BACOLOD CITY—Wages of workers in Western Visayas have been increased by P11.50 which militant groups said is barely enough for a decent meal but which a wage board official said was the result of a “balancing act.”
The increase is lower than that given workers in Metro Manila (P15) early this month and Central Visayas (P13) last year.
Observers said the amount is not even enough for a decent meal in a roadside eatery.
But Ponciano Ligutom, Department of Labor and Employment director for Western Visayas, said the wage board decided on the amount on the basis of three factors—workers’ needs, employers’ capacity to pay and whether increasing wages would affect the region’s competitiveness.
“It was a balancing act,” said Ligutom, who also chairs the Western Visayas wage board.
Daily wage in Western Visayas is now P298.50 from P287 for workers in nonagriculture, industrial and commercial establishments with more than 10 workers.
Workers in establishments with fewer than 10 workers will get a daily wage of P256.50 from P245.
Daily wage in the agriculture sector would increase to P266.50 from P255 in plantation companies and P256.50 from P245 in nonplantation companies.
Labor officials in the region hope to implement the wage adjustment before May 1, Labor Day.
But Wennie Sancho, labor representative in the wage board, refused to sign the wage order as a sign of protest.
Sancho said the wage order “is a document of oppression because it perpetuates the poverty of people.”
“It is not even enough to buy a small bottle of mineral water,” he said.
Militant labor groups had been demanding a P135 across the board increase in daily wages, saying current wage levels have failed to catch up with rising prices of basic commodities.
But efforts to pressure Congress to legislate a wage increase have failed, largely because of opposition from legislators who own businesses themselves that would be affected by any wage increase.
Even moderate labor groups, like the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP), decried the P15 wage increase given workers in Metro Manila.
TUCP, in a previous statement reported by Inquirer, said the wage increase was just an insult to workers. - Carla P. Gomez, Inquirer Visayas
Saturday, March 28, 2015
Thursday, March 26, 2015
House okays National Mangrove Forests Conservation and Rehabilitation Act
The House of Representatives has approved on second reading a measure that provides for the conservation, reforestation, and rehabilitation of mangrove forests in the Philippines.
House Bill 5609 prohibits the cutting, uprooting or destroying of any mangrove tree, dumping of waste within mangrove reservation areas, construction or reclamation activity within mangrove reservation areas, or any other acts that will result in the damage or destruction of mangrove forests.
Violators shall be fined with not less than P200,000 but not more than P1 million, or with imprisonment for not less than six months but not more than six years, or both, and may also require to restore or compensate for the restoration of the damage, as determined by the court.
The bill substituted House Bills 460, 3525, and 4206 authored by Reps. Agapito Guanlao (Party List, BUTIL), Regina Reyes (Lone District, Marinduque) and Susan Yap (2nd District, Tarlac), respectively.
"The measure seeks to improve our marine ecosystems, ensure the food security of our people, preserve our biodiversity and prevent the extinction of various mangrove species, thus reduce disaster risks making our people resilient to the impacts of climate change, storm surges and tsunamis," Yap said.
Citing a report of Global Forest Watch, Yap, chairperson of the House special committee on reforestation, said the world lost 192,000 hectares of mangroves from 2001 to 2012, a total loss of 1.38 percent since 2000 or 0.13 percent annually. She also cited an assessment conducted by the International Union for Conservation of Nature stating that more than one in six mangrove species are at risk of becoming extinct.
She said the bill is very timely because mangroves can contribute to climate change mitigation due to their enormous carbon-storage potential, which is said to be higher than ordinary trees. "An Earth Watch study reported that a hectare of mangroves can sequester 1.36 tons of carbon in a year which is equal to the emissions of six cars per year," Yap said.
Yap said the country's experience with Typhoon Yolanda highlighted the important role that mangroves play as natural bio-shields for vulnerable coastal communities. "Mangrove forests provide protection against storm surges as well as tsunamis. A mangrove stand of 30 trees per 0.01 hectare with a depth of 100 meters can reduce the destructive force of a tidal wave by up to 90 percent," Yap said.
According to Yap, the allocation for mangrove rehabilitation under the National Greening Program has been increased from P347 to P1 billion in the aftermath of Typhoon Yolanda.
"However, the National Greening Program is ending in 2016, and without sufficient funding, all our efforts to rehabilitate the mangrove forests in the country cannot be sustained beyond 2016," Yap said.
The measure shall establish and set aside all coastal areas in each municipality portions of land solely for the conservation, protection, reforestation and rehabilitation of mangrove forests.
Under the measure, the local government units (LGU's), together with the Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office (PENRO) and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) local office, where the mangrove areas will be located, shall take the lead in the identification, survey, zonification and mapping of all mangrove areas, segregating areas that are still forested, severely denuded or degraded including abandoned, undeveloped and underutilized fishponds.
All natural stands of mangrove forests and regenerating abandoned ponds shall automatically form part of the reservation areas.
Attached to the DENR, a National Steering Committee for the Conservation and Rehabilitation of Mangrove Forests (NSCCRMF) shall be established, to review existing policies and conduct studies on mangrove forest and its conservation, among its powers and functions.
A National Mangrove Forests Conservation and Rehabilitation Plan (NMFCRP) shall be formulated by the National Steering Committee (NSC) which contain an inventory of the status of all mangrove forests all over the country, fishponds, identification of mangrove reservation areas for each province, city and municipality, and operational plan for rehabilitation, among others.
The measure shall also establish a Local Steering Committee for the Conservation of Mangrove Forests (LSCCRMF), with Local Mangrove Forests Conservation and Rehabilitation Plan, as well.
In order to secure the mangrove reservation area from illegal and destructive activities, the Local Steering Committee (LSC) and the LGU shall employ the services of forest guards or LGU's deputize members of people's organizations as mangrove reservation area forest guards who shall be tasked with the responsibility to guard and police the areas.
The DENR shall formulate and institute appropriate mechanisms for proper valuation and fair and comprehensive pricing of ecosystems services provided by mangrove forests, which shall be the basis of the Local Steering Committee for charging on the use of the ecosystem services such as eco-tourism, permits for fishing boats, docking fees and carbon trading.
Created Special Account for Mangrove Management and Mangrove Conservation and Rehabilitation Fund shall be managed by the National Steering Committee (NSC) and its disbursement shall be made solely for the protection, maintenance, administration, and management of mangrove forest areas, operational expenses of the NSC, and for the expenses on the preparation of the National Mangrove Forests Conservation and Rehabilitation Plan (NMFCRP), duly approved projects endorsed by the NSC.
Other co-authors are Reps. Aleta Suarez (3rd District, Quezon), Deogracias Ramos, Jr. (2nd District, Sorsogon), Gary Alejano (Party List, MAGDALO), Joseph Stephen Paduano (Party List, ABANG LINGKOD), Maria Valentina Plaza (1st District, Agusan Del Sur), Victor Yu (1st District, Zamboanga Del Sur), Xavier Jesus Romualdo (Lone District, Camiguin) Raymond Democrito Mendoza (Party List, TUCP) and Mylene Garcia- Albano (2nd District, Davao City). - By: Jazmin S. Camero, Media Relations Service-PRIB
Wednesday, March 25, 2015
High prices a concern of nearly one-half of Filipinos, poll says
NEARLY ONE-HALF of Filipinos expressed concerns about rising prices, a Pulse Asia survey released on Tuesday said.
Forty-six percent of Filipinos said inflation was their utmost worry, 44% expressed concerns about increasing workers’ salaries, while 40% placed importance on fighting graft and corruption.
The poll was participated in by 1,200 Filipinos and conducted March 1 to 7, more than a week before a P15 wage hike was approved by the National Capital Region’s Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB).
The survey was also conducted more than a week before the Senate proceedings on allegations that Vice-President Jejomar C. Binay received P651 million from an anomalous deal between the Boy Scouts of the Philippines and real estate giant Alpha Land Corp.
“A second set of urgent national concerns include poverty reduction (37%) and job creation (34%) while a third cluster is comprised of criminality (22%), peace (22%), and rule of law (19%),” said a statement that was accompanied by survey results.
Meanwhile, public approval on government measures to control inflation rose five points to 29% in March from the previous rating of 24% in November. Similarly, public approval on increasing workers’ pay went up one point from 32% in November to 33% in March.
Public approval on government measures in addressing poverty and job creation remain unchanged during the two comparative periods.
Public approval on fighting graft and corruption went down by three points to 42% in March from 45% in November. Ratings on the government’s anti-criminality campaign also slid by two points to 45% from 47%.
For his part, Communications Secretary Herminio B. Coloma said that the latest performance ratings “do not significantly differ” from the previous survey conducted, but promised to act on the areas where government action is perceived to be lacking.
“In the next 15 months, the administration will intensify efforts at job creation while maintaining fiscal discipline in order to rein in inflation. Good governance is imperative in achieving inclusive growth,” Mr. Coloma said in an issued statement.
Meanwhile, the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) said that the government should have focused on core issues raised in the survey instead of spending its time, energy and political capital on other least priorities of the Filipino people.
“These concerns were not satisfactorily addressed by the Aquino administration. Poverty remains widespread and the situation is worsening. Salary and wages are stagnant and cannot sustain a family. Quality jobs are rare and dwindling,” TUCP Spokesman Alan A. Tanjusay said.
“There is no real inclusive growth because wages are low and quality employment are simply not there.” -- Alden M. Monzon / BusinessWorld
 |
| Laborers work on a new building in Manila in this photo taken in January 2014. Forty-six percent of Filipinos are concerned about rising prices while 44% said they also consider raising workers’ salaries as important, a Pulse Asia survey said. -- AFP |
Forty-six percent of Filipinos said inflation was their utmost worry, 44% expressed concerns about increasing workers’ salaries, while 40% placed importance on fighting graft and corruption.
The poll was participated in by 1,200 Filipinos and conducted March 1 to 7, more than a week before a P15 wage hike was approved by the National Capital Region’s Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB).
The survey was also conducted more than a week before the Senate proceedings on allegations that Vice-President Jejomar C. Binay received P651 million from an anomalous deal between the Boy Scouts of the Philippines and real estate giant Alpha Land Corp.
“A second set of urgent national concerns include poverty reduction (37%) and job creation (34%) while a third cluster is comprised of criminality (22%), peace (22%), and rule of law (19%),” said a statement that was accompanied by survey results.
Meanwhile, public approval on government measures to control inflation rose five points to 29% in March from the previous rating of 24% in November. Similarly, public approval on increasing workers’ pay went up one point from 32% in November to 33% in March.
Public approval on government measures in addressing poverty and job creation remain unchanged during the two comparative periods.
