THE Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) will partner with the University of the Philippines to study the current wage-setting system after receiving calls to abolish the wage boards.
Labor Assistant Secretary Joji V. Aragon told reporters that the study will be conducted by the National Wages and Productivity Commission (NWPC) in collaboration with the UP School of Economics.
The study will focus on analyzing the current system of salary determination, under which the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Boards (RTWPB) are responsible for issuing wage orders.
“(T)he NWPC has engaged the University of the Philippines School of Economics to undergo a six-month study on these issues,” she said.
In December, NWPC Director Maria Criselda R. Sy said that the NWPC will carry out the study to evaluate the current wage-setting system, as per instruction by Labor Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III.
The study is expected to be completed by the end of the year.
“We have been hearing a clamor (to) increase the minimum wage (and then) abolish the regional wage-fixing system and the abolition of the RTWPBs and abolition of the NWPC,” Ms. Aragon said, adding that this is what pushed the labor department to study the wage system.
The RTWPBs are authorized under Republic Act 6727 or the Wage Rationalization Act. Legislation may be required to abolish the system and alter the wage determination process.
Later this month, Ms. Aragon said that there will be separate consultations with the labor and management sectors on this matter. — Gillian M. Cortez
