Wage Hike Announcement in Region 6 Sparks Confusion

By Dolly Yasa

BACOLOD CITY – Wennie Sancho, Secretary-General of the General Alliance of Workers Association (GAWA), said the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB) Region 6’s announcement that a wage increase in the private sector will take effect on November 16, or before the year ends, has caused confusion.

“With all due respect to the members of the RTWPB, especially Chairperson Atty. Sixto Rodriguez, the Board should have waited for the proper time to announce the wage hike decision, as a matter of delicadeza,” Sancho said in a statement Thursday.

He added, “It would seem that the Board has already prejudged the wage increase issue.”

For GAWA, the untimely pronouncement has caused confusion among workers, Sancho emphasized.

He claimed that the Chairperson’s announcement was premature, given that a public hearing will be held in Bacolod City on October 21, 2024.

Sancho further stated that this “unfortunate announcement” shattered the workers’ aspirations for a substantial wage increase.

Furthermore, if the Board and the Chairperson confirmed that the wage hike decision was based on a series of public consultations, Sancho questioned why a public hearing is still scheduled for October 21 in Bacolod City.

Sancho pointed out that Atty. Rodriguez mentioned the exact amount of the wage increase in Western Visayas would be determined after the final public hearing in Negros Occidental. However, Sancho expressed frustration that no specific amount had been discussed, if indeed a Board deliberation had taken place.

“It is frustrating to know that, until now, we have not heard anything from our Labor Representatives in RTWPB Region 6,” he lamented.

Sancho concluded by saying that, under the current circumstances, workers feel like they are “groping in the dark” amid the wage increase issue in Region 6.