Edward Du, the regional governor of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Central Visayas and former president of the Negros Oriental Chamber of Commerce and Industry. (PNA file photo by Judaline Partlow)
DUMAGUETE CITY -- The business community in Central Visayas is appealing the decision of the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board in Region 7 (RTWPB-7), which it described as the unilateral reclassification of cities in Negros Oriental with regard the implementation of the daily minimum wage.
Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI)-Central Visayas head Edward Du on Tuesday said the business sector has no objection to the recent wage order that calls for an increase of PHP18 in the daily minimum wage of workers in the private sector.
However, he said they could not understand why RTWPB-7 just unilaterally reclassified the six cities in the province from Class C to Class B without conducting a public hearing or consultation, thus resulting in distortion of wages.
This means that instead of the approved PHP18 increase, employees in the six cities -- Canlaon, Guihulngan, Bais, Tanjay, Bayawan, and Dumaguete -- will have an increase of PHP28 per day, Du said.
He believes this is a violation of the due process of law, even as he noted that the minimum daily wage of the six cities was increased without even a petitioner, unlike in previous wage orders where public hearings were conducted in all the four provinces of Central Visayas.
Du said the increase may be good for the workers but unfair to the business sector.
The PCCI-7 sent a letter of appeal on the matter over the weekend to National Economic and Development Authority-7 director Efren Carreon, who is also the regional chairman of RTWPB-7. (PNA)