Public approval on fighting graft and corruption went down by three points to 42% in March from 45% in November. Ratings on the government’s anti-criminality campaign also slid by two points to 45% from 47%.
For his part, Communications Secretary Herminio B. Coloma said that the latest performance ratings “do not significantly differ” from the previous survey conducted, but promised to act on the areas where government action is perceived to be lacking.
“In the next 15 months, the administration will intensify efforts at job creation while maintaining fiscal discipline in order to rein in inflation. Good governance is imperative in achieving inclusive growth,” Mr. Coloma said in an issued statement.
Meanwhile, the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) said that the government should have focused on core issues raised in the survey instead of spending its time, energy and political capital on other least priorities of the Filipino people.
“These concerns were not satisfactorily addressed by the Aquino administration. Poverty remains widespread and the situation is worsening. Salary and wages are stagnant and cannot sustain a family. Quality jobs are rare and dwindling,” TUCP Spokesman Alan A. Tanjusay said.
“There is no real inclusive growth because wages are low and quality employment are simply not there.” -- Alden M. Monzon / BusinessWorld
Sunday, March 22, 2015
Gov’t justifies P15 wage hike for MM workers
MANILA, Philippines - Malacañang justified yesterday the P15 increase in the minimum wage rate for workers in Metro Manila, saying all factors were considered before a decision was made.
Various labor groups strongly criticized the increase as being too meager.
“While it is ideal to give the highest wage possible, it may have an adverse impact on the economy if employers cannot pay the increase. It may lead to the closure of businesses or laying off workers, which we do not want,” deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said.
“The policy is to grant regular, moderate and predictable adjustments that takes into account the needs of the workers but maintains the stability of business environments,” she added.
The increase will bring the daily minimum wage rate from P477.03 to P492.57.
Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said the pay increase, the 19th since the Wage Rationalization Act became law on June 9, 1989, would directly benefit 587,000 minimum wage earners.
“Traditionally, if you look at the positions of labor groups vis-à-vis employers groups when it comes to a wage hike, they’ve never been on the same plane or at least on the same level. The job of the wage board is to determine what can be given that will also not be detrimental to employers,” Valte said.
The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP), the country’s largest labor group and one of those hitting the increase, said the government-approved wage hike was revolting.
“Rather than closing the gap between rich and poor, government officials in the wage board have further widened the gaping inequality amongst Filipinos – between a few elite and a famished majority who live to survive by the day,” TUCP spokesman Alan Tanjusay said. - By Aurea Calica (The Philippine Star)
Various labor groups strongly criticized the increase as being too meager.
“While it is ideal to give the highest wage possible, it may have an adverse impact on the economy if employers cannot pay the increase. It may lead to the closure of businesses or laying off workers, which we do not want,” deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said.
“The policy is to grant regular, moderate and predictable adjustments that takes into account the needs of the workers but maintains the stability of business environments,” she added.
The increase will bring the daily minimum wage rate from P477.03 to P492.57.
Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said the pay increase, the 19th since the Wage Rationalization Act became law on June 9, 1989, would directly benefit 587,000 minimum wage earners.
“Traditionally, if you look at the positions of labor groups vis-à-vis employers groups when it comes to a wage hike, they’ve never been on the same plane or at least on the same level. The job of the wage board is to determine what can be given that will also not be detrimental to employers,” Valte said.
The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP), the country’s largest labor group and one of those hitting the increase, said the government-approved wage hike was revolting.
“Rather than closing the gap between rich and poor, government officials in the wage board have further widened the gaping inequality amongst Filipinos – between a few elite and a famished majority who live to survive by the day,” TUCP spokesman Alan Tanjusay said. - By Aurea Calica (The Philippine Star)
Thursday, March 19, 2015
P15-a-day wage hike OK’d in Metro Manila
A P15 a day increase in the wages of private sector minimum wage workers and employees in the National Capital Region has been approved by the Regional Wage Board of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) last Monday.
In a press conference, Alex Avila, the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board-National Capital Region (RTWPB-NCR) chairperson, announced the release of Wage Order No. NCR-19 last Monday that will “will account for around 587,000 employees in NCR.” Avila is also the director of DOLE-NCR.
“Upon effectivity of this Wage Order, all private sector minimum wage workers and employees in the National Capital Region shall receive an increase in the existing Basic Wage in the amount of P15 per day,” said Avila.
12.5% Of Workers
The latest wage order will take effect next month (April) and will cover around 12.5 percent of the total workers in Metro Manila. Avila said that the remaining 4.1 million workers in Metro Manila will not be affected by new wage order since they are already paid above the prescribed rate.
P481 AND P444 MINIMUM WAGE
“The new minimum wage in National Capital Region has now been raised to P481 for workers in the non-agriculture sector and P444 for workers in the agriculture sector,” Avila said.
‘MEAGER AND INSULTING’
But a national labor group has described the P15 a day wage increase as “too meager compared with the amount needed daily by a workers’ family to live decently.”
The Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) said the “P15 increase in workers’ daily wage is not even enough to cover for the increase in fares in the country’s train systems. It’s not enough to cover for the rising prices of basic commodities, especially food items, and rising payments for basic services.”
“If Aquino thinks this wage hike will weaken workers’ protests calling for his resignation, then he is sorely mistaken. This meager wage hike is insulting to workers and does not address the government’s and big capitalists’ attacks against the minimum wage,” Elmer “Bong” Labog, KMU chairperson said.
‘P1,086 A DAY’
Ibon Foundation had reported the Family Living Wage (FLW) in the country, or the amount needed daily by an average Filipino family to live decently, stood at P1,086 last August 2014.
NATIONAL MINIMUM WAGE
KMU, with workers’ groups from the private and public sectors under the umbrella of All Workers’ Unity, is calling for the implementation of a National Minimum Wage in the amount of P16,000. KMU said P16,000 is only half of the FLW computed monthly.
P136 A DAY INCREASE
On the other hand, Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP), which had asked for a P136 increase in the daily minimum wage, said the P15 wage increase is “unacceptable” and “revolting.”
MALACAÑANG DEFENDS INCREASE
Malacanang has defended the P15 wage increase saying that the wage board has been finding a balance between the labor groups and the employers, noting that it is important to keep jobs rather than to increase the wages too high and leave some people unemployed, Deputy Presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said.
‘NEVER ON SAME PLANE’
“Traditionally, if you look at the positions of labor groups vis-à-vis employers groups when it comes to a wage hike, they’ve never been on the same plane or at least on the same level,” Valte said.
“The job of the wage boards is to determine what can be given that will also not be detrimental to employers meaning, if you give too high an increase, the employers will not be able to absorb it, so they have to check what amount can be a good compromise between the requests of the labor groups as well as the employers,” she said.
“That brings the total wage in NCR to P481. Some will call it ‘not enough’ or ‘not sufficient’ but it is still something to be given, something in addition to what they’re already getting,” she said.
NO WAGE HIKE LAST YEAR
No new wage hike was approved for Metro Manila last year. The last wage adjustment in Metro Manila took effect on 4 Oct., 2013, which raised its minimum wage rates by P10 and integrated P15 of the P30 cost of living allowance in the basic wage in the region.
FACTORS CONSIDERED
In issuing a new minimum wage in the NCR, Director Avila said the RTWPB took into thorough consideration several factors, including the erosion in the minimum wage, inflation rate, possible impact of the minimum wage adjustment on prices of goods and services, as well as on employment; movements in the consumer price index, the current economic condition in the region, employers’ ability to pay, and the results of its continuing studies, sectoral consultations, and public hearings.
“The decision of the RTWPB-NCR to adjust the minimum wage was consistent with the government’s policy of granting regular, moderate, and predictable minimum wage adjustments, taking into consideration the needs of workers and their families, as well as the need to maintain stability in the business environment within the framework of the two-tiered wage system reform which Secretary Baldoz has initiated in 2012 and which we accelerate to implement,” said Avila.
He expressed confidence that like in the past year, employers will be able to bear the cost of the increase without hampering their viability for growth and expansion and, therefore, their ability to sustain employment creation.
ADVISORY TO COMPANIES
An advisory urging the companies of the exempted workers to adjust their pay rate accordingly to correct possible wage distortion caused by Wage Order No. NCR-19 has already been issued, Avila said. Wage distortion is created when the agreed cash benefits are already less than the prevailing minimum wage in their area.
NO FILING FOR EXCLUSION
In a related development, Labor spokesperson Nicon Fameronag said Wage Order No. NCR-19 also barred companies with a total asset above P3 million to file for exclusion in the implementation of wage orders in Metro Manila.
“Only companies, which are distressed, has less than 10 workers, or have been severely affected by disasters could now file for the one-year exemption from the wage orders,” Fameronag said. by Samuel P. Medenilla & Chito A. Chavez / Manila Bulletin (With reports from Madel Sabater Namit and PNA)
Good news but… Metro Manila minimum pay up by P15
MANILA, Philippines–The good news is that minimum wage earners in Metro Manila will get a pay increase.
The bad news is that the increase is only P15 a day, not enough for even one (special) tricycle ride in the metropolis.
Close to 600,000 minimum wage earners in Metro Manila will get an additional P15 in their daily pay after the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB) approved the proposal for an increase, according to the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).
The increase brings to P481 from P466 the daily minimum wage rate for workers in the region, DOLE-National Capital Region (NCR) Director Alex Avila said in a briefing. Metro Manila has the highest minimum wage among the 17 regions in the country.
Avila said the P15 increase in the minimum wage would directly benefit 587,000 minimum wage earners who also would continue to be exempted from paying income tax on their wage and on their hazard, holiday and overtime pay, and on their night-shift differential.
‘Unacceptable’
But the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) said the P15 increase was unacceptable.
“Is this how much the Department of Labor and Employment, the Department of Trade and Industry, and the National Economic and Development Authority—the majority members composing the wage board—reward Filipino workers who contributed to improve and sustain the country’s high economic growth under the Aquino administration for so many years?” TUCP spokesman Alan Tanjusay said in a statement.
Tanjusay said the amount was revolting. “Rather than closing the gap between rich and poor, government officials on the board have further widened the gaping inequality among Filipinos—between a few elite and a famished majority,” he added.
Poverty threshold
Citing government data, the TUCP said the real value of the current P466 minimum daily wage was P356.64, or P7,486.08 a month—short of the poverty threshold of P8,778 a month in 2014 for a family of five.
It was the TUCP that filed a petition seeking a P136-across-the-board daily wage increase early this month. In November last year, the Association of Minimum Wage Earners and Advocates filed a petition seeking a P146.80 across-the-board daily wage increase.
