Labor groups press new wage hike

TWO days before the annual Labor Day observance, labor groups said they will push for a P90 across the board wage increase for workers in Cebu and lower power rates in Central Visayas. Art Barrit, representative of the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP), said the existing P327 daily minimum wage is insufficient to cover living expenses in Cebu. The Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB) approved a P22 wage hike for workers in Cebu last year. He said they will also call on the Department of Labor and Employment to step up their monitoring and sanction companies that fail to implement the existing wage order for their employees. Barrit said they will file a “Wage Theft” bill to sanction employers who don't pay the minimum daily wage to their workers. He also said power rates remain high despite the billions earned by power companies. Power rates range from P7 to P10 per kilowatt hour in the province, he said. The TUCP official said the group will file a bill that will reduce the return of investment (ROI) of power companies from 50 percent to 15 percent. He said they will also introduce a bill to Congress that would require registration of power coops to the Cooperative Development Authority (CDA). That way, Barrit said, they will be exempted from taxes and won't be justified in imposing high power rates to their consumers. Barrit said they and other labor groups have lined up activities to mark Labor Day including a Mass and a march rally from Fuente Osmeña to Plaza Independencia at 8 a.m on May 1. Correspondent Michelle Joy L. Padayhag