The secretary general of the General Alliance of Workers Association (GAWA) said that the recent announcement on wage hike by the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB) was confusing and premature.
In a press release, GAWA secretary general Wennie Sancho reacted to a valid news report from Iloilo City on October 11, saying that “Board OKs Wage Increase in WV Hike for private sector to take effect by year-end or after November 16, 2024.”
Sancho said that with all due respect to the members of the RTWPB, especially to the chairperson Sixto Rodriguez, the Board should have waited for the proper time in making any announcement on the decision for a wage hike as a matter of “delicadeza”. It would seem to appear that the Board has already prejudged the wage increase issue.
For the General Alliance of Workers Assn. (GAWA), the effect of the untimely pronouncement to the workers has created confusion. The prophetic revelation of the chairperson of the Board was premature, since a public hearing will still be held in Bacolod City on October 21. This unfortunate announcement had also shattered the aspiration of the workers for substantial wage increase, the press release added.
Furthermore, if the Board and the chairperson confirmed that the decision for a wage hike was based on a series of public consultations, it follows that there is no need for a public hearing on October 21 in Bacolod City.
However, Sixto Rodriguez said that the exact amount of wage increase in WV would be determined after the final public hearing in Negros Occidental, despite the fact that they had not floated any amount until now, if ever they had conducted a Board deliberation on the wage increase issue. It is frustrating to know that until now, we have not heard anything from our Labor Representatives in the RTWPB 6. Under the present situation, the workers are like blind groping in the dark amid the wage increase issue in Region 6, the press release concluded.*