CEBU CITY – A proposal made by the labor union Group, Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) for an across-the-board wage increase is not feasible at this time when the local business community is still slowly recovering from the effects of the global financial turmoil that has sent many industries to scale down operations or close shops.

“Before there is any increase, the Wage Board should consider the current economic situation when deciding on the petition. The wounds brought by the financial crisis have not healed and business should be given more time to recover,” Mandaue Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Eric Ng Mendoza told Manila Bulletin.

The wage hike petition of the workers in Central Visayas should be well evaluated by the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB), Mendoza said, where he noted the decision must be based on what would be beneficial to both business and labor sectors.

“There are actually two concerns of the companies,” according to Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) Committee Chairman on labor Edgar Godinez. “One is growth for business and the other is survival in the industry.”

According to Godinez, between growth and survival, it is the latter that businesses are concerned the most.

Earlier, the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) filed a wage hike petition before the RTWPB for an increase of P100 in the daily wages of Central Visayas workers.

But in its position paper, CCCI said that while the business community was not opposing the proposed wage increase, the proposal would just be “adding insult to injury” if approved.

The Chamber asked the RTWPB to study the advantages and disadvantages the wage hike will bring to both parties, that is, the companies and their workers.

In a related development, the Cebu Furniture Industries Foundation Inc. voiced their opposition to a petition filed by the Cebu Labor Coalition (Celac) in September last year likewise seeking for a similar wage increase, saying this would only cause more job losses and would be “tantamount to a death certificate for the export furniture industry.”

CFIF said the major markets of the Philippine export furniture industry remain “very weak” due to the global financial crisis and the stiff competition posed by China, Vietnam and Indonesia.

The furniture industry, through Celac, said any increase in wages should be postponed until market recovery is certain.