No wage review before May 26

MANILA, Philippines – The National Wages and Productivity Board of the National Capital Region (NCR), after deliberations, found no supervening conditions that would warrant an early wage hike.

According to the Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP), which also sits as part of the board, there are not enough reasons to expedite the wage hike hearings.

ECOP said the recent fare hike, along with oil price increases, constitute just 10% of the total expenses in a regular household.

The 90% is composed of food, medicine, clothing and other basic needs that remain stable, according to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).

Labor group Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU), however, said employers are just making up excuses.

KMU activists stormed the ECOP office in Makati around noon on Thursday and criticized the employers’ group’s claim that there are not enough supervening conditions that would justify a wage increase at the moment.

They vowed to stage a bigger protest on May 1, Labor Day.

The Department of Labor and Employment in the NCR, meanwhile, assured that even if the board decided against the existence of supervening conditions, they have decided to conduct consultations early instead of waiting for May 25, the date that marks the first year of the last wage order.

This is to allow them to deliberate faster once they conduct hearings and in effect, expedite the process.

Usually, the whole process takes an average of 2 months before a decision is reached. -ABS-CBNnews.com