BACOLOD City – Militant labor group National Federation of Sugarcane Workers (NFSW) in Negros Island also called on the abolition of all Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Boards (RTWPBs) in the country.
Kilusang Mayo Uno in Negros Island made a similar call last month. Secretary-General Noli Rosales accused RTWPB Region 6 of favoring the employer sector.
NFSW agreed, saying regional wage boards are “useless” to the labor sector, especially in terms of providing workers with “just living wages.”
NFSW regional chairman Danilo “Roki” Rillo criticized the RTWPB for approving Wage Order No. 24, which prescribed a P13.50 to P41.50 pay increase in Region 6.
Wage Order No. 24 was approved on June 11 and will take effect on July 12. It will cover about 360,544 business establishments in Western Visayas.
Under the latest wage adjustment, workers in non-agriculture, industrial and commercial establishments employing more than 10 workers must receive a daily minimum wage rate of P365, higher compared to the previous P323.50 under Wage Order No. 23.
Those employing less than 10 workers are prescribed with a daily minimum wage rate of P295, also higher compared to the previous P271.50.
In the agriculture sector, a minimum daily wage rate of P295 for plantation and non-plantation workers was prescribed.
Before, plantation and non-plantation workers receive P281.50 and P271.50 daily minimum wage, respectively.
Rillo said the measly P13.50 pay hike for plantation workers is an “insult.” It cannot cushion the effects of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion law, he added.
Rillo stressed that this must be a basis for the approval of a P750 across-the-board wage legislation in the country.
NFSW and another labor group – Kilusang Magbubukid sa Pilipinas-Negros – also demanded assistance from the government now that the milling season has ended./PN
