Wage board convenes on petition for wage hike in WV
Initial talks for a P50 increase in pay of minimum-wage earners in Western Visayas begin today with no less than the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board convening.
In a radio interview yesterday, Regional Director Aida Estabillo of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) said foremost of the related discussions of the petition will be anchored on the current economic situation of the country.
Alongside the petition for wage increase are concerns on brewing issue on the rice crisis and higher cost of living in the region.
The wage hike was submitted by the National Congress of Unions in the Sugar Industry of the Philippines. Yet Estabillo clarified that with the latest petition as sought, the department is only at the implementation of third-phase wage increase set then in 2007.
Nevertheless, the DOLE regional office here assured of corresponding action in order to study the merits of the petition.
Meanwhile, the department in a recent survey discovered a shortage of qualified applicants particularly in the National Capital Region (NCR). Department insiders said that a similar concern is true to other regions nationwide faced with an abundant supply of workers yet challenged with unqualified applicants.
Foremost of the survey results showed the area in human resources, a common concern of major companies in the NCR.