A PUBLIC hearing on the wage increase in the region will be conducted by the Regional Tripartite Wage and Productivity Board (RTWPB) on December 9, from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m., at the Lyceum Northwestern University in Dagupan to determine initially if there is a need to increase wages in the face of the rising costs of commodities, including oil and fuel.

Assistant DOLE Regional Director Exequiel Guzman, RTWPB secretary, said they already received a petition for a wage increase coming from the labor sector.

The management sector has yet to submit its position.

The present minimum wage in the region is P230 per day, plus P10 Cost of Living Allowance (COLA).

Provincial Labor Officer Leonardo Catapia said he believes there may be a need to increase the wages in the region considering that the last wage increase was in 2008.

However, he stressed that any decision will depend on representatives of management and labor attending the public hearing.

Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Regional Director John Henry Jalbuena representing the government sector and representatives of both the management and labor sectors will be at the hearing.

Other government representatives in the RTWPB are Director Leonardo Quitos of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) and Director Florante Leal of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).

The management is represented by Ed Poserio, president of the Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP) Pangasinan.

This will be the first leg of a series of public hearing by RTWPB in the region. The second leg will be held in Ilocos Sur jointly with Ilocos Norte.–LM

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