Negros Workers Call P5 COLA Increase an ‘Insult’
Gear for intensified campaign for wage relief, wage board abolition

An insult! A shame! Militant workers in Negros dismissed the P5 increase in the Cost of Living Allowance proposed by employers claiming the “measly” hike is hardly enough for the skyrocketing prices of basic commodities and services.

By Karl G. Ombion
Bulatlat.com/Cobra-ans

petition that workers no longer need to argue the basis of their demand for a P125 immediate wage relief because all the economic indicators are clear.  

“With their current wages,” Cordova said, “workers cannot cope with the soaring prices of basic commodities resulting from the seemingly endless increases in oil prices and the increasing costs of public utilities such as fare rates hikes, water and power rate increases.  As if these were not enough, the government is even proposing new taxes.”

Citing IBON research studies, the WINS in its position paper said the nominal wage of workers in Region VI is a measly P170, yet its actual or real value is only P154.  Comparing this to the May 2004 estimate of the daily cost of living in Region VI amounting to P432, the current minimum wage fall short by P278.

Minimum income

Cordova also cited a 2003 study by the National Wages and Productivity Commission placing P543 a day, or at least P16,000 a month, as the minimum income needed by a family of six to live a decent life.

The labor leader slammed the government for dilly-dallying in its decision to grant wage increases “in obvious defense of the interests of big capitalists and the elite class.”

Guillermo Barreta, regional chairman of the Kilusang Mayo Uno-Negros (KMU-Negros), said that the government is in a position to persuade big capitalists to grant the workers’ demands, as they can afford to pay their workers much more than what they are currently paying. 

Barreta added that “the government has no political will, and do not seem to care at all regarding the plight and struggles of workers, which proves that it is pro-capitalist.”

Jovito Berden of Alliance of Labor for Reforms Movement (ALARM) also said that “the prices of all prime commodities in Western Visayas have increased faster than workers’ wages. The last time workers got a measly P10 increase was in January 2001, yet it was implemented only in 2002.”

Berden insisted that his group’s demand for a P200 wage increase is “in fact, only a form of wage relief and is not enough to provide workers with a living wage.  He added, “It will just allow workers to cope with the erosion in our purchasing power.”

Losing businesses?

Philip Dabao, head of Committee on Labor and Wages of the Confederation of Sugar Producers (CONFED), presented his group’s opposition to the workers’ demand for wage hike, saying that any increase in the current minimum wage rate will aggravate their worsening financial situation. Thus, he said, they are proposing for only a P5 per day increase in the Cost of Living Allowance (COLA).

Roberto Montelibano, chairman of the Metro Bacolod Chamber of Commerce Inc. echoed the sentiments of CONFED saying that “the general business conditions have turned from bad to worse in recent years, and our production is no longer competitive.”

He stressed that “any substantial wage increase at this time would only be retrogressive, and will reduce force us to reduce our work force”.

Questioning employers’ claims

The Consumers Network of Negros (CNN), through Fr. Romeo Tagud, said that “no matter how hard they insist that they are losing money, owners of big businesses and planters-millers-traders cannot deny the fact that they are still living luxurious lives compared to their workers.  This can be shown by their spending patterns, extravagant lifestyles, expensive vehicles, and well-maintained mansions.”

Fr. Tagud concluded that “most owners of medium and big enterprises in Negros are capable of giving wages higher than what they are currently paying their workers.”

Various workers groups have also slammed the employers’ claims as incorrect and self-serving, saying that “they are just making all sorts of excuses to hide their profits and prevent it from being reduced by providing wage increases to their workers”.

Regional wage boards

In a related development, reports are rife that the Regional Tripartite Wage and Productivity Board (RTWPB) may be abolished and replaced by another body. Regional Director Carlos L. Boteros admitted to Bulatlat.com that there are “top-level discussions” regarding the issue of raising the productivity of workers in all industries thereby, resulting in better pay for workers.

In a press interview early last week, acting Labor Secretary Manuel G. Imson said that he has recommended to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo the adoption of a system of setting wages by industries.

If this materializes, Imson said, the RTWPB will most likely be replaced by industrial wage-boards.

Barreta said that KMU-Negros rejects the proposal setting wage rates by industry because it is no different from the RTWPB. This will even result in workers, in relatively “poorer” industries such as sugar and agricultural farms getting lower wages. Bulatlat.com

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