Workers will lose in wage boards again, pay hikes should be legislated!

The Alliance of Progressive Labor affiliates in Metro-Manila today picketed the Regional Tripartite Wage and Productivity for NCR Board today to picket hearing on workers' petition for a wage hike.

"The wage boards will as usual not be able to respond to workers' demands for a decent and justified wage hike, because historically such boards have always approved wage raises that fall very short of our expectations," said Josua Mata, APL Secretary-General.

"We believe that the composition and direction of the wage boards are fundamentally non-responsive to the workers' situation," he added. "There is no balance between government, employers and labor representation since the two employers, public and private can and have always collude against workers to issue unfavorable decisions that keep wages below the living wage."

"Wage boards merely adjust minimum wage levels, distorting these in the process and with a plethora of exemptions allowed, these hardly make a dent in the workers' lives," Mata explained.

Mata also stated that the APL is calling for a wage increase that has three features three-tiered approach to the issue of wages. "We want it to be legislated, across-the-board and nationwide."

"Then we also want the National Wage and Productivity Commission to raise wages nationally, regional boards abolished, and determine wages along industries, while the rights of labor to organize and negotiate CBAs with employers are being strengthened. The current set up discourages that and penalizes workers for aspiring to a just and fair share of the fruits or profits from our own labor."

"Any wage hikes coming out of the wage boards now will be suspect and hardly credible," he said, "because it is obvious GMA only wants to resort once more to the wage boards where she knows workers will only lose, and at the same time prevent the passage of the P125 wage hike bill by Congress."

"Workers will not accept such a maneuver because we know that it is merely the greed and the vested interests of a few which is blocking a legislated wage hike," he added.

"And we know that GMA doesn't want to rock the boat because she desperately needs the backing of capitalists to stay in power," the labor leader said, "and she seems hell bent in sacrificing workers' welfare by allowing us to again lose out by using the wage boards again to do her dirty job for her."