By DOMINIQUE GABRIEL G. BAÑAGA
BACOLOD City – Local labor rights group General Alliance of Workers Association (GAWA) is seeing a “bleak” 2023 due to high inflation.
In a 2022 yearend report, GAWA secretary-general Wennie Sancho said against the backdrop of an economy barely recovering from the coronavirus pandemic, they are seeing slow economic growth in 2023.
The high inflation has resulted in an unprecedented increase in the general prices of goods and services, followed by the deterioration of workers’ purchasing power, he pointed out.
Wages were failing to keep up with inflation, Sacho added.
The country’s food security is also in danger, with the government’s “import liberalization scheme” negatively impacting locally produced products and the agricultural sector, he warned.
GAWA also criticized Central Negros Electric Cooperative’s (CENECO) high power rates and claimed that the power cooperative was grossly mismanaged.
“In general, while there are less workers really seeing their quality of life improving, they are still hoping against hope that they shall survive as they had survived in the past,” said Sancho./PN
