The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) is currently reviewing 10 wage petitions in Metro Manila and three other regions which were filed amid the high inflation rate recorded in the country since last year.
DOLE Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma said the wage petitions are currently pending before the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Boards (RTWPBs) in the National Capital Region, Region 4A (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon), Region 6 or Western Visayas and Region 7 or Central Visayas.
“All the arguments raised are being considered by our wage boards and we are hoping that this would be done properly and efficiently until wage orders are issued,” said Laguesma.
DOLE Undersecretary Benjo Benavidez said the wage petitions would undergo the normal processes that include discussions on the form and substance of the need for wage hike and the conduct of regular hearings by regional wage boards.
“We allow the existing processes and mechanisms for these wave petitions in various parts of the country because that is what the law says pertaining to wage petitions,” said Benavidez.
The last wage hikes approved by DOLE’s regional wage boards in Metro Manila and other regions were last year, some of them to be implemented by tranches.
Meanwhile, DOLE has distributed over P1.8 billion worth of assistance to workers in celebration of this year’s Labor Day.
Laguesma said the assistance benefitted over 313,000 workers across the country and was distributed in various ceremonies in celebration of the Labor Day in various areas.
The amount includes the wages of informal sector workers employed under the Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (TUPAD) program, livelihood assistance to vulnerable and marginalized workers under the DOLE Integrated Livelihood Program (DILP) or Kabuhayan Program, stipends of government interns under the DOLE-Government Internship Program (GIP), and salaries of young workers under the Special Program for Employment of Students (SPES).
“These are among the labor department’s various programs in support of the government’s efforts to reinvigorate job creation and accelerate poverty reduction by steering the economy back on a high-growth path,” said Laguesma.