“Unfortunately, the RTWPB is not mandated to set across-the-board wage increases. Our mandate is to set minimum wages,” the board said when it took note of the petitions.
According to the RTWPB-NCR resolution granting the P15 increase in the daily basic minimum wage, the P15 cost of living allowance in effect since January 2014 will also continue.
DOLE spokesman Nicon Fameronag said the minimum wage increase was expected to be affirmed by the National Wages and Productivity Commission this week.
Publication
The increase will take effect 15 days after its publication in major dailies.
While the new minimum wage in Metro Manila has been raised to P481 for workers in the nonagriculture sector, workers in the agricultural sector will get a daily pay of just P444.
In issuing the new wage increase, Avila said the RTWPB—composed of representatives of labor and management, and the government—took into consideration several factors. These included the erosion of the minimum wage, inflation rate, possible impact of the wage adjustment on prices and on employment, employers’ ability to pay, and the results of its public hearings.
Avila expressed confidence that like the past year, employers would be able to bear the cost of the increase without hampering their viability for growth and expansion and, therefore, their ability to sustain employment creation.
Exemptions
In the latest minimum wage pay hike, Avila noted the removal from the list of establishments that may apply for a one-year exemption from the wage order.
The delisted firms must have total assets—including those arising from loans but exclusive of the land on which the establishments’ offices, plants and equipment are located—of not more than P3 million.
“Only distressed establishments, retail/service establishments regularly employing not more than 10 workers, and establishments adversely affected by natural calamities may apply for exemption and as determined by the RTWPB-NCR,” he said. - Tina G. Santos INQUIRER.net
The bad news is that the increase is only P15 a day, not enough for even one (special) tricycle ride in the metropolis.
Close to 600,000 minimum wage earners in Metro Manila will get an additional P15 in their daily pay after the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB) approved the proposal for an increase, according to the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).
The increase brings to P481 from P466 the daily minimum wage rate for workers in the region, DOLE-National Capital Region (NCR) Director Alex Avila said in a briefing. Metro Manila has the highest minimum wage among the 17 regions in the country.
Avila said the P15 increase in the minimum wage would directly benefit 587,000 minimum wage earners who also would continue to be exempted from paying income tax on their wage and on their hazard, holiday and overtime pay, and on their night-shift differential.
‘Unacceptable’
But the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) said the P15 increase was unacceptable.
“Is this how much the Department of Labor and Employment, the Department of Trade and Industry, and the National Economic and Development Authority—the majority members composing the wage board—reward Filipino workers who contributed to improve and sustain the country’s high economic growth under the Aquino administration for so many years?” TUCP spokesman Alan Tanjusay said in a statement.
Tanjusay said the amount was revolting. “Rather than closing the gap between rich and poor, government officials on the board have further widened the gaping inequality among Filipinos—between a few elite and a famished majority,” he added.
Poverty threshold
Citing government data, the TUCP said the real value of the current P466 minimum daily wage was P356.64, or P7,486.08 a month—short of the poverty threshold of P8,778 a month in 2014 for a family of five.
It was the TUCP that filed a petition seeking a P136-across-the-board daily wage increase early this month. In November last year, the Association of Minimum Wage Earners and Advocates filed a petition seeking a P146.80 across-the-board daily wage increase.
“Unfortunately, the RTWPB is not mandated to set across-the-board wage increases. Our mandate is to set minimum wages,” the board said when it took note of the petitions.
According to the RTWPB-NCR resolution granting the P15 increase in the daily basic minimum wage, the P15 cost of living allowance in effect since January 2014 will also continue.
DOLE spokesman Nicon Fameronag said the minimum wage increase was expected to be affirmed by the National Wages and Productivity Commission this week.
Publication
The increase will take effect 15 days after its publication in major dailies.
While the new minimum wage in Metro Manila has been raised to P481 for workers in the nonagriculture sector, workers in the agricultural sector will get a daily pay of just P444.
In issuing the new wage increase, Avila said the RTWPB—composed of representatives of labor and management, and the government—took into consideration several factors. These included the erosion of the minimum wage, inflation rate, possible impact of the wage adjustment on prices and on employment, employers’ ability to pay, and the results of its public hearings.
Avila expressed confidence that like the past year, employers would be able to bear the cost of the increase without hampering their viability for growth and expansion and, therefore, their ability to sustain employment creation.
Exemptions
In the latest minimum wage pay hike, Avila noted the removal from the list of establishments that may apply for a one-year exemption from the wage order.
The delisted firms must have total assets—including those arising from loans but exclusive of the land on which the establishments’ offices, plants and equipment are located—of not more than P3 million.
“Only distressed establishments, retail/service establishments regularly employing not more than 10 workers, and establishments adversely affected by natural calamities may apply for exemption and as determined by the RTWPB-NCR,” he said. - Tina G. Santos INQUIRER.net
DOLE approves P15 daily wage increase
THE Department of Labor and Employment has approved a P15 pay increase for more than half a million minimum wage earners in Metro Manila, raising the daily minimum wage from P477.03 to P492.57 but labor groups criticized the move as an insult to Filipino workers.Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said the pay increase, the 19th since the Wage Rationalization Act, became a law on June 9, 1989, will directly benefit 587,000 minimum wage earners who also would continue to be exempted from paying income tax on their wages, hazard pay, holiday pay, night shift differentials, and overtime pay.
“The take-home pay of our minimum wage earners will increase to P492.57 per day, or by 3.2 percent because of the wage hike, compared to the current P477.03 per day. They will also enjoy a higher 13th month pay and increased social security coverage,” said Alex Avila, National Capital Region director for the Labor Department.
“On the part of the employers, their effective labor cost per employee working six days a week will also increase by 3.2 percent, or P565.54 per day, compared to the current P547.87 per day,” he added.
The minimum wage hike is expected to be affirmed by the National Wages and Productivity Commission (NWPC) this week and published by the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board, and take effect 15 days after.
The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP), the country’s largest labor group, tore into the government-approved wage hike.
“This amount is revolting. Rather than closing the gap between rich and poor, government officials in the wage board have further widened the gaping inequality amongst Filipinos—between a few elite and a famished majority who live to survive by the day,” said TUCP spokesman Alan Tanjusay.
“The 15-peso increase granted is unacceptable. Is this how much the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA)—the majority members composing the wage board—rewards Filipino workers who contributed to improve and sustain the country’s high economic growth under the Aquino administration for so many years?”
The more militant Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) dismissed the pay hike as a ploy to blunt public calls for President Benigno Aquino III to resign.
“If Aquino thinks this wage hike will weaken workers’ protests calling for his resignation, then he is sorely mistaken. This meager wage hike is insulting to workers and does not address the government’s and big capitalists’ attacks against the minimum wage,” said Elmer Labog, KMU chairman.
“This is a nature of social injustice that either makes our productive young workers join the ranks of our Filipino brothers and sisters in the mountains to wage the battle on social inequality from there or forces them to swallow the bitter pill [and work] abroad at the expense of morally, psychologically and emotionally deprived children,” Tanjusay said.
But the Palace said the P15 wage hike was a “win-win compromise” that would augment workers’ income while ensuring that the companies that hire them remain financially viable.
The approved wage adjustment was significantly lower than the P136 increase being pushed by the TUCP.
“Traditionally, if you look at the positions of labor groups vis-à-vis employers groups when it comes to a wage hike, they’ve never been on the same plane or at least on the same level. The job of the Wage Board is to determine what can be given that will also not be detrimental to employers,” deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said.
“If you give too high—this is one of the considerations of Wage Board and they tell you as much—that if you give too high an increase, the employers will not be able to absorb it. So they also check what amount that can be a good compromise between the requests of the labor groups as well as the employers. That brings the total wage in NCR to P481, if I am not mistaken, and it’s good still.”
“Some will call it not enough or not sufficient but it’s still something to be given—something in addition to what they are already getting,” Valte added.
The new minimum wage rate will cover all minimum wage earners in the private sector in the National Capital Region regardless of their position, designation or status of employment and irrespective of method of payment.
Last year, the regional tripartite wage and productivity board did not issue any wage order for NCR.
According to the 2014 poverty survey conducted by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), the incidence of poverty among Filipino families worsened to 20 percent in the first half of 2014, from 18.8 percent in the same period in 2013.
The survey also showed that incomes of poor families were short by 27 percent of the average poverty threshold of P8,778 a month or P293 a day for a family of five in the first semester of 2014.
In Metro Manila, which has the highest minimum wage rate in all 17 regions, the government said the real value of the current P466 minimum daily wage is P356.64 or P7,846.08 a month – or P932 short of the poverty threshold of P8,778 per month.
Wednesday, March 18, 2015
P15 wage hike in Metro Manila
THE Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board has approved a P15 daily wage increase for minimum wage earners in Metro Manila, the Labor department announced on Wednesday.
From P466, a daily wage earner in the private sector would be mandated by law to earn P481 starting April 15 or 15 days after a copy of the wage order is published.
Labor Secretary Rosalinda Dimapilis-Baldoz, who also heads the National Wages and Productivity Commission, said the new pay raise would benefit over half-a-million minimum wage earners in Metro Manila or National capital region (NCR).
This is the 19th such increase in minimum wage since Republic Act 6727, or The Wage Rationalization Act, became a law on June 9, 1989, and the fifth such minimum wage pay hike under the administration of President Benigno Aquino 3rd.
Prior to the new wage order, the NCR Wage Board had received two petitions for an across-the-board daily wage increase.
The first petition was filed by the Association of Minimum Wage Earners and Advocates last November 28 seeking a P146.80 across-the-board daily wage increase, while the second petition was filed by the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) on March 6 that sought a P136 across- the-board daily wage raise.
The Wage Board conducted three public consultations with the labor sector (January 29), with employers (February 10) and with the government sector (February 17). It also conducted a public hearing on March 6.
“Unfortunately, the [Wage Board] is not mandated to set across-the-board wage increases. Our mandate is to set minimum wages,” it said.
In its petition for a P136 increase, the TUCP said the real value of the peso has been eroded by 35 percent because of a variety of inflationary factors, including consumer price index, tuition light-rail fare hike and the impending water and electricity rate increases.
“The real value of the current P466 minimum wage is P299 only. It cannot sustain the needs of a family. As a result, many employed workers fall through the cracks and join the growing ranks of the working poor. Thus, we are asking the board to give a living minimum wage. We particularly appeal to employers to grant our petition,” TUCP spokesman Alan Tanjusay said.
Malacañang defended the wage increase amid criticisms that the amount was still not enough for workers and their families to live decently.
