Amid implementation of the final portion of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Law, local labor group, the General Alliance of Workers Association (GAWA), announced they will lobby anew for wage hikes. GAWA Secretary-General Wennie Sancho said the law has increased excise taxes on gasoline, diesel, and liquefied petroleum gas, noting, “The rise in oil prices will consequently also increase the price of basic goods and services.”
“The transport sector already voiced plans to file a consolidated petition for fare hikes nationwide this month,” he added.
The labor sector official said the latest request for increases were in response to the law creating “extraordinary increases” that have resulted in a “supervening condition”
Last October, the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board in the Western Visayas approved a wage increase of P30 for laborers working in both commercial and industrial sectors.
Although Sancho lauded the approval, he described the wage increase as “still low” and “insubstantial.”/DGB, WDJ