ILOILO City – A business group here is submitting a position paper to the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board in Western Visayas (RTWPB-6) regarding the proposed P25 relief allowance per day by the labor sector.
According to Lea Lara, executive director of the Iloilo Business Club (IBC), the regional wage board had a consultation with them last week.
“We are formulating a position paper… We have initially relayed to the RTWB Board the challenges and situation that the business sector is in,” said Lara.
Lara refrained from commenting about the possible content of their position paper; they still have to consult with other business groups in Iloilo.
The RTWPB has upcoming consultations with Capiz, Aklan, Antique, and Negros stakeholders.
It started reviewing the existing minimum wage rates in the region last month.
Labor sector representative Wennie Sancho earlier said they passed a resolution during a virtual meeting to proceed with the review motu proprio in response to the workers’ manifestation for a Pandemic Emergency Relief Allowance (PERA) of P25 per day.
“It is a welcome development, but there is a need to expedite the process amid the worsening pandemic. The labor sector is hoping they will not be outvoted in the final deliberation,” he said.
In response to the board’s query, the National Wages and Productivity Commission instructed RTWPB-6 to review the existing socioeconomic conditions if these warrant a review for salary determination.
In Western Visayas, the minimum wage rate is P310 to P395 per day, depending on the industry classification as provided under Wage Order 25, which already lapsed in November last year.
Sancho said during the board meeting on May 12, factors considered were the ramifications of the pandemic and restrictions that resulted in increased unemployment and underemployment.
Also noted was the implementation of flexible working arrangements.
Sancho said the deterioration of the workers’ purchasing power justifies the need for immediate economic relief such as the PERA.
“The amount to be restored in the purchasing power of the workers is P90 per day, but labor is asking for P25 per day which is only 38 percent of P90,” he added.
Sancho, who sits as the secretary-general of the Negros-based General Alliance of Workers Associations, pointed out that the rising cost of living, as shown in the increases in the prices of basic goods and services, is the main reason for the workers’ demand for another round of wage increase. (With a report from PNA/PN)
