Wage Hike in NCR Forwarded by the TUCP Rejected, New Petition to be Filed

The ₱470 minimum wage hike forwarded by the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) has been rejected by the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Boards-National Capital Region (RTWPB-NCR). “We dismissed the petition of TUCP for lack of jurisdiction of the RTWPB-NCR over the wage across-the-board increase,” explained RTWPB-NCR Chairman Sarah Mirasol.

TUCP’s petition was filed on March 14, which aimed to include all private-sector workers in the NCR. In general, RTWPBs are only allowed to handle wage petitions that involve minimum wage earners as per the Wage Rationalization Act. However, three other wage petitions that were pending before the RTWPB-NCR have since moved forward. “We gave due course to the other petitions as we already scheduled consultations on minimum wage hike this April,” Mirasol elaborated.

Representative Raymond Mendoza of the TUCP, resented the decision of the RTWPB-NCR to dismiss the petition on a technicality. “It is grossly unfair for the wage board to just dismiss our petition and choose to ignore the arguments and computations which are all about a minimum wage increase,” Mendoza expressed. “While it is true that the RTWPB cannot grant an across-the-board wage increase, it has jurisdiction insofar as providing an increase in minimum wage.”

Mendoza has affirmed that they have chosen to simply refile the petition, with the term “across-the-board” being omitted to allow the RTWPB-NCR to act on it promptly. “We chose that path because we deemed to argue with them right now will delay the process….Time is of the essence.”

Alan Tanjusay, TUCP spokesman, echoed similar sentiments expressing his dissatisfaction over the dismissal of the petition. “The wage board, as usual, sided with the interest of business groups led by ECOP (Employers Confederation of the Philippines) to dismiss the petition,” said Tanjusay. The TUCP continues to push for a wage hike in NCR in an effort to enable minimum wage earners to keep up with the rising cost of living, especially in light of the ongoing Ukraine-Russia conflict on top of the prolonged global pandemic.

Source: BusinessMirror