Labor group hits RTWPB

MANILA, Philippines —  Labor group Partido Manggagawa-Cebu (PM-Cebu) has slammed the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board in Central Visayas (RTWPB-7) for allegedly insisting that there is no “supervening event” to justify a wage increase.

PM-Cebu spokesperson Dennis Derige claimed that RTWPB-7 members told them during a dialogue last Friday that there was no supervening condition to justify a wage increase.

Derige argued that the continuing rise in the cost of basic commodities is enough reason to raise workers’ pay.

In a statement, Derige said the wage board has failed to recognize the worsening cost-of-living crisis being experienced by Cebuano workers.

“If soaring prices are not a supervening event, then what is?” Derige said.

He pointed out that Cebu’s current minimum wage is only P540 per day, while inflation reached 8.6 percent in June 2026, which he scribed as one of the highest rates in the country.

According to Derige, rising prices of food, transportation, electricity, housing, and other basic necessities have significantly reduced workers’ purchasing power.

“Workers feel the impact of every supervening event. Apparently, the only institution that does not is the RTWPB-7,” he said.

In the context of wage increases, a “supervening event” or “supervening condition” refers to a new, significant, and extraordinary circumstance that occurs after a wage order has been issued and substantially changes economic conditions.

Under the rules governing regional wage boards, a supervening event can be a basis for the board to revisit or consider another wage increase even before the usual period for reviewing wages has passed.

Derige said the board’s refusal to recognize the daily struggles of workers was detached from reality and ran counter to its mandate to protect the purchasing power of wages.

PM-Cebu maintained that its pending P100 wage hike petition is a reasonable and necessary response to the continuing increase in the cost of living.

“The purpose of the minimum wage is not to preserve outdated wage rates but to ensure that workers can keep up with rising prices. A wage that can no longer provide for basic needs is no longer a just wage,” Derige said.

He also rejected the view that the P100 wage petition itself constitutes an emergency, saying the more pressing concern is the declining purchasing power of workers’ wages.

“The real emergency is not the P100 wage petition. The real emergency is that workers continue to survive on wages that buy less and less every month,” Derige said.

He urged RTWPB-7 to set aside what he described as technicalities and grant a substantial wage increase without further delay.

RTWPB-7, however, has yet to issue an official position on the issue of a “supervening condition.”

The wage board is still conducting a series of public hearings on minimum wage determination for private-sector and domestic workers.

It is set to hold a public consultation on August 24, 2026, at the DepEd Ecotech Center in Lahug, Cebu City, from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Another consultation is scheduled on Aug. 25, 2026, at Bethel Guest House in Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental, also from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.(CEBU NEWS)