DOLE looking at wage hike requests, says Laguesma

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) is studying the appeals to hike minimum wages amid the rising inflation, Labor Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma said Saturday.

“Iginagalang namin ang mga panawagan... Titignan din namin ang mga reality at factors na dapat na ikonsidera kung kinakailangan na naman ng panibagong adjustment,” Laguesma said in an interview on Dobol B TV.

(We respect the requests… We are also looking at the realities and factors that need to be considered if another wage adjustment is necessary.)

Last weekend, Partido Manggagawa called for a P100 across-the-board increase in the country’s minimum wage as purchasing power of a minimum wage earner has declined by P76 due to high consumer prices. 

The Labor chief said the DOLE’s regional directors together with the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Boards (RTWPBs) held a meeting on Thursday to tackle the latest developments that would trigger a discussion for a minimum wage adjustment.

“Maingat tayo kasi baka maging inflationary din ito,” he said.

(We are careful because this could be inflationary too.)

Laguesma said the RTWPBs are looking at several factors alongside the demands and needs of workers, the capacity of businesses to grant a wage increase, and the consumer price index.

Inflation clocked in at 7.7% in October, the fastest in 14 years, driven by higher prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages during the month.

Regional wage boards earlier this year approved an increase in the minimum wage in several regions, with the lowest in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) with P305, and the highest in Metro Manila with P570 as of October 2022.

Nonetheless, Laguesma said that apart from raising wages, the government can also extend subsidies for minimum wage earners. —KG, GMA Integrated News