The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) is set to conduct in Tagbilaran City one of a series of consultations and public hearings on a petition pushing salary increase in Central Visayas.

According to DOLE-7 director Exequil Sarcauga, the third public hearing will be held on Friday at the Metro Centre Hotel after the previous segments of the event were conducted in Mabolo and Bogo in Cebu on November 9 and 16, respectively.

The next leg of the series of meetings will be on December 2 in Dumaguete City which is already part of Negros Island or Region 18, Sarcauga said.

The public hearings were prompted by the filing of petitions by various labor groups in Region 7 before the Office of the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board.

Sarcauga noted that the Trade Union Congress filed the first petition which aimed at a P-161 daily across-the-board wage hike in Region 7 while the Sentro or Alliance of Progressive Labor asked for a P-140 increase.

He added that the Commercial and Industrial Workers’ Union asked for an increase of P101.34, P90.61 and P86.87 in daily salaries for employees in the private sector. (Rey Tutas)