Negros traders, labor groups assail wage increase

BACOLOD CITY—Labor and business leaders in Negros Occidental have expressed dissatisfaction with the daily minimum wage increase of P40 to P45 for private-sector workers in Western Visayas, with labor groups calling the adjustment inadequate and employers warning of higher operating costs and possible price increases.

The wage adjustment, approved by the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB) in Western Visayas, is contained in Wage Order No. 30, which covers workers in the region, including Negros Occidental and this city.

The order was awaiting final approval by Labor Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma as of Oct. 24, RTWPB-6 chair Sixto Rodriguez Jr. said. If approved, the new rates are expected to take effect in November.

Juliana Carbon, president of the Metro Bacolod Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said the proposed increase had drawn strong opposition from local business owners concerned about its potential impact on the regional economy.

“There is widespread concern and strong opposition among the local business owners as a hike of this magnitude will have adverse trade-offs in the local economy,” Carbon said.

She warned that higher labor costs could force businesses to raise the prices of goods and services, potentially undermining the purchasing power of workers the wage adjustment was intended to help.

“It will have a domino effect. Owners will be forced to increase the prices of products and services due to rising overhead costs, ultimately eroding the purchasing power of the very workers the wage order aims to help,” Carbon said.

She said micro, small and medium enterprises, many of which were still recovering from pandemic-related losses, would be particularly vulnerable to the additional costs.

According to Carbon, wage adjustments should ideally be aligned with regional inflation.

While some chamber members favored no increase, Carbon said she personally supported a more modest P20 daily adjustment to help retain workers who might otherwise move to regions offering higher wages.

‘Inadequate’

Labor leaders, meanwhile, said the approved adjustment fell far short of what workers needed to cope with rising prices and recover lost purchasing power.

Noly Rosales, secretary general of Kilusang Mayo Uno-Negros Occidental, criticized the increase as inadequate compared with the group’s petition for a P250 daily wage hike.

Wennie Sancho, head of the General Alliance of Workers Associations, said the adjustment would offer little lasting relief if inflation continued to erode workers’ earnings.

“If purchasing power is not restored, the P45 increase will simply be negated by inflation,” Sancho said.

He said workers needed a daily increase of P148.50 to restore their purchasing power.

“Never in the history of the RTWPB have they restored the purchasing power of workers, who are continuously left to bite the bullet,” he added.

Other concerns

Sugar industry leaders also raised concerns about the timing of the wage adjustment, citing falling sugar prices and mounting production costs.

Enrique Rojas, president of the National Federation of Sugarcane Planters, described the increase as coming at the “most unfortunate time,” as the industry continued to grapple with depressed prices amid concerns over excessive sugar imports.

Rojas said sugar farmers were still recovering from infestations of the red-striped soft-scale insect (RSSI) and facing the threat of El Niño in the coming months.

“Coupled with unprecedented cost increases in fuel, fertilizer, and other farm inputs, this wage hike exerts tremendous financial pressure on all sugar farmers,” he said.

Manuel Lamata, president of the United Sugar Producers Federation of the Philippines, acknowledged that workers deserved higher wages but questioned the timing of the adjustment.

“The wage hike is not that bad, and laborers need it. The problem is the timing,” Lamata said, citing losses from flooding and the RSSI infestation.

He added: “They could have implemented this wage hike next year.”

Under Wage Order No. 30, the proposed daily minimum wage for agricultural workers would increase by P45, from P520 to P565, while workers in nonagricultural establishments with more than 10 employees would receive a P40 increase, from P550 to P590.

For workers in nonagricultural establishments with 10 or fewer employees, the daily minimum wage would also increase by P40, from P525 to P565.

Meanwhile, the proposed monthly minimum wage for domestic workers, or “kasambahays,” would increase by P500, from P6,500 to P7,000.

Rodriguez said the new rates would take effect once the wage order receives the required approval and an effectivity date is established. INQ