10 wage hike petitions filed: NWPC

MANILA – A total of 10 petitions for wage increase have been filed in six regional wage boards, the National Wage and Productivity Commission (NWPC) said on Monday.

NWPC executive director Criselda Sy said the majority of the wage petitions were filed last week.

The regions that are asking for salary adjustments are the National Capital Region (NCR), Regions 3 (Central Luzon), 4-A (Calabarzon), 6 (Western Visayas), 7 (Central Visayas), and 8 (Eastern Visayas).

“The petitioners are asking for a PHP750 minimum wage per day. There is also a petition for example in NCR asking for PHP400…I forgot the figure but it’s more than PHP400 increase in the minimum wage,” she said in a media forum.

Sy said the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Secretary Silvestre Bello III has ordered the wage boards to review the minimum wage in their respective areas. Bello expects the results of the review will be out next month.

Asked whether a petition will be granted, she said the wage boards recognized the urgency of increasing the salary of the workers.

“But if you ask me if they are receptive or not, that still depends on what they will talk about,” Sy said.

There are some 3.6 million minimum wage earners in the country, receiving PHP537 a day.

Last week, the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) filed a wage petition asking for a PHP470 increase in the daily minimum wage in NCR.

Earlier, Bello has activated all wage boards in the country to assess if there is a need to increase the salary of workers amid the continuing increase in oil prices.

The NWPC is an attached agency of the DOLE.