BY GILBERT P. BAYORAN
The Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB) in Western Visayas has asked the National Wages and Productivity Commission to deny and dismiss the appeals of eight business groups in Region 6 against the new wage hike issued in the region.
In its consolidated comment to the appeals of the business groups in Western Visayas dated June 13, the RTWPB 6 said the board “did not commit abuse of discretion when it issued the wage order.”
The wage increase approved by RTWPB 6 took effect June 6.
The new wage order mandates that workers in private establishments with more than 10 employees will earn P450 daily or P55 more than the current P395.
Those in private establishments employing 10 workers and below will have a daily minimum wage of P420 from P310. Agricultural workers will get a daily pay of P410 from P315.
Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson, however, said it was a “delayed increase” since prices of basic commodities have gone up so much.
Lacson admitted that the P90 per day increase in salaries in the private sector was the biggest rate increase approved by the RTWPB in recent years.
Frank Carbon, chief executive officer of the Metro Bacolod Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MBCCI), said the group has no objection to an increase in the minimum wage, stressing that they only want to lower the amount in order for the business sector to have time to recover.*
