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President Gloria Arroyo asked her Cabinet secretaries
to convene meetings with labor and employer groups to discuss the
possibility of giving more non-wage benefits to workers.
The order comes a day after the
President announced that the tripartite wage boards have agreed to a
P20 wage increase for workers in Metro Manila, and that other wage
boards are looking at similar adjustments in Regions 4-A and 10.
Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye
said, “The objective of these meetings is to map out specific
income extenders and benefits that companies could provide to
employees while ensuring fiscal stability.”
“It is time for employers,
particularly those who are better off, to draw from a wellspring of
generosity and kindness, to help workers cope during difficult
times,” Bunye added.
President Arroyo’s call for a
meeting is being supported by House Speaker Prospero Nograles, who
echoed calls for employers to provide more benefits to workers.
Nograles said he is now thinking
of pushing for other benefits for the working class, such as a
transportation allowance and educational allowance, after some
sectors of society complained to him that the looming P20 wage hike
for workers is “too small.”
“Employers have a moral duty to
look after the welfare of their employees,” he said, adding that
instead of spending on travel, they should take care of the needs of
their people.
He said Congress will push for
bills that will lighten the burden of the workers, such as the
passage of higher personal and additional tax exemptions and the
Cheaper Medicines Bill.
The minimum daily wage is
currently pegged at P362 in the National Capital Region and adjacent
regions.
The increase granted by Regional
Tripartite Wages and Productivity Boards is far much lower than the
P120 and P60 across the board wage increase sought by labor and
trade sector groups, respectively.
--ANGELO S. SAMONTE, JOMAR CANLAS AND ANTHONY VARGAS
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