Palace deputy spokesman Abigail Valte said the amount was reached after consultations were held. According to her, the interests of workers were balanced with those of employers.
“Traditionally, if you look at the positions of labor groups vis-à-vis employers groups when it comes to a wage hike, they’ve never been on the same plane or at least on the same level. The job of the Wage Board is to determine what can be given that will also not be detrimental to employers. Meaning, if you give too high, this is one of the considerations of Wage Board and they tell you as much, that if you give too high an increase, the employers will not be able to absorb it,” Valte told reporters in a news briefing.
“So they also check what amount can be a good compromise between requests of labor groups as well as employers. That brings the total wage in NCR to P481, if I am not mistaken, and it’s good still. Some will call it not enough or not sufficient but it’s still something to be given, something in addition to what they are already getting. I believe it will be implemented in April, if I’m not mistaken,” she said.
The TUCP said workers have not been granted a real wage increase since 1989.
“What we have now is a tale of two Philippines, the story of how the upper 20 percent or the privileged few benefit from economic development and the story of the workers who toil everyday just to afford food if they are lucky enough to have regular jobs,” it added.
The TUCP said it was not asking for lavish increase but only a modest share from gains of the booming economy, which, it noted, are only enjoyed by a few rich families.
It added that the P136 across-the-board and region-wide daily increase was essential for workers to cope with increasing prices of commodities and cost of living, and meet the basic needs of the workers’ families even if only partly.
Labor Director for NCR Alex Avila, who heads the NCR Wage Board, said they took into consideration several factors, including erosion in the minimum wage; inflation rate; possible impact of the minimum wage adjustment on prices of goods and services, as well as on employment; movements in the consumer price index; current economic condition in the region; employers’ ability to pay; and results of continuing studies, sectoral consultations and public hearings.
“The decision of the [NCR Wage Board] to adjust the minimum wage was consistent with the government’s policy of granting regular, moderate and predictable minimum wage adjustments, taking into consideration the needs of workers and their families, as well as the need to maintain stability in the business environment within the framework of the two-tiered wage system reform which Secretary Baldoz has initiated in 2012 and which we accelerate to implement,” Avila added.
He said the P15 increase in the minimum wage will directly benefit 587,000 minimum wage earners who also would continue to be exempted from paying income tax on their wage and on their hazard pay, holiday pay, night shift differential and overtime pay.
“The take-home pay of our minimum wage earners will increase to P492.57 per day, or by 3.2 percent because of the wage hike, compared to the current P477.03 per day. They will also enjoy a higher 13th month pay and increased social security coverage,” Avila added.
“On the part of the employers, their effective labor cost per employee working six days a week will also increase by 3.2 percent, or P565.54 per day, compared to the current P547.87 per day,” he said.
Avila expressed confidence that like in the past year, employers will be able to bear the cost of the increase without hampering their viability for growth and expansion and, therefore, their ability to sustain employment creation.
“In January 2014, when the second tranche of the minimum wage increase consisting of the integration into the basic minimum wage of the P15 of a P30 COLA [cost of living allowance] granted by the RTWPB [Regional Tripartite Wage Productivity Board]-NCR in October 2013 took effect, employment was at 88 percent, unemployment was at 11.2 percent, and underemployment was at 12.1 percent. Today, employment in the NCR is at 90.7 percent, unemployment is at 9.3 percent and underemployment is at only 8.3 percent. So, we see that this significant improvements in these economic indicators will not be affected by the new minimum wage order, but instead continue until the end of the year and beyond, barring any glitches in the horizon,” he explained.
Avila said with the increase, the Wage Board was able to maintain the near-to-the ideal ratio of the minimum wage to average wage, which is 40 to 70 percent, at 75 percent, down from 80 percent when the Aquino administration came to office in 2010.
“The applicable minimum wage-to-average wage ratio for the country is not too close, to allow for bipartite approaches and flexibility in plant-level negotiations for further benefits,” he added.
In this latest minimum wage pay hike, Avila pointed to another bright note: removal from the list of establishments that may apply for exemption from the wage order, in accordance with rules and regulations and following compliance with documentation and other requirements, of establishments whose total assets—including those arising from loans, but exclusive of the land on which the establishments’ offices, plants and equipment are located—are not more than P3 million.
“They are no longer included in the list of establishments that may apply for one year exemption. Only distressed establishments, retail/service establishments regularly employing not more than 10 workers; and establishments adversely affected by natural calamities may apply for exemption and as determined by the Wage Board,” he said. - by WILLIAM B. DEPASUPIL AND CATHERINE S. VALENTE REPORTERS WITH PNA The Manila Times
From P466, a daily wage earner in the private sector would be mandated by law to earn P481 starting April 15 or 15 days after a copy of the wage order is published.
Labor Secretary Rosalinda Dimapilis-Baldoz, who also heads the National Wages and Productivity Commission, said the new pay raise would benefit over half-a-million minimum wage earners in Metro Manila or National capital region (NCR).
This is the 19th such increase in minimum wage since Republic Act 6727, or The Wage Rationalization Act, became a law on June 9, 1989, and the fifth such minimum wage pay hike under the administration of President Benigno Aquino 3rd.
Prior to the new wage order, the NCR Wage Board had received two petitions for an across-the-board daily wage increase.
The first petition was filed by the Association of Minimum Wage Earners and Advocates last November 28 seeking a P146.80 across-the-board daily wage increase, while the second petition was filed by the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) on March 6 that sought a P136 across- the-board daily wage raise.
The Wage Board conducted three public consultations with the labor sector (January 29), with employers (February 10) and with the government sector (February 17). It also conducted a public hearing on March 6.
“Unfortunately, the [Wage Board] is not mandated to set across-the-board wage increases. Our mandate is to set minimum wages,” it said.
In its petition for a P136 increase, the TUCP said the real value of the peso has been eroded by 35 percent because of a variety of inflationary factors, including consumer price index, tuition light-rail fare hike and the impending water and electricity rate increases.
“The real value of the current P466 minimum wage is P299 only. It cannot sustain the needs of a family. As a result, many employed workers fall through the cracks and join the growing ranks of the working poor. Thus, we are asking the board to give a living minimum wage. We particularly appeal to employers to grant our petition,” TUCP spokesman Alan Tanjusay said.
Malacañang defended the wage increase amid criticisms that the amount was still not enough for workers and their families to live decently.
Palace deputy spokesman Abigail Valte said the amount was reached after consultations were held. According to her, the interests of workers were balanced with those of employers.
“Traditionally, if you look at the positions of labor groups vis-à-vis employers groups when it comes to a wage hike, they’ve never been on the same plane or at least on the same level. The job of the Wage Board is to determine what can be given that will also not be detrimental to employers. Meaning, if you give too high, this is one of the considerations of Wage Board and they tell you as much, that if you give too high an increase, the employers will not be able to absorb it,” Valte told reporters in a news briefing.
“So they also check what amount can be a good compromise between requests of labor groups as well as employers. That brings the total wage in NCR to P481, if I am not mistaken, and it’s good still. Some will call it not enough or not sufficient but it’s still something to be given, something in addition to what they are already getting. I believe it will be implemented in April, if I’m not mistaken,” she said.
The TUCP said workers have not been granted a real wage increase since 1989.
“What we have now is a tale of two Philippines, the story of how the upper 20 percent or the privileged few benefit from economic development and the story of the workers who toil everyday just to afford food if they are lucky enough to have regular jobs,” it added.
The TUCP said it was not asking for lavish increase but only a modest share from gains of the booming economy, which, it noted, are only enjoyed by a few rich families.
It added that the P136 across-the-board and region-wide daily increase was essential for workers to cope with increasing prices of commodities and cost of living, and meet the basic needs of the workers’ families even if only partly.
Labor Director for NCR Alex Avila, who heads the NCR Wage Board, said they took into consideration several factors, including erosion in the minimum wage; inflation rate; possible impact of the minimum wage adjustment on prices of goods and services, as well as on employment; movements in the consumer price index; current economic condition in the region; employers’ ability to pay; and results of continuing studies, sectoral consultations and public hearings.
“The decision of the [NCR Wage Board] to adjust the minimum wage was consistent with the government’s policy of granting regular, moderate and predictable minimum wage adjustments, taking into consideration the needs of workers and their families, as well as the need to maintain stability in the business environment within the framework of the two-tiered wage system reform which Secretary Baldoz has initiated in 2012 and which we accelerate to implement,” Avila added.
He said the P15 increase in the minimum wage will directly benefit 587,000 minimum wage earners who also would continue to be exempted from paying income tax on their wage and on their hazard pay, holiday pay, night shift differential and overtime pay.
“The take-home pay of our minimum wage earners will increase to P492.57 per day, or by 3.2 percent because of the wage hike, compared to the current P477.03 per day. They will also enjoy a higher 13th month pay and increased social security coverage,” Avila added.
“On the part of the employers, their effective labor cost per employee working six days a week will also increase by 3.2 percent, or P565.54 per day, compared to the current P547.87 per day,” he said.
Avila expressed confidence that like in the past year, employers will be able to bear the cost of the increase without hampering their viability for growth and expansion and, therefore, their ability to sustain employment creation.
“In January 2014, when the second tranche of the minimum wage increase consisting of the integration into the basic minimum wage of the P15 of a P30 COLA [cost of living allowance] granted by the RTWPB [Regional Tripartite Wage Productivity Board]-NCR in October 2013 took effect, employment was at 88 percent, unemployment was at 11.2 percent, and underemployment was at 12.1 percent. Today, employment in the NCR is at 90.7 percent, unemployment is at 9.3 percent and underemployment is at only 8.3 percent. So, we see that this significant improvements in these economic indicators will not be affected by the new minimum wage order, but instead continue until the end of the year and beyond, barring any glitches in the horizon,” he explained.
Avila said with the increase, the Wage Board was able to maintain the near-to-the ideal ratio of the minimum wage to average wage, which is 40 to 70 percent, at 75 percent, down from 80 percent when the Aquino administration came to office in 2010.
“The applicable minimum wage-to-average wage ratio for the country is not too close, to allow for bipartite approaches and flexibility in plant-level negotiations for further benefits,” he added.
In this latest minimum wage pay hike, Avila pointed to another bright note: removal from the list of establishments that may apply for exemption from the wage order, in accordance with rules and regulations and following compliance with documentation and other requirements, of establishments whose total assets—including those arising from loans, but exclusive of the land on which the establishments’ offices, plants and equipment are located—are not more than P3 million.
