DOLE Doesn’t Want to Increase Wages

KMU (a militant trade union in the Philippines) reports:

Kilusang Mayo Uno slammed DOLE Secretary Marianito Roque for announcing today that ‘another wage adjustment is not possible,’ and by resorting again to a package of non-wage benefits.

KMU Spokesperson Prestoline Suyat said that Roque’s argument that rising oil prices ‘is not only a problem in the Philippines, so we have to look at other measures to address the problem other than increasing salaries,’ is a reckless and insensitive excuse to evade the validity of a wage hike.

Roque said regional wage boards may not grant another wage increase amid high prices, despite its mandate to adjust wages under supervening conditions.

“DOLE only exemplified the inutility of the wage boards and itself in addressing labor concerns. Even before Roque’s pronouncement, we have long called for the abolishment of wage boards for in 20 years now, these have only served to deceive and degrade workers amid numerous ‘supervening’ conditions.”