6 regional wage boards urged to implement hikes

URGENT ACTION NEEDED Six wage boards have been urged to "act with urgency" and provide a helpline to struggling minimum wage earners by implementing pay adjustments as soon as possible. House Minority Leader and 4Ps Rep. Marcelino Libanan cited the continuing surge in the cost of living as he identified the six wage boards that have yet to provide "immediate relief" to workers trying to survive on minimum pay. These are the Cordillera Administrative Region, Regions 4-B, 8, 9,10 and 13. --INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

House Minority Leader and 4Ps Rep. Marcelino Libanan on Sunday urged wage boards to “act with urgency” in adjusting pay rates as he bared that minimum wage increases have yet to be implemented in six regions with less than seven weeks to go before the year ends.

In a statement, Libanan stressed that minimum wage earners are already feeling the strain of sustained consumer price increases.

He noted that of the country’s 17 regional wage boards, 11 have already issued new wage increase orders this year as of Nov. 3, according to the National Wages and Productivity Commission.

This leaves only six regional wage boards that have yet to implement new wage adjustments. These are the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR); Mimaropa or Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon, Palawan (Region 4-B); Eastern Visayas (Region 8); Zamboanga Peninsula (Region 9); Northern Mindanao (Region 10); and Caraga (Region 13).

“We are counting on the six remaining regional wage boards to promptly raise pay rates and give workers the immediate relief they deserve amid the continuing surge in the cost of living,” Libanan said.

“Every week of delay means further erosion of workers’ purchasing power. Our regional wage boards must move decisively,” he added.

Motu proprio

Under the Labor Code, regional boards may review and increase minimum wages motu proprio, even without a pending petition, but they may issue only one wage order every 12 months.

Libanan emphasized that higher wages are not only a matter of fairness but are also critical to economic recovery.

“The country urgently needs wage adjustments to revive household consumption spending, which has been weakened by months of wage erosion caused by sustained price hikes,” he said.

“Boosting household spending is essential if we want to strengthen demand for goods and services, accelerate economic growth, and spur job creation in the months ahead,” he added.