CALAMBA CITY, Laguna (PIA) — The wage board in Calabarzon will hold a series of public consultations across the region to discuss minimum wage adjustments for the formal sector.
Lawyer Rio Ariel Soriano, secretary of the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB) IV-A, told the Philippine Information Agency that the consultation seeks to gather insights from all stakeholders on the minimum wage.
“Ang ating public consultation po ay bahagi ng dayalogo on both labor and management sector, kasama na rin ang ating stakeholders gaya ng mga kasambahay at local government unit. Ang idea ay malaman natin o mapulsuhan kung ano ba talaga ang ninanais ng public pagdating sa usapin ng minimum wage,” he said.
Soriano said they expect labor groups and local government units to attend the provincial consultations which will kick off in Batangas today, July 14.
“Inaasahan din natin na dumalo din ang ating mga workers na nais din malaman at nais din magkaroon ng updates dito sa hinihingi ng ating mga petitioners, ganon din yung ibang mga labor sector groups na baka meron din silang sariling version maliban doon sa hiningi ng petitioners.”
Several labor groups in the region have earlier filed petitions for wage hike for minimum wage earners in the private sector.
The Metal Workers Alliance of the Philippines (MWAP) seeks a wage increase ranging from P280 to P400 while the Organisasyon ng mga Manggagawa sa EMI has been asking for a P100-wage increase.
MWAP President Mary Ann Castillo said they will attend the public consultation with other minimum wage earner workers in the region to reiterate their petition on the minimum wage increase.
“Ito yung hinihintay namin. Dadalo kami at yung iba pang mga manggagawa na inimbitahan namin lalo na yung mga minimum wage earner na nasa Batangas at sa iba pang mga public consultations,” Castillo said.
She also appealed to RTWPB IV-A to approve their petition which would help workers meet their families’ needs given the prevailing family living wage.
“Sana aprubahan na ng RTWPB ang aming petisyon dahil hindi lamang ito basta lang ginawa naming yung amount na ito, actually dapat nasa family living wage kasi kung talagang titingnan masyado nang mababa ang minimum wage,” Castillo said.
She said the wage increase would help maintain vibrant economic opportunities in the region and generate more jobs as workers would not need to migrate to other areas to access better employment opportunities.
“Sana pakinggan ng RTWPB ang aming petisyon dahil nakikita naman na madaming manggagawa na nandito sa CALABARZON para hindi na pumupunta sa ibang bayan o bansa para lang humanap nang trabaho kasi nandito na yung mga economic zones, so sana tingnan nila ‘yon," she added.
Meanwhile, Soriano said the Department of Agriculture, Department of Energy, and the Bureau of Internal Revenue will also join the wage hike consultations.
Other public consultations are set in Quezon on July 18; Cavite (July 21); Rizal (July 26); and Laguna (July 31).
Soriano said after the public consultations, the wage board would hold a deliberation and decide on the wage hike adjustment.
“Pagkatapos ng ating mga consultation or sometimes between the consultation, inaasahan natin na magkakaroon din ng coalition on the part of labor secretariat dito sa ating (RTWPB) office,” Soriano said.
Soriano called for active public participation during the series of consultations.
“Inaasahan po namin ang inyong active participation pagdating dito sa ating gagawing talakayan on minimum wage issue sapagakat ito naman po talaga ay dapat din nating pag-usapan hindi lang po basta sa kapakanan ng ating workers para din naman po sa kapakanan ng ating employers,” he added.
The last wage adjustment in the region was approved in 2022, which ranges from P350 to P470 depending on the workers' category.
The prevailing minimum wage is at P470 for non-agricultural workers; P429 for agricultural workers; and P350 in retail and service establishments with not more than 10 workers. (AM, PIA4A)