“They are no longer included in the list of establishments that may apply for one year exemption. Only distressed establishments, retail/service establishments regularly employing not more than 10 workers; and establishments adversely affected by natural calamities may apply for exemption and as determined by the Wage Board,” he said. - by WILLIAM B. DEPASUPIL AND CATHERINE S. VALENTE REPORTERS WITH PNA The Manila Times
P15 wage hike for Metro Manila workers ‘insulting’
Labor groups expressed dismay over the P15 wage increase for Metro Manila workers approved by the wage board on Tuesday.
In separate statements, two of the country’s biggest labor groups said the P15 wage hike for Metro Manila workers is “insulting” and “disrespectful.”
The Kilusang Mayo Uno said the P15 wage hike approved by the Metro Manila wage board for is nil compared to what workers need to cope with the cost of day-to-day living.
The approved wage increase is “meager” and “insulting” to the country’s workers and will not stop protests against the government.
“If [President] Aquino thinks this wage hike will weaken workers’ protests calling for his resignation, then he is sorely mistaken. This meager wage hike is insulting to workers and does not address the government’s and big capitalists’ attacks against the minimum wage,” he said.
The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP)– Nagkaisa, on the other hand, said the wage increase is unacceptable.
TUCP Spokesman Alan Tanjusay said Filipino workers who continue to contribute to improve and sustain the country’s high economic growth under the Aquino administration for so many years deserve more than a P15 wage increase. - Jonathan L. Mayuga / BusinessMirror
In separate statements, two of the country’s biggest labor groups said the P15 wage hike for Metro Manila workers is “insulting” and “disrespectful.”
The Kilusang Mayo Uno said the P15 wage hike approved by the Metro Manila wage board for is nil compared to what workers need to cope with the cost of day-to-day living.
The approved wage increase is “meager” and “insulting” to the country’s workers and will not stop protests against the government.
“If [President] Aquino thinks this wage hike will weaken workers’ protests calling for his resignation, then he is sorely mistaken. This meager wage hike is insulting to workers and does not address the government’s and big capitalists’ attacks against the minimum wage,” he said.
The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP)– Nagkaisa, on the other hand, said the wage increase is unacceptable.
TUCP Spokesman Alan Tanjusay said Filipino workers who continue to contribute to improve and sustain the country’s high economic growth under the Aquino administration for so many years deserve more than a P15 wage increase. - Jonathan L. Mayuga / BusinessMirror
P15 umento sa minimum wage sa Metro Manila, ikinadismaya ng TUCP (video)
Saksi is GMA Network's late-night newscast hosted by Arnold Clavio and Pia Arcangel. It airs Mondays to Fridays at 11:30 PM (PHL Time) on GMA-7. For more videos from Saksi, visit http://www.gmanetwork.com/saksi
NCR starts round of floor wage hike
THE NATIONAL Capital Region (NCR) has kicked off a fresh round of raise for private sector minimum wage earners nationwide, with those in Metro Manila getting P15 more starting next month on top of current pay, the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) announced yesterday.
Business leaders yesterday were cautious towards the development, citing the need to preserve whatever edge the country still has over its peers in attracting investors, while a spokesman of the country’s biggest labor group described the approved amount as “revolting” as it widens the gap between the rich and the poor.
And while the country’s capital typically leads other regions in raising daily minimum wage, a ranking central bank official said the latest round should not stoke inflation beyond expectations and, hence, will not in itself warrant a change in monetary policy.
A DoLE statement yesterday said Alex V. Avila, chairman of NCR’s Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB), had reported to Labor and Employment Secretary Rosalinda D. Baldoz that “RTWPB-NCR has approved a resolution granting a P15 increase in the daily basic minimum wage and continuing a P15 Cost of Living Allowance (CoLA) in effect since January 2014.”
The latest raise will bring minimum wage in Metro Manila to P444 for workers in the agricultural sector and to P481 for those in non-agriculture businesses.
The order mandating the latest increase will take effect some time next month, 15 days after publication, Mr. Avila said, adding that the National Wages and Productivity Commission is expected to affirm the decision this week. It is the fifth wage hike since the Aquino administration took office.
“The decision of the RTWPB-NCR to adjust the minimum wage was consistent with the government’s policy of granting regular, moderate, and predictable minimum wage adjustments, taking into consideration the needs of workers and their families, as well as the need to maintain stability in the business environment...” Mr. Avila said in the DoLE statement.
Metro Manila’s daily minimum wage was last adjusted in an order of the regional board that took effect on Oct. 4, 2013, involving a P10 increase. Other regions followed suit.
This year’s pay increase will directly benefit 587,000 workers, Mr. Avila added, clarifying that the wage order applies to minimum wage earners only.
But while DoLE estimates that the new order will raise employers’ “effective labor cost per employee working six days a week by 3.2%,” a group of personnel managers said cost will necessarily rise across employee segments.
“Setting minimum wages is actually not a good idea... It creates undue pressure and sets a bad precedent,” Noel D. Baliscas of the People Management Association of the Philippines said by phone, explaining it pushes employers to adjust other salaries “to maintain seniority in terms of nature of work or years of service.”
“Distressed” establishments, retail and other service businesses regularly employing up to 10 workers, and those affected by natural calamities may apply for exemption for a year from coverage of the new wage order.
DoLE said in its statement that the latest decision “took into through consideration several factors, including erosion in minimum wage; inflation rate; possible impact of the minimum wage adjustment on prices of goods and services as well as on employment... the current economic condition in the region; employers’ ability to pay; and results of continuing studies, sectoral consultations and public hearings.”
Mr. Avila said that the latest increase brings minimum wage-average wage ratio to 75%, close to an “ideal” level of 40-70%, down from 80% when the current administration took office in mid-2010. “The applicable minimum wage-average wage ratio for the country is not too close to allow for bipartite approaches and flexibility in plant level negotiations for further benefits,” he said.
The increase stemmed from two petitions: one by the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP)-Nagkaisa faction that sought a P136 across-the-board increase, and another by the Association of Minimum Wage Earners and Advocates that asked for a P734 increase to be implemented in equal tranches of P146.80 each for five straight years. Both groups cited rising utility costs and higher Metro Manila railway fares.
Vicente R. Leogardo, Jr., who represents the Employers Confederation of the Philippines in NCR’s wage board, said the P15 increase strikes a balance between employer and worker interests.
“What I can say... as employer representative in the wage board is that the increase was tied to the erosion of P19.11 as of February,” Mr. Leogardo said in a text message. “We consider the increase as fair and equitable to both labor and employers under prevailing circumstances.”
Another business group said the government should do away with yearly wage increases to keep the country’s edge in terms of labor costs over its peers.
“That would be an additional burden, considering the ASEAN Economic Community is coming up,” Alfredo M. Yao, president of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce, Inc., said in a phone interview, referring to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
“After this, salary increases should not be yearly, nor legislated (which would be across the board, not just for minimum wage). As things stand, our salaries are already somewhat higher than those of our neighbors.”
But TUCP-Nagkaisa Spokesperson Alan A. Tanjusay described the increase as “unacceptable.”
“This amount is revolting. Rather than closing the gap between rich and poor, government officials in the board have further widened the gaping inequality among Filipinos -- between a few elite and a famished majority who live to survive by the day,” Mr. Tanjusay said in a statement sent shortly after the wage board’s announcement.
“We dare DoLE, DTI, and NEDA to show the formula they used as basis for the new wage order and subject it to healthy discussion rather than allow their silence to create a conclusion that the amount was taken out of thin air,” he added, referring to the Department of Trade and Industry and the National Economic and Development Authority.
ANTICIPATED
Metro Manila’s approved increase in floor wage is not expected to stoke inflation and nor, by itself, alter the neutral stance of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) on monetary policy, a senior central bank official said yesterday.
“We have already anticipated that (wage hike) and incorporated its impact on our latest forecasts,” BSP Deputy Governor Diwa C. Guinigundo said in a text message.
The BSP expects the rise in prices of widely used goods to settle within 2-4% this year and next, with average forecasts of 2.3% in 2015 and 2.5% in 2016.
Asked if the pay raise will affect the neutral stance of the Monetary Board when it meets on March 26, the BSP official replied: “It would have if it is not anticipated and not considered in the forecast. So whatever monetary policy stance the board will decide on would have already considered its impact on future inflation.” -- By Melissa Luz T. Lopez, Reporter with Daryll Edisonn D. Saclag BusinessWorld
Palace on P15-wage hike: It’s good still
 |
| Malacañang Palace |
MANILA, Philippines – The P15-wage hike in Metro Manila may be measly for some, but it is still additional pay, Malacañang said Wednesday.
“Some will call it not enough or not sufficient but it’s still something to be given—something in addition to what they are already getting,” Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Abigail Valte said in a press briefing.
Valte said the wage increase, which will be implemented in April, is a product of a compromise between the requests of labor groups and employers.
“That brings the total wage in NCR to P481 (for non-agricultural workers), if I am not mistaken, and it’s good still,” she said. Meanwhile, minimum wage earners working in the agricultural sector will receive P444 per day.
She said it was a given that labor groups and employers will never agree or be on the same level when it comes to the issue of wage hike.
“The job of the Wage Board is to determine what can be given that will also not be detrimental to employers. Meaning, if you give too high—this is one of the considerations of Wage Board and they tell you as much—that if you give too high an increase, the employers will not be able to absorb it,” she explained.
But labor groups said the amount was “insulting.”
“The P15.00 increase in workers’ daily wage is not even enough to cover for the increase in fares in the country’s train systems. It’s not enough to cover for the rising prices of basic commodities, especially food items, and rising payments for basic services,” Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) chairperson Elmer “Bong” Labog said, citing Ibon Foundation’s computation of the family living wage.
Based on 2014 prices, Ibon said an average Filipino family needs at least P1,086 to live decently.
Labog said the minimum wage is no longer enough to cover the needs of Filipinos and that they are now campaigning for a “national minimum wage” of P16,000 per month.
The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP), on the other hand, called it “unacceptable.”
“Rather than closing the gap between rich and poor, government officials in the (wage) Board has further widened the gaping inequality amongst Filipinos,” TUCP spokesperson Alan Tanjusay said.
Tanjusay said the concerned agencies should reveal to the public the formula they used to come up with the P15-wage hike. - Kristine Angeli Sabillo @KSabilloINQ INQUIRER.net
Labor groups slam ‘insulting’ P15 NCR minimum wage hike
MANILA, Philippines—Insulting and disrespectful.
That was how workers’ groups on Wednesday described the P15 increase in the minimum wage in the National Capital Region (NCR) approved by the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board last Tuesday.
In separate statements, Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) and Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) hit the minimal increment in the minimum wage as too meager for a family to live decently.
