Mismong si Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello na ang nagsabi na maaaring hindi na sapat ang kasalukuyang minimum wage sa National Capital Region dahil sa tumataas na presyo ng mga bilihin.
Dahil dito, inatasan ni Bello ang Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Boards na bilisan ang pagrepaso sa minimum wages ng mga manggagawa.
"The current daily minimum wage in the National Capital Region (NCR), for instance, of P537 may no longer cope with the price of basic commodities such as food, electricity and water bills," anang kalihim sa isang pahayag nitong Miyerkules.
Inaasahan ni Bello na makapagpapalabas ng rekomendasyon ang RTWPBs sa katapusan ng Abril.
Ayon kay Bello, chairperson ng Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board, dapat imonitor ng RTWPBs, pati na National Economic Development Authority (NEDA), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), at kinatawan ng labor at employers groups, ang wage level, at suriin ang economic factors, at magbigay ng rekomendasyon sa minimum wages adjustment all over the country.
“Setting and adjusting the wage level is one of the most challenging parts of minimum wage fixing. Minimum wage cannot be very low as it will have very small effect in protecting workers and their families against poverty," paliwanag ni Bello.
"If set too high, it will have an adverse employment effect. There should be a balance between two sets of considerations,” dagdag pa niya.
Nakatanggap na ang RTWPBs ng mga petisyon para sa minimum wage increase sa kani-kanilang nasasakupan.
“Every year, we have what we call an anniversary period where we make an assessment of all petitions received. One petition called for a uniform increase of P750 in the minimum wage nationwide,” ani Bello.
Dahil sa pagsirit ng presyo ng mga produktong petrolyo, inaasahan din na tataas ang presyo ng ilang produkto at mga serbisyo—FRJ, GMA News
