Negros business groups are opposing a petition for a P97 wage hike in Western Visayas  and a move to increase port service charges amid rising fuel rates with a warning that it will cause the prices of goods to skyrocket.

Frank Carbon, president of the Metro Bacolod Chamber of Commerce and Industry, yesterday said that this will be on top of the increase in business taxes in Bacolod City  this year.

The rise in fuel prices is also expected to trigger a rise in power, transportation and water rates, he added.

“This is terrible and scary, all these increases will cause the prices of goods to skyrocket to the detriment to the public,” he said.

The increase in prices of good will erase whatever wage increase is granted, he said.

To prevent prices from skyrocketing,   an increase in wages and  other  fees should not be implemented at this time, Carbon added.

We are in for hard times until government funds for infrastructure are all released to pump-prime the economy, he said.

The Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board  is set  to hold a public consultation  on the petition filed by the Trade Union of Filipino Workers  for a P97 a day increase for the private sector workers in Western Visayas at the Iloilo Grand Hotel   on January 25, Carbon said.

Meanwhile, the Philippine Ports Authority  is set to conduct a public hearing   on a proposed Rationalized Nationwide Tariff increase  at the PPA Conference Room  at the BREDCO Port in Bacolod City  starting 9 a.m. on January 20, he said.

Being sought   are a 30 percent   increase in rates for port  services  for general conventional cargo and  20 percent  for port services for containerized  cargo, Carbon said.*CPG

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