Members of the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board yesterday agreed to a moratorium on the recent P10 wage hike in Western Visayas, only in areas devastated by super typhoon “Yolanda”, Labor Regional Director Ponciano Ligutom said.

The identification of the affected areas will need a certification from the Office of Civil Defense and local Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Councils, he said.

The moratorium will be for six months and subject to review before it ends to determine whether an extension is needed, he said.

Ligutom could not give the names of the areas to be covered by the moratorium yet, as that will have to come from the OCD, he said.

“Yolanda” had hit northern Negros and northern Panay badly.

The Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Western Visayas had earlier called for a moratorium on the P10 wage increase in the region following extensive losses from “Yolanda”.

Frank Carbon, president of the Metro Bacolod Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said the moratorium on the wage increase should, in fact, be for the entire Visayas covering Regions 6, 7, and 8 and not just selected typhoon-devastated areas.

Although places like Bacolod City were not badly hit by “Yolanda,” they are also suffering from the effects of the typhoon with the constant brownouts that are causing lost opportunities for businesses, he said.

Wennie Sancho, labor representative on the RTWPB, said the position of labor was to hold in abeyance the implementation of the new wage order only in areas hardest-hit by “Yolanda”.

The resolution reached by the wage board yesterday is a manifestation of concern and cooperation with the efforts of government to help the victims of “Yolanda” so they can rebuild their lives in the midst of adversity and facilitate their rehabilitation, Sancho said.

A P10-wage increase was implemented in the region starting November 29.

In a December 6 letter to Ligutom, the PCCI Western Visayas said a moratorium on wage increases should be in place until small and medium enterprises have fully recovered from the catastrophic event.

“This call for a moratorium on all wage increases is aimed at bringing about political stability, economic recovery and improved local governance to the hard-hit provinces of Iloilo, Capiz, Antique, Aklan, Negros Occidental and Guimaras,” the letter said.

Before the P10 hike in wages, the daily minimum wage in Western Visayas implemented since May 31, 2012 for non-agriculture/industrial/commercial employing more than 10 workers is P277, and for those employing 10 or less workers, it is P235. For agriculture – plantation workers receive P245 and non-plantation 235 a day.

Meanwhile, Carbon said this is a very bad time to call for the resignation of President Benigno Aquino III, as it would send wrong signals to the rest of the world helping the Philippines recover from the devastation left by “Yolanda”.

Carbon was reacting to the call for the resignation of Aquino by some in the transport sector, which, allegedly, may be joined by the Catholic church.

He said a divisive Philippines would be a deterrent to the worldwide effort to help the Philippines recover from typhoons Yolanda and Pablo, the Zamboanga siege and the earthquake that hit Bohol.*CPG

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