Workers in Western Visayas struggle as basic food and fuel prices rise, pushing them to demand a wage increase.
The extraordinary increases in the prices of petroleum products, as well as other goods and services, constitute a “supervening condition,” according to Wennie Sancho, labor representative to the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB), allowing the board to begin the process of minimum wage fixing even without a formal wage petition from the labor sector.
Sancho said the labor sector in Western Visayas was considering filing a combined petition for a P100 daily wage rise in a March 7 letter to Sixto Rodriguez, the Department of Labor and Employment (Dole) regional director.
In 2019, the RTWPB increased the daily minimum wage in the region from P15 to P30. In Western Visayas, the current minimum wage ranges from P310 to P395, depending on the industry classification.
Sancho requested that Rodriguez address the “workers’ manifesto” at the wage board’s next regular meeting.
Workers in West Visayas seek P100 wage increase
The manifesto, an official statement of employees demanding fair compensation and a reasonable standard of living, noted that salary increases were not planned for 2020 or 2021.
“It is imperative that a wage increase of P95 to P100 per day be given to Western Visayas workers,” it said. “No amount of rhetoric from our government economists and statisticians could convince the labor sector that our economy is on the road to recovery.”
The RTWPB would be failing in its responsibility if it ignored employees’ “urgent appeal” for a pay rise, according to the manifesto. In Bohol province, many gasoline outlets in the capital city of Tagbilaran have run out of diesel after a sharp hike in fuel prices went into effect on Tuesday.
On Monday night, Gilbert Castao, supervisor of the Petron gasoline station in Barangay Cogon, reported they ran out of diesel. The station’s fuel stock of 6,000 liters had been depleted in advance of the significant increase in oil prices.
On Monday, fuel cost P57.65 per liter, while on Tuesday, it cost P63.50 per liter. From P64.40 per liter, gasoline was marketed for P68 per liter.
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