Senator Joel Villanueva on Sunday, August 16 called on the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to consider granting interim assistance to the workers affected by the injunction order on the P85-wage increase while the dispute is still unresolved.

Villanueva made the call as he expressed disappointment on the Pasig City Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 152’s granting of a writ of preliminary injunction that would further delay the implementation of the P85-wage hike for workers.

The preliminary injunction was sought by construction companies Readycon Trading and Construction Corp. and R-II Builders on July 23. The court’s 14-page order also set a bond of P10-billion.

Villanueva, who heads the Senate labor and employment panel, said he continues to stand with the National Wages and Productivity Commission and the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board-NCR in defending the integrity of the wage-setting process.

“Republic Act No. 6727 built this tripartite system more than three decades ago, and it has balanced the competing interests of labor, management, and government ever since. That system exists precisely so that wage adjustments are worked out at the negotiating table based on social and economic realities on the ground, not in a courtroom,” Villanueva said.

“The law is explicit on this point: Article 126 of the Labor Code bars any court from issuing an injunction or restraining order against the proceedings of the NWPC or the Regional Boards. Any party aggrieved by a wage order has a clear administrative remedy, which is to appeal to the NWPC and that is the venue where this dispute belongs,” the senator reiterated.

“What our wage-setting process needs right now is robust negotiation within the social dialogue framework, not a fight that gets dragged into politics or into the courts. Tripartism works because labor, management, and government sit down and hash it out through the RTWPB. When that process gets short-circuited by litigation outside its proper venue, it is workers who absorb the uncertainty while the case drags on,” he stressed.

Villanueva pointed out Filipino workers—especially  minimum wage earners—"cannot afford to wait on the sidelines” while the legal controversies surrounding the injunction are sorted out in the courts.

“While the relief brought about by the wage adjustment is on hold, prices of basic goods such as food and fuel continue to rise beyond our control, making current wage levels no longer sufficient for workers to live decently,” he noted.

“We appeal to the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to look into interim assistance measures for minimum wage earners in the NCR while the implementation of the wage order remains in limbo,” he urged.

“Workers should not have to bear the cost of a legal question that is not of their making,” the senator reiterated.

“We, likewise, reiterate our full support for the NWPC and RTWPB-NCR as they pursue the appropriate legal remedies with the Office of the Solicitor General. It is the wage-setting mechanism, not litigation, that should settle this matter,” he further stated.