“The P15.00 increase in workers’ daily wage is not even enough to cover for the increase in fares in the country’s train systems. It’s not enough to cover for the rising prices of basic commodities, especially food items, and rising payments for basic services,” KMU Chairperson Elmer Labog said.
Labog explained the new NCR minimum wage: P481 for workers in the non-agriculture sector and P444 for workers in the agriculture sector, is too small compared to the P1,086 daily average needed to provide a decent living for families as revealed by Ibon Foundation.
In response to the wage hike, KMU will organize protests to demand President Benigno Aquino III’s resignation.
Meanwhile, TUCP spokesperson Alan Tanjusay said the “revolting” wage hike further deepened the divide between the rich and the poor.
“This amount is revolting. Rather than closing the gap between rich and poor, government officials in the Board has further widened the gaping inequality amongst Filipinos—between a few elite and a famished majority who live to survive by the day,” Tanjusay said.
The wage hike will take effect in April and is said to benefit 587,000 minimum wage earners in the metropolis. - Aries Joseph Hegina INQUIRER.net
That was how workers’ groups on Wednesday described the P15 increase in the minimum wage in the National Capital Region (NCR) approved by the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board last Tuesday.
In separate statements, Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) and Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) hit the minimal increment in the minimum wage as too meager for a family to live decently.
“The P15.00 increase in workers’ daily wage is not even enough to cover for the increase in fares in the country’s train systems. It’s not enough to cover for the rising prices of basic commodities, especially food items, and rising payments for basic services,” KMU Chairperson Elmer Labog said.
Labog explained the new NCR minimum wage: P481 for workers in the non-agriculture sector and P444 for workers in the agriculture sector, is too small compared to the P1,086 daily average needed to provide a decent living for families as revealed by Ibon Foundation.
In response to the wage hike, KMU will organize protests to demand President Benigno Aquino III’s resignation.
Meanwhile, TUCP spokesperson Alan Tanjusay said the “revolting” wage hike further deepened the divide between the rich and the poor.
“This amount is revolting. Rather than closing the gap between rich and poor, government officials in the Board has further widened the gaping inequality amongst Filipinos—between a few elite and a famished majority who live to survive by the day,” Tanjusay said.
The wage hike will take effect in April and is said to benefit 587,000 minimum wage earners in the metropolis. - Aries Joseph Hegina INQUIRER.net
P15 minimum wage hike for Metro Manila workers approved
Starting April 15, the region's minimum wage for workers in the non-agricultural sector is now at P481, and in the agricultural sector at P444 MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – A wage hike of P15 for Metro Manila's minimum wage earners was approved by the regional wage board.
Starting April 15, the region's workers in the non-agricultural sector will receive a minimum wage of P481, while workers in the agricultural sector will have a minimum wage of P444.
Department of Labor and Employment communications director Nicon Fameronag announced the news on Wednesday, March 18, at the DOLE office in Manila.
The hike is set to benefit 587,000 workers, said Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz, who also chairs the National Wages and Productivity Commission.
For workers who receive their salaries twice a month every 15 days, the increase will reflect in their April 30 pay slips.
The Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board-National Capital Region (RTWPB-NCR) approved the resolution on the P15 increase, which is on top of the P15 Cost of Living Allowance in effect since January 2014.
DOLE NCR Director Alex Avila explained that the hike is consistent with government policy that takes into account workers' and their families' needs, as well as business stability.
“The take-home pay of our minimum wage earners will increase to P492.57 per day, or by 3.2%, because of the wage hike, compared to the current P477.03 per day. They will also enjoy a higher 13th month pay and increased social security coverage,” Avila said.
A workers' take-home pay includes the amount he will get from the law-mandated 13th month pay.
Avila explained that minimum wage earners are exempt from paying income tax on their wage. No taxes are imposed on their hazard pay, holiday pay, night shift differential, and overtime pay either.
He added that NCR businesses will be able to bear the cost and still sustain employment creation.
The P15 increase is the 5th wage since President Benigno Aquino III took office in 2010.
Calls for across-the-board increase
In a phone interview with Rappler, Fameronag explained that two wage hike petitions were filed before the RTWPB-NCR, asking for an across-the-board wage increase.
This, however, is not within the regional wage board's mandate.
"Unfortunately, the RTWPB is not mandated to set across-the-board wage increases. Our mandate is to set minimum wages," the board said in a resolution.
The board asked petitioners to conform with standards prescribed by law in petitions that will be filed in the future.
Trade Union Congress of the Philippines-Nagkaisa's Alan Tanjusay, however, asked the regional wage board to "show the formula they used as basis for the new wage order and subject it to healthy discussion."
"They better explain it to the workers immediately or else their lack of credibility may invite confusion, if not incite chaos, particularly among poor workers," he said, calling the P15 increase "revolting."
TUCP was among the petitioners before the RTWPB.
On the other hand, Kilusang Mayo Uno chair Elmer Labog said such "region-based wage hikes don’t address the attacks carried out against the minimum wage in the country for decades."
"We are fighting for the implementation of a National Minimum Wage in the amount of P16,000 monthly to give workers some immediate relief and to turn back the attacks against the minimum wage throughout the country,” Labog said.
He added that the wage hike is insufficient, considering increases in the prices of basic commodities and the fare hike in Metro Manila trains.
'Let market forces decide'
Reacting to the wage hike, lawyer Noel Balsicas of the People Management Association of the Philippines said the mandated minimum wage is an outmoded means of wage determination.
"This will have an effect on other personnel who are not directly affected by the increase through wage compression or wage distortion," he said.
Employers are now forced to increase the salary of a worker with a typically higher rate than a minimum wage earner to "restore the seniority of that individual."
Balsicas said it is better to let market forces decide salary increases instead of the government mandating them.
"It also backfires in a way to the workers," he added, explaining that manufacturers are now forced to increase the price of their products and services to sustain the higher salaries of their workers.
This creates an "additional pressure on the cost of living," he said, calling it a "chicken-and-egg situation."
Around 40% of manufacturing cost is labor, he added. – Rappler.com Buena Bernal
Starting April 15, the region's workers in the non-agricultural sector will receive a minimum wage of P481, while workers in the agricultural sector will have a minimum wage of P444.
Department of Labor and Employment communications director Nicon Fameronag announced the news on Wednesday, March 18, at the DOLE office in Manila.
The hike is set to benefit 587,000 workers, said Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz, who also chairs the National Wages and Productivity Commission.
For workers who receive their salaries twice a month every 15 days, the increase will reflect in their April 30 pay slips.
The Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board-National Capital Region (RTWPB-NCR) approved the resolution on the P15 increase, which is on top of the P15 Cost of Living Allowance in effect since January 2014.
DOLE NCR Director Alex Avila explained that the hike is consistent with government policy that takes into account workers' and their families' needs, as well as business stability.
“The take-home pay of our minimum wage earners will increase to P492.57 per day, or by 3.2%, because of the wage hike, compared to the current P477.03 per day. They will also enjoy a higher 13th month pay and increased social security coverage,” Avila said.
A workers' take-home pay includes the amount he will get from the law-mandated 13th month pay.
Avila explained that minimum wage earners are exempt from paying income tax on their wage. No taxes are imposed on their hazard pay, holiday pay, night shift differential, and overtime pay either.
He added that NCR businesses will be able to bear the cost and still sustain employment creation.
The P15 increase is the 5th wage since President Benigno Aquino III took office in 2010.
Calls for across-the-board increase
In a phone interview with Rappler, Fameronag explained that two wage hike petitions were filed before the RTWPB-NCR, asking for an across-the-board wage increase.
This, however, is not within the regional wage board's mandate.
"Unfortunately, the RTWPB is not mandated to set across-the-board wage increases. Our mandate is to set minimum wages," the board said in a resolution.
The board asked petitioners to conform with standards prescribed by law in petitions that will be filed in the future.
Trade Union Congress of the Philippines-Nagkaisa's Alan Tanjusay, however, asked the regional wage board to "show the formula they used as basis for the new wage order and subject it to healthy discussion."
"They better explain it to the workers immediately or else their lack of credibility may invite confusion, if not incite chaos, particularly among poor workers," he said, calling the P15 increase "revolting."
TUCP was among the petitioners before the RTWPB.
On the other hand, Kilusang Mayo Uno chair Elmer Labog said such "region-based wage hikes don’t address the attacks carried out against the minimum wage in the country for decades."
"We are fighting for the implementation of a National Minimum Wage in the amount of P16,000 monthly to give workers some immediate relief and to turn back the attacks against the minimum wage throughout the country,” Labog said.
He added that the wage hike is insufficient, considering increases in the prices of basic commodities and the fare hike in Metro Manila trains.
'Let market forces decide'
Reacting to the wage hike, lawyer Noel Balsicas of the People Management Association of the Philippines said the mandated minimum wage is an outmoded means of wage determination.
"This will have an effect on other personnel who are not directly affected by the increase through wage compression or wage distortion," he said.
Employers are now forced to increase the salary of a worker with a typically higher rate than a minimum wage earner to "restore the seniority of that individual."
Balsicas said it is better to let market forces decide salary increases instead of the government mandating them.
"It also backfires in a way to the workers," he added, explaining that manufacturers are now forced to increase the price of their products and services to sustain the higher salaries of their workers.
This creates an "additional pressure on the cost of living," he said, calling it a "chicken-and-egg situation."
Around 40% of manufacturing cost is labor, he added. – Rappler.com Buena Bernal
PHL hikes NCR minimum wage by P15
Over half a million minimum wage workers in the private sector in Metro Manila are due for a P15 increase in basic pay following the go signal from the wage board, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) said on Wednesday.
DOLE-National Capital Region (NCR) director Alex Avila said the new minimum wage in the region has been raised to P481 for workers in the non-agriculture sector and to P444 for workers in the agriculture sector.
Avila said the wage board took into consideration several factors, including the erosion in the minimum wage, inflation rate, possible impact of the minimum wage adjustment on prices of goods and services, as well as on employment; movements in the consumer price index, the current economic condition in the region, employers’ ability to pay, and the results of its continuing studies, sectoral consultations, and public hearings.
"[The decision] consistent with the government’s policy of granting regular, moderate, and predictable minimum wage adjustments, taking into consideration the needs of workers and their families, as well as the need to maintain stability in the business environment within the framework of the two-tiered wage system reform," he said.
The minimum wage hike is expected to be affirmed by the National Wages Productivity Commission this week, and the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB) will publish it.
The new minimum wage takes effect 15 days after publication, Avila said.
The wage increase will benefit 587,000 minimum wage earners, said Avila, who is also the chairperson of the RTWPB-NCR.
