitely out of the question."

Torres said the new round of wage adjustments will take into consideration the "peculiarities" of certain industries, particularly the garments sector.

"Most garment firms have forward contracts. They have signed contracts with clients abroad for the delivery of a given volume of their products for a determined cost. Since the production plans and cost were contracted before the issue of wage increase, these firms would suffer heavily from another wage hike," he said.

Central Luzon workers last got a minimum wage increase in January 2002.

The regional chapters of the Trade Union Council of the Philippines (TUCP) and the Association of Workers’ Union (AWU) have petitioned for a P42.50 across-the-board wage increase, plus an additional P28 as the workers’ supposed share in the economic progress being enjoyed by companies in the region, for a total of P70.50.

"They think that the region has developed so much that the benefits should somehow flow back to the factors of production, and these include the workers, so they added P28 to their petitioned minimum wage increase," Torres said.

Torres said the inflation rate in Central Luzon ranges from 2.3 to 4.7 percent, which he described as "still insignificant."

He said the regional wage board is considering the request of Aurora province to be covered by the new regional minimum wage order.

Aurora used to be part of Region 4 (Southern Tagalog) whose wage levels are lower than Central Luzon’s. President Arroyo placed the province under Region 3 (Central Luzon) last year.

"We have to study this since there are not much big businesses in Aurora, and the firms there might not be able to afford the rates in other Central Luzon provinces," Torres said.

Central Luzon has about 3.2 million workers, and an unemployed potential workforce of 500,000, he said.