Most business groups in Western Visayas support wage-hike proposal

Most business groups under the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) back the proposal for a wage increase of employees in Western Visayas.

All the provincial chapters in the region have collectively sent manifestation of support of a proposed wage hike. Only PCCI’s Iloilo chapter registered opposition.

The PCCI members in the region said they support the proposal lodged by the Philippine Agricultural, Commercial, and Industrial Workers Union-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (Paciwu-TUCP) on January 22. Paciwu-TUCP’s petition remained with the office of Regional Tripartite Wage and Productivity Board in Region 6 for nearly four months now.

The petition urges businesses to adopt an additional P130 to P150 daily minimum-wage increase on top of the current P271.50 and P323.50, depending on the industry and the number of workers employed. The petition cites the reduction of the purchasing power of workers with the increases in prices of oil and basic commodities.

The last minimum-wage order in the region took effect on March 16, 2017.

Frank A. Carbon, former PCCI regional governor and currently CEO of the Metro Bacolod Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said his group, the PCCI chapters of Aklan and Boracay are for increasing wages.

Carbon said despite the closure of Boracay for six months, “business groups in the province did not surrender and instead worked harder.”

“Many businesses in Boracay also didn’t close their stores,” he added. “They [continue to] keep [their businesses] open. I don’t have an explanation now for this unselfish and selfless actions but I believe this is the right thing to do at the moment.”

Likewise, PCCI-Aklan President Ramel  V. Buncalan said the board has issued a position paper supporting the proposed wage increase.

“As early as March when the announcement of the then impending ‘Boracay closure’ was abruptly announced without due consultation and planning, businesses in the island and mainland Aklan had already felt the reduced confidence in doing business in the province,” part of the position paper states.

“But despite these challenges, businesses have implemented intermediary mechanisms to maintain their work force until losses would have been recovered in the anticipated opening of a ‘better’ Boracay Island,” it added.