TACLOBAN CITY- The new minimum wage for the private sector in Region 8 is almost ripe to be issued by the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB) of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), Regional Office 8.
Series of public consultations had been conducted, one in Ormoc and another one in Catbalogan, participated by the management and labor sectors in the region. The consultation in Ormoc pooled in participants from Southern and western Leyte, while the one in Catbalogan City gathered the participants from Northern, Eastern and Samar.
Director Elias Cayanong, regional director of DOLE-8 and concurrently the chairman of the wage board, described the consultations as the most comprehensive having been participated by nearly 200 representatives from the management and labor sectors all over the region.
There was only one voice among the labor groups and that is wage increase. Surprisingly however, the management sector seems to support the clamor and expressed willingness to pay for a wage hike. Only a meager five among the 200 participants said “no” to wage increase.
As the proposed amounts of increase are extremes, with P5.00 as the lowest and P266.00 the highest, the stakeholders threw back to the board the fixing of the minimum wage.
One more step is left before the board sits in to deliberate for the minimum wage, a public hearing. This the last engagement with the public at large to participate and get their voices heard about the wage issue.
The public hearing is set on October 12, 2016 at Leyte Park Hotel, Tacloban City at 1:30 pm.
Regional Director Elias A. Cayanong (chairman); Assistant Regional Director Exequiel Ronie A. Guzman; DTI Regional Director Cynthia R. Nierras (vice chair); NEDA Regional Director Bonifacio G. Uy (vice chair); labor representatives Atty. Miguel T. Tezon and Efren M. Gabriola and Reynaldo Soliveres, the new board secretary were present during the consultations to give inputs and facilitate the discussion. (PR)