The wage earners will continue to be exempt from paying income tax on wage and hazard pay, holiday pay, night shift differential, and overtime pay.
“The take-home pay of our minimum wage earners will increase to P492.57 per day, or by 3.2 percent because of the wage hike, compared to the current P477.03 per day. They will also enjoy a higher 13th month pay and increased social security coverage,” Avila said.
Labor cost
“On the part of the employers, their effective labor cost per employee working six day a week will also increase by 3.2 percent, or P565.54 per day, compared to the current P547.87 per day,” he added.
But labor group Trade Union Congress of the Philippines-Nagkaisa (TUCP-Nagkaisa) said the increase was unacceptable, noting it only serves to widen the gap between the rich and the poor.
"This amount is revolting. Rather than closing the gap between rich and poor, government officials in the Board has further widened the gaping inequality amongst Filipinos – between a few elite and a famished majority who live to survive by the day," TUCP spokesperson Alan Tanjusay said in a statement.
On March 6, TUCP asked the wage board for a P136 increase.
The labor group has dared government agencies – DOLE, Department of Trade and Industry, and National Economic and Development Authority – to reveal how the wage board came out with the P15 wage increase.
"This is a nature of social injustice that either makes our productive young workers... join the ranks of our Filipino brothers and sisters in the mountain to wage the battle on Philippine social inequality from there or forces them to decide to swallow the bitter pill by working abroad at the expense of a morally, psychologically and emotionally-deprived children,” Tanjusay said. – Danessa O. Rivera/VS, GMA News
DOLE-National Capital Region (NCR) director Alex Avila said the new minimum wage in the region has been raised to P481 for workers in the non-agriculture sector and to P444 for workers in the agriculture sector.
Avila said the wage board took into consideration several factors, including the erosion in the minimum wage, inflation rate, possible impact of the minimum wage adjustment on prices of goods and services, as well as on employment; movements in the consumer price index, the current economic condition in the region, employers’ ability to pay, and the results of its continuing studies, sectoral consultations, and public hearings.
"[The decision] consistent with the government’s policy of granting regular, moderate, and predictable minimum wage adjustments, taking into consideration the needs of workers and their families, as well as the need to maintain stability in the business environment within the framework of the two-tiered wage system reform," he said.
The minimum wage hike is expected to be affirmed by the National Wages Productivity Commission this week, and the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB) will publish it.
The new minimum wage takes effect 15 days after publication, Avila said.
The wage increase will benefit 587,000 minimum wage earners, said Avila, who is also the chairperson of the RTWPB-NCR.
The wage earners will continue to be exempt from paying income tax on wage and hazard pay, holiday pay, night shift differential, and overtime pay.
“The take-home pay of our minimum wage earners will increase to P492.57 per day, or by 3.2 percent because of the wage hike, compared to the current P477.03 per day. They will also enjoy a higher 13th month pay and increased social security coverage,” Avila said.
Labor cost
“On the part of the employers, their effective labor cost per employee working six day a week will also increase by 3.2 percent, or P565.54 per day, compared to the current P547.87 per day,” he added.
But labor group Trade Union Congress of the Philippines-Nagkaisa (TUCP-Nagkaisa) said the increase was unacceptable, noting it only serves to widen the gap between the rich and the poor.
"This amount is revolting. Rather than closing the gap between rich and poor, government officials in the Board has further widened the gaping inequality amongst Filipinos – between a few elite and a famished majority who live to survive by the day," TUCP spokesperson Alan Tanjusay said in a statement.
On March 6, TUCP asked the wage board for a P136 increase.
The labor group has dared government agencies – DOLE, Department of Trade and Industry, and National Economic and Development Authority – to reveal how the wage board came out with the P15 wage increase.
"This is a nature of social injustice that either makes our productive young workers... join the ranks of our Filipino brothers and sisters in the mountain to wage the battle on Philippine social inequality from there or forces them to decide to swallow the bitter pill by working abroad at the expense of a morally, psychologically and emotionally-deprived children,” Tanjusay said. – Danessa O. Rivera/VS, GMA News
NCR minimum wage earners to get P15 pay hike
MANILA -- Close to 600,000 minimum wage earners in Metro Manila are set to receive an additional P15 in their daily pay beginning mid-April which militant groups said is not even enough to cover for the recent increase in train fares.
Metro Manila's minimum wage is currently at P466 for those working outside the agriculture sector.
This will jump to P481 in the next few weeks after the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board-National Capital Region (RTWPB-NCR) issued Wage Order 19 on Wednesday. Minimum pay for agricultural workers will grow to P444.
“The minimum wage hike is expected to be affirmed and published this week and take effect 15 days after its publication,” said Department of Labor and Employment (Dole) spokesperson Nicon Fameronag.
The P15 pay hike is a far cry from the P146.80 across-the-board wage increase sought by the Association of Minimum Wage Earners and Advocates last November 2014 and the P136 across-the-board pay adjustment asked by the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) last March 6.
The last wage order was issued on September 6, 2013.
“In coming up with the figure, we need to consider the hard balancing job of factoring the concerns of employers, workers, and the government,” said Dole-NCR Director Alex Avila.
He added that they considered, among others, the erosion of minimum wage, inflation rate, impact of wage adjustment on prices of goods and services, consumer price index, employers’ ability to pay, and the current economic condition in the region.
“Like in the past years, employers will be able to bear the cost of the increase without hampering their viability for growth and expansion,” said Fameronag.
The NCR wage board said establishments, whose assets are not more than P3 million, are no longer allowed to apply for exemption from following the minimum wage rate.
Still allowed to apply for exemption are distressed establishments, retail/service establishments regularly employing not more than 10 workers, and establishments adversely affected by natural calamities.
Fameronag said 587,000 minimum wage earners are set to directly benefit from the wage order out of the 4.6 million workers in Metro Manila.
He said the labor department has already advised employers to also look into the issue of wage distortion with the issuance of the latest wage order.
Wage distortion arises when, after implementation of a prescribed minimum wage increase, existing salary differentials in the salary structure of an establishment are eliminated or severely contracted.
“It is a natural consequence during minimum wage increases to result to wage distortion. That’s why we have told employers that they may have to revisit their pay structure so that there will be no wage distortion,” Fameronag said.
Fameronag, however, clarified that the salary adjustment for non-minimum wage earners is not mandatory.
The TUCP assailed the decision of the NCR wage board, saying the amount is unacceptable.
“This amount is revolting. Rather than closing the gap between rich and poor, government officials in the Board has further widened the gaping inequality among Filipinos—between a few elite and a famished majority who live to survive by the day,” said TUCP spokesperson Alan Tanjusay in a statement.
The TUCP said the amount is offensive for workers considering the recent fare hikes implemented by the Metro Rail Transit (fare increase ranges from P8 to P16), Light Rail Transit 1 (from P5 to P10), LRT 2 (from P6 to P12) and the forthcoming Philippine National Railways fare hike (from P5 to P15).
Electricity and water rates in the capital region also picked up last month.
“Region-based wage hikes don’t address the attacks carried out against the minimum wage in the country for decades. We are fighting for the implementation of a national minimum wage in the amount of P16,000 monthly to give workers some immediate relief and to turn back the attacks against the minimum wage throughout the country,” said Kilusang Mayo Uno chairperson Elmer Labog.
According to independent think-tank Ibon Foundation, the so-called family living wage in the country, or the amount needed daily by an average Filipino family to live decently, stood at P1,086 last August 2014. (HDT/Sunnex) SunStar
DAGDAG SAHOD | 587,000 minimum wage earners in Metro Manila get P15 more in daily pay
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| Workers take a break. FILE PHOTO BY BERNARD TESTA |
The minimum wage, as well as the minimum wage earner’s hazard pay, holiday pay, night shift differential, and overtime pay, is exempt from income tax, said Alex Avila, regional director of the labor department’s Metro Manila office.
“The take-home pay of our minimum wage earners will increase to P492.57 per day, or by 3.2 percent because of the wage hike, compared to the current P477.03 per day. They will also enjoy a higher 13th month pay and increased social security coverage,” Avila said.
Labor Secretary Rosalinda Dimapilis-Baldoz, head of the National Wages and Productivity Commission (NWPC), said the new pay hike is the 19th increase in minimum wages since Republic Act 6727, or The Wage Rationalization Act, became a law on 9 June 1989, and the fifth such minimum wage pay hike under the administration of President Benigno Aquino III.
According to the resolution of the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board-National Capital Region (RTWPB-NCR) granting the P15 increase in the daily basic minimum wage, the P15 Cost of Living Allowance in effect since January 2014 will also continue.
“The minimum wage hike is expected to be affirmed by the NWPC this week, and the RTWPB will publish it, after which it will take effect 15 days after its publication,” Avila said in his report.
Avila also heads the RTWPB-NCR.
RTWPB - composed of representatives of labor and management, and the government, specifically the Department of Trade and Industry, National Economic Development Authority, and the DOLE – considered the following factors in its decision: the erosion in the minimum wage; inflation rate; possible impact of the minimum wage adjustment on prices of goods and services, as well as on employment; movements in the consumer price index; the current economic condition in the region; employers’ ability to pay; and the results of its continuing studies, sectoral consultations, and public hearings.
“The decision of the RTWPB-NCR to adjust the minimum wage was consistent with the government’s policy of granting regular, moderate, and predictable minimum wage adjustments, taking into consideration the needs of workers and their families, as well as the need to maintain stability in the business environment within the framework of the two-tiered wage system reform which Secretary Baldoz has initiated in 2012 and which we accelerate to implement,” said Avila.
Cost to employers
“On the part of the employers, their effective labor cost per employee working six day a week will also increase by 3.2 percent, or P565.54 per day, compared to the current P547.87 per day,” Avila said.
He expressed confidence that as in the past year, employers will be able to bear the cost of the increase without hampering their viability for growth and expansion and, therefore, their ability to sustain employment creation.
“In January 2014, when the second tranche of the minimum wage increase consisting of the integration into the basic minimum wage of the P15 of a P30 COLA granted by the RTWPB-NCR in October 2013 took effect, employment was at 88 percent, unemployment was at 11.2 percent, and underemployment was at 12.1 percent.
“Today, employment in the NCR is at 90.7 percent; unemployment is at 9.3 percent; and underemployment is at only 8.3 percent. So, we see that this significant improvements in these economic indicators will not be affected by the new minimum wage order, but instead continue until the end of the year and beyond, barring any glitches,” Avila explained.
With the increase, he said, the RTWPB was able to maintain a near-to-the-ideal ratio of the minimum wage to average wage, which is 40 to 70 percent, at 75 percent, down from 80 percent when the current administration came to office in 2010.
