CEBU CITY – The Cebu Labor Coalition, composed of at least 11 workers groups and unions, filed on Tuesday its petition seeking for a P26.60 across-the-board increase in the daily minimum wage in Central Visayas at the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB) 7.

Such petition comes just a few weeks after Cebu transport groups filed their own demands for a P1 increase in minimum fare.

Coalition head Jose Tomongha justified such wage increase petition on the basis of unstable oil prices, rapidly increasing cost of basic commodities, and hikes in water and power cost, among others factors.

Tomongha said the Coalition’s petition for a P126.60 across-the-board wage increase does not even provide for the guaranteed living wage of a family of six.

“Organized labor’s demand for adjustments in the minimum wage does not meet the constitutionally- guaranteed living wage based on the National Statistics Office index wherein a family of six in the region should have a daily income of P867.00 as of 2008 in order to adequately meet their basic needs,” said Tomongha.

If granted, the minimum wage in Central Visayas will be raised to P395, which Tomongha underlined remains substantially lower than the aforecited P867.

Labor’s wage increase demands notwithstanding, Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) 7 Director Elias Cayanong said workers should not expect another round of wage increase as there will be none for this year.

“It’s not the right time to ask for an increase,” he said. Instead, he asked that labor groups should close ranks with management for harmony in the work environment.

The business community in Cebu has also indicated as much, as leaders of that sector insist that most industries are still suffering from the impact of the global financial crunch.

Roberto Go, past President of the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industries, said that while the business community will not be able to give additional investments to workers, the good thing is that the labor sector is also being assured there will be no retrenchment of workers.