Protests up today in commemoration of Labor Day
Labor and other militant groups on Panay Island will hold protest actions today to press for higher wages and for control of prices of rice and other basic commodities.
In Iloilo, thousands of protesters led by the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) and Kilusang Mayo Uno will assemble in two points in Molo and Jaro Districts before marching to the grounds of the provincial capitol where a rally will be held.
The protesters will demand for a legislated P125 across-the-board increase in the minimum wage, according to Wenefredo Dubliso, spokesperson of the KMU in Panay. The protesters will also call on the government to impose stringent controls on the price of rice and other basic commodities.
In the capital town of Kalibo in Aklan, protesters led by Bayan will march in the town's main streets before holding a rally in front of the provincial capitol. A similar protest will also be held in Roxas City in Capiz.
The Regional Tripartite Wage and Productivity Board in Western Visayas (RTWPB) has started a series of consultation with both labor and employers groups for a possible new round of increase of the daily minimum wage in the region.
The RTWPB conducted consultations in San Jose in Antique on April 28, Roxas City in Capiz (April 29) and Kalibo in Aklan (April 30). The next consultation will be held in Iloilo City on May 6.
Last year, the RTWPB issued an order raising the daily minimum wage to P235.
President Macapagal-Arroyo earlier ordered the wage boards to convene and determine increases in the daily minimum wages of workers employed in the private sector in face of rising costs of rice, fuel and other commodities.
But the Iloilo Business Club had said that a new round of increase is "untimely" because the wage increase order that took effect in the region in October last year will only be fully implemented on September 16 because of the order's provisions staggering the implementation of the increase.