NEGROS Occidental Governor Alfredo Marañon Jr. asked employers to give a corresponding salary increase to their employees, in view of the P1 fare hike that takes effect Wednesday.
"I received information that there are still employers who have not increased the salaries of their employees which is mandated by the Department of Labor and Employment," Marañon said.
The latest salary increase in Western Visayas took effect on August 12, 2010, granting a P15 increase in the minimum wage.
The daily minimum wage in the region is at P265 for non-agriculture/industrial/commercial sector employing more than 10 workers.
The governor also asked drivers to go easy on fare rate increase, which he said is an additional burden for commuters.
Fare rate hike of P1 for the first five kilometers will be implemented starting Wednesday, as approved by the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB). About P1.40 will be added to the succeeding kilometers in provinces outside Metro Manila.
The LTFRB cited the increases in the prices of goods and the high cost of vehicle maintenance as the main reasons for approving the fare increase.
Jessie Ortega, secretary general of United Negros Drivers and Operators Center (UNDOC), said commuters will not be obliged to pay the fare increase in vehicles that do not bear the fare matrix officially issued by the LTFRB.
The labor sector recently filed a petition for another wage increase.
However, Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz insisted that increases in the prices of basic commodities and services have no impact yet on real minimum wages.
"In 2010, the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Boards (RTWPBs) have issued 15 new wage orders granting additional daily wage increase ranging from P5 to P22. These wage increases have not yet been generally affected by increases in the prices of goods and services," Baldoz said in an article posted Friday on the labor department's website.
"Thus, as of today, there has been very minimal erosion in real minimum wages," she added. (Teresa Ellera-Dulla)
