Help one another, DOLE appeals to Aklan employers, employees
KALIBO, Aklan -- The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) here is appealing to employers and employees to help one another, so Aklan will sustain its peaceful labor situation status.
DOLE-Aklan Provincial Head Joselito Dela Banda issued this statement as workers and employers alike are awaiting announcement of wage increase this month from the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB).
De la Banda said the wage increase consultation for Panay employers and workers was conducted yet April 30 of this year while Negros Occidental had its consultation last May 6-7.
Some 80 participants in Aklan, representing employers and employees in Kalibo and in Boracay Island, attended the consultation who managed to air their respective sentiments on the proposed wage increase.
According to DOLE, wages in Panay are not classified by province but by capitalization, industry and number of workers.
Unlike other regions wherein RTWPBs have already announced that workers in their areas will be getting wage increases by June 1, the Board in Panay Island has no specific date yet, although there was a proposal that the requested wage increase be given together with the May 1 increase as mandated by Wage Order No. 5, according to De la Banda.
De La Banda emphasized that under Wage Order No. 5 issued last year, workers are still scheduled to receive the third installment in the staggered wage increase October of this year.
Besides the wage hike, DOLE revealed that some employees group are also requesting for non-wage benefits to help them tide over these difficult times. These non-wage benefits, according to DOLE, include housing, food, sacks of rice, tax exemption and transportation allowance.
For workers in Boracay Island, DOLE advised that even as much progress is seen in the island, some big establishment edge out smaller ones, resulting to less income of the latter, and so workers could not expect much from these smaller establishments to give them a bigger wage increase.
Other sectors in Aklan which are asking for wage increase are in the food business and health care facilities.
Despite these concerns, De La Banda said there are no significant changes yet in the labor situation in Aklan, as presently, the office has not receive an alarming number of complaints.
Meanwhile, Acting Labor Secretary and National Wages and Productivity Commission (NWPC) Chair Marianito Roque is confident that workers from the private sector will start getting higher wages starting June 1 this year.
The labor secretary said the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Boards (RTWPB) in the National Capital Region have already completed their consultations with both the labor and employers sectors, and will soon begin with their public hearings.
As soon as the new wage order has been issued, Roque said a 15-day publication period will follow, so the workers could expect their wage increase by June 1.
The NCWPB reminded the workers that the expected salary increase in June should not, in any way, adversely affect the business sector. (PIA)