Iran embargo used as excuse to exempt firms from wage hikes

DAVAO CITY – The banana industry in Southern Mindanao has found a reason to ask government to exempt it from a P21 wage increase that the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board ordered for workers in the agriculture sector in the region.

Ma. Lourdes Lim, director of the National Economic and Development Authority in Southern Mindanao, said the Philippine Banana Growers and Exporters Association (PBGEA) made the call during the October 19 meeting of the economic and social development committees of the Regional Development Council.

Lim quoted Stephen Antig, PBGEA executive director, as saying the banana industry was facing a difficult situation, especially in the wake of the ban that Iran imposed on all goods produced by the United States and its ally countries.

Banana eaters

The ban was seen as retaliation for Washington’s increasing pressure on Iran’s use of nuclear energy.

PBGEA said Iran consumed half of the 50 million boxes of bananas that the Philippines would send to the Middle East each year.

The ban would translate to losses of about P7.5 billion in revenues.

Lim said during the meeting, PBGEA also claimed that banana companies would be forced to immediately terminate the services of at least 36,000 workers.

She said for the banana industry, giving wage increase to workers at this time was simply not possible.

Jalilo dela Torre, director of the Department of Labor and Employment in Southern Mindanao, said the wage board has taken cognizance of the PBGEA appeal.

Dela Torre also chairs the wage board in the region.

New strategies

Carlos Mendoza, director of the Department of Agriculture in the region, said the opening of new markets such as Australia and other markets, such as China and Japan, and a shift to other crops were among the remedies seen to cushion the impact of the Iran embargo.

He said another option raised was to offer Philippine bananas to the United States as part of food aid programs for poor countries. The industry also seeks to promote increased consumption of bananas and other manufacturing gimmicks to promote bananas.

The industry came under fire from environmentalists and the Church for its continued practice of aerial spraying in plantations.

The Church recently endorsed a ban on aerial spraying, saying it was an indiscriminate way of spreading harmful chemicals. Judy Quiros, Inquirer Mindanao, Philippine Daily Inquirer