CEBU CITY, Cebu, Philippines – The Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB) 7 has announced that it will be conducting only one public hearing on wage hike petitions, instead of holding one for each of the provinces in Central Visayas, to expedite the process.

RTWPB 7 labor representative Ernesto Carreon said the board agreed to hold the sole public hearing on the wage petition in Cebu on August 19. He said representatives from Bohol, Negros, and Siquijor will have to come to Cebu for the consolidated hearing.

The RTWPB 7 earlier declared the presence of "supervening conditions" which was confirmed by the National Wages and Productivity Commission.

The declaration and confirmation of said supervening conditions by the wage board justifies entertaining the two wage hike petitions filed by the Associated Labor Unions-Trade Congress of the Philippines (ALU-TUCP) and the Alliance of Progressive Labor (APL).

A P100 across-the-board daily wage hike for workers in Central Visayas has been filed by the ALU-TUCP. For its part, the APL is asking for a P120 across-the-board increase in daily wages.

Cebu’s biggest business group, the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI), the biggest business group in Cebu, earlier said that the rise of prices of basic commodities could be artificial and should be looked into with more consideration before approving any increase in daily wages.

CCCI President Samuel Chioson said the current prices of basic goods is affected by the sudden increase in prices of fuel in the world market although the same prices could go down in the near future and as such bring the prices of goods down.

“We can see based on the current prices of goods that there is a supervening event that would warrant an increase but all these are temporary,” said Chioson, adding that immediately increasing the minimum wage could force small businesses to close shop.

He said increasing the minimum wage will create a big problem especially to owners of internet cafes, convenience stores, and other micro and small enterprises because they will have to bear the cost of the increase.