WAGE REVIEW. The public hearing on a possible wage increase held in Ormoc City on April 27, 2022. Workers and employers in Leyte provinces are divided on the proposal to adjust the daily minimum wage in Eastern Visayas, an official said on Thursday (May 5), citing results of public hearings in two areas. (Photo courtesy of RTWPB Region 8)
TACLOBAN CITY – Workers and employers in Leyte provinces are divided on the proposal to adjust the daily minimum wage in Eastern Visayas, an official said on Thursday, citing results of public hearings in two areas.
Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB) Eastern Visayas secretary Reynaldo Soliveres said both workers and employers in Southern Leyte opposed the wage hike while in Ormoc City, the two sectors are divided on the proposal.
“In Southern Leyte, they are one in saying that they are not in favor of wage adjustments due to reeling impacts of Typhoons Odette and Agaton. In Ormoc, some said no to wage increase and some said yes. Others said the increase is too much,” Soliveres told reporters in an interview.
The review is in response to the petition for adjustment of the daily minimum wage of workers in the private sector filed by the Solidarity of Unions in the Philippines for Empowerment and Reforms to raise the daily wage to PHP750.
On April 22, the RTWPB held the first public hearing in Macrohon, Southern Leyte followed by the same activity on April 27 in Ormoc City for northwest Leyte areas.
From May 16 to 23, similar gatherings are slated in Borongan City for Eastern Samar province, Calbayog City for Samar, Catarman town for Northern Samar, and Tacloban City for the northern Leyte area.
“We will consolidate all data gathered in six public hearings. This is subject to further deliberations since we want to come up with a fair decision,” Soliveres added.
The official said even before the filing of the petition, the wage body has been reviewing weekly the economic indicators due to the impact of the pandemic, series of oil price hikes, and price adjustments of basic commodities.
The current minimum daily pay in the region is PHP325 under Wage Order No. 21 issued in August 2019.
The regional board in Eastern Visayas is a tripartite body composed of six members -- three representatives from the government, two from the workers' sector, and one from the employers' sector. (PNA)
