BACOLOD CITY, Philippines — A fierce labor dispute is boiling over in Western Visayas following a swift administrative shutdown of minimum wage negotiations. A prominent labor coalition in Negros Occidental has fiercely criticized the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB-6) for junking their petition for a ₱250 daily across-the-board wage increase.
The labor umbrella group slammed the tripartite board’s decision as a bureaucratic cop-out that ignores the severe inflation and skyrocketing utility costs battering local working-class households.
The decision to dismiss the petition was spearheaded by Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Region 6 Director and RTWPB Chair Atty. Sixto Rodriguez Jr., who confirmed the issuance of Board Resolution No. 2, Series of 2026. The board threw out the petition on strict technical grounds:
[₱250 Daily Wage Petition Filed] ──► Submitted by United Labor Alliance-Western Visayas │ ▼ (The Tripartite Review)[Board Resolution No. 2 Issued] ◄── Junked Due to "Lack of Legal Personality" │ ▼ [Alliance is Not Duly Registered with DOLE]
According to Rodriguez, the petitioner—the United Labor Alliance-Western Visayas—is a coalition rather than a single, standalone DOLE-registered labor federation. The board also noted clear deficiencies in the petition’s signatures, pointing out that individual leaders signed under the banner of the alliance without formally naming the specific, registered unions they legally represented.
Local labor organizers reacted with immense anger, accusing the wage board of prioritizing rigid paperwork over the immediate survival of ordinary workers. Group spokespersons pointed out a glaring historical contradiction in how the board handles petitions:
“We have submitted wage petitions in previous years under this exact same alliance banner without any issue. Suddenly, the board is inventing technical walls and imposing registration rules to protect the profit margins of big business and landlords while our families drown in high electricity rates and food inflation.” — Negros Labor Coalition Statement
[ REGIONAL MINIMUM WAGE BASELINES ]
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┌───────────────────────────────────┴───────────────────────────────────┐
▼ ▼
[ NON-AGRICULTURAL TRACK ] [ AGRICULTURAL SECTOR ]
• **Large Businesses (>10 workers):** ₱480 daily baseline. • **Plantation & Non-Plantation:** ₱440 daily baseline.
• **Small Establishments (≤10 workers):** ₱450 daily baseline. • Labor groups argue the current ₱480 maximum rate
has completely lost its purchasing power.
The dismissal of the ₱250 petition was quietly welcomed by regional business groups, including the Metro Bacolod Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MBCCI). Business leaders have consistently argued that forcing an aggressive salary hike amidst ongoing global oil shocks would trigger job cuts, reduce working hours, and paralyze small provincial enterprises.
| Sector Positions | Core Arguments & Strategic Realities |
| DOLE / RTWPB-6 | Clarified that the door is not permanently shut. The alliance can immediately refile the wage petition as long as the paperwork is submitted through a singular, legally recognized, and DOLE-registered labor federation. |
| Labor Coalitions | Stated they are consolidating their member unions to execute a legally bulletproof refiling, while simultaneously planning regional street protests to pressure the board into conducting an immediate motu proprio (voluntary) wage review. |
With regional inflation remaining a highly volatile variable, the local labor sector is digging in for a protracted battle. Organizers maintain that until the regional wage board acknowledges that a sub-₱500 daily wage is structurally impossible to live on, the industrial peace of Western Visayas will remain under severe threat.