“The applicable minimum wage-to-average wage ratio for the country is not too close, to allow for bipartite approaches and flexibility in plant-level negotiations for further benefits,” he said.
In this latest minimum wage pay hike, Avila noted another bright note: Establishments whose total assets - including those arising from loans, but exclusive of the land on which the establishments’ offices, plants, and equipment are located - cost not more than P3 million.
“They are no longer included in the list of establishments that may apply for one year exemption. Only distressed establishments, retail/service establishments regularly employing not more than 10 workers, and establishments adversely affected by natural calamities may apply for exemption and as determined by the RTWPB-NCR,” Avila said.
Prior to this new wage order, the RTWPB-NCR received two petitions for an across-the-board daily wage increases. The first petition was filed by the Association of Minimum Wage Earners & Advocates (PTGWO-AMWEA) TUCP-ITUC last 28 November 2014 seeking for a P146.80 across-the-board daily wage increase, while the second petition was by the TUCP, filed on 6 March 2015, seeking for a P136.00 across- the-board daily wage increase.
Aside from its continuing studies and researches, the RTWPB-NCR conducted three public consultations last 29 January with the labor sector; on 10 February with the management sector; and on 17 February with the government sector. It also conducted a public hearing on 6 March to ensure hearing broad views and perspectives and to elicit participation of the social partners and key stakeholders.
“Unfortunately, the RTWPB is not mandated to set across-the-board wage increases. Our mandate is to set minimum wages,” the board said in its decision. - InterAksyon.com
Tuesday, March 17, 2015
Working poor can’t afford cost of basic goods — TUCP
The TUCP urged the Aquino administration to take steps to ease the workers’ burden following a survey showing poverty erodes the poor workers’ take home pay and has now overtaken minimum wage earners’ in Metro Manila and in all other regions in the Philippines since last year.
The Philippine Statistics Authority’s 2014 survey released March 6, poverty incidence among Filipino families worsened to 20% in the first half of 2014 from 18.8% in 2013 while the subsistence incidence rose from 7.5% in 2013 to 7.6% this year.
The result also showed incomes of poor families were short by 27% of the average poverty threshold of P8,778/month or P293/day for a family of five in the first semester of 2014. This means, on the average, an additional P2,370 was needed by a poor worker and his family with five members in order to move out of poverty.
“With its 400 days left in office, President Noynoy Aquino must re-focus and re-devote his remaining time, energy, and political capital if he still he wants to make a direct impact to Filipino workers and their families. Rather than being kept busy by sexy political issues, he has to address one of the core issue of growing and escalating poverty incidence,” TUCP spokesperson Alan Tanjusay said.
In the National Capital Region (NCR) alone, the highest minimum wage in all 17 regions, government said the real value of the current P466 minimum daily wage is P356.64 or P7,846.08 a month or P932 short of the poverty threshold. The same survey showed 10.5% of the working population whose income cannot afford even the food threshold alone.
The poorest is in Yolanda-hit Eastern Visayas region with 2.2 million families who cannot afford the minimum amount of P293/daily amount. The current real value of the P280 daily minimum wage is P184/day.
The National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) cited the rapid rise in food prices and the lingering effects of typhoon Yolanda as key reasons poverty worsened. Rice prices alone increased to 11.9% in the first semester of 2014 to 1.7% in the same period of 2013. - By Vito Barcelo / Manila Standard Today
Monday, March 16, 2015
4M more can’t afford daily cost of living – labor group
There are now four million more of the more than 20 million poorest of the working poor nationwide who cannot even afford the daily P293 cost of food and basic commodities needed by a Filipino family of five to survive, the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines-Nagkaisa (TUCP-Nagkaisa) declared on Monday.
With this, the labor group urged the government to take immediate solutions, citing a survey released by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showing that poverty continues to surpass poor workers’ take-home pay and has now overtaken minimum wage earners’ in Metro Manila and in all other regions in the Philippines since last year.
Results of the 2014 survey released March 6 this year also showed that poverty incidence among Filipino families worsened to 20 percent in the first half of 2014 from 18.8 percent in 2013 while the subsistence incidence rose from 7.5 percent in 2013 to 7.6 percent this year.
The results showed, too, that incomes of poor families were short by 27 percent of the average poverty threshold of P8,778/month or P293/day for a family of five in the first semester of 2014.
This means, on the average, an additional P2,370 was needed by a poor worker and his family with five members in order to move out of poverty.
“With its 400 days left in office, President [Benigno] Aquino [3rd] must refocus and redevote his remaining time, energy and political capital if he still he wants to make a direct impact [on] Filipino workers and their families. Rather than being kept busy by sexy political issues, he has to address one of the core issues of growing and escalating poverty incidence,” TUCP spokesman Alan Tanjusay said.
In the National Capital Region (NCR or Metro Manila) alone that pays the highest minimum wage in all 17 regions, the government said, the real value of the current P466 minimum daily wage is P356.64 or P7,846.08 a month or P932 short of the poverty threshold.
The PSA survey further showed that income of 10.5 percent of the working population cannot afford even the food threshold alone.
The poorest are in Eastern Visayas region—hardest hit by Super Typhoon Yolanda in 2013—with 2.2 million families who cannot afford the minimum amount of P293 daily amount. The current real value of the P280 daily minimum wage is P184 a day.
The National Economic and Development Authority cited rapid rise in food prices and lingering effects of Yolanda as key reasons why poverty worsened.
Rice prices alone increased by 11.9 percent in the first semester of 2014, compared to 1.7 percent for the same period in 2013. - by JING VILLAMENTE The Manila Times
With this, the labor group urged the government to take immediate solutions, citing a survey released by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showing that poverty continues to surpass poor workers’ take-home pay and has now overtaken minimum wage earners’ in Metro Manila and in all other regions in the Philippines since last year.
Results of the 2014 survey released March 6 this year also showed that poverty incidence among Filipino families worsened to 20 percent in the first half of 2014 from 18.8 percent in 2013 while the subsistence incidence rose from 7.5 percent in 2013 to 7.6 percent this year.
The results showed, too, that incomes of poor families were short by 27 percent of the average poverty threshold of P8,778/month or P293/day for a family of five in the first semester of 2014.
This means, on the average, an additional P2,370 was needed by a poor worker and his family with five members in order to move out of poverty.
“With its 400 days left in office, President [Benigno] Aquino [3rd] must refocus and redevote his remaining time, energy and political capital if he still he wants to make a direct impact [on] Filipino workers and their families. Rather than being kept busy by sexy political issues, he has to address one of the core issues of growing and escalating poverty incidence,” TUCP spokesman Alan Tanjusay said.
In the National Capital Region (NCR or Metro Manila) alone that pays the highest minimum wage in all 17 regions, the government said, the real value of the current P466 minimum daily wage is P356.64 or P7,846.08 a month or P932 short of the poverty threshold.
The PSA survey further showed that income of 10.5 percent of the working population cannot afford even the food threshold alone.
The poorest are in Eastern Visayas region—hardest hit by Super Typhoon Yolanda in 2013—with 2.2 million families who cannot afford the minimum amount of P293 daily amount. The current real value of the P280 daily minimum wage is P184 a day.
The National Economic and Development Authority cited rapid rise in food prices and lingering effects of Yolanda as key reasons why poverty worsened.
Rice prices alone increased by 11.9 percent in the first semester of 2014, compared to 1.7 percent for the same period in 2013. - by JING VILLAMENTE The Manila Times
TUCP: Survey says 4 M new poor workers in Philippines
Quoting a recent poll released by the Philippine Statistics Authority, TUCP spokesperson Alan Tanjusay said these new poor workers cannot afford the P293 projected daily cost of food and basic commodities of a Filipino family of five to survive.
With this, the labor group urged the government to take immediate solutions to address growing poverty and unemployment in the country.
Results of 2014 survey released last March 6 showed that poverty incidence among Filipino families worsened to 20 percent in the first half of 2014 from 18.8 percent in 2013 while the subsistence incidence rose from 7.5 percent in 2013 to 7.6 percent this year.
The result also showed incomes of poor families were short by 27 percent of the average poverty threshold of P8,778 per month or P293 daily for a family of five in the first semester of 2014. This means, on the average, an additional P2,370 was needed by a poor worker and his family with five members to move out of poverty.
"With only 400 days left in office, President Noynoy Aquino must re-focus and re-devote his remaining time, energy, and political capital if he still wants to make a direct impact on Filipino workers and their families," Tanjusay said.
In the National Capital Region alone, the highest minimum wage in all 17 regions, the government said the real value of the current P466 minimum daily wage is P356.64 or P7,846.08 a month or P932 short of the poverty threshold.
The same survey showed that 10.5 percent of the working population whose income cannot afford even the food threshold alone.
The poorest is in Yolanda-hit Eastern Visayas region with 2.2 million families who cannot afford the minimum daily cost of P293. The current real value of the P280 daily minimum wage is P184.
The National Economic Development Authority cited the rapid rise in food prices and the lingering effects of typhoon Yolanda as key reasons poverty worsened. Rice prices alone increased to 11.9 percent in the first semester of 2014 to 1.7 percent in the same period of 2013. - By Dennis Carcamo (philstar.com)
Tuesday, March 10, 2015
TUCP: Wage hike moratorium ended October last year
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| A labor group clarified that the one-year moratorium on wage hike petition has ended October last year. |
MANILA, Philippines - Labor group Trade Union Congress of the Philippines-Nagkaisa (TUCP-Nagkaisa) on Tuesday clarified that the one-year moratorium on wage hike petition ended October last year.
The group made the clarification after Deputy Presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte last week said that the moratorium will only end on May 2015.
"The one-year moratorium ended on October 2014 not on May 2015. She is misinformed about wage increase petition and it’s unprofessional to be presidential spokesperson when you don’t know the basic and gut issues of the country. ..it’s revolting that public servants at her level keeps gives the public wrong information. She better correct this," TUCP spokesperson Alan Tanjusay said.
The labor group filed its P136 wage hike petition last January 29 this year.
When asked to comment on the wage hike petition, Valte said labor groups would have to wait for a one-year prescriptive period before they can file another wage petition because the last increase was given on May 2014.
Last week, the Regional Wages and Productivity Board convened and conducted a first of three public consultation on the petition filed by TUCP for a P136 hike on the minimum wage.
The current minimum wage in Metro Manila is P466 but due to the spate of increase in basic social services and commodities, its real value is at P356.64, the TUCP said. - By Dennis Carcamo (philstar.com)
Friday, March 6, 2015
TUCP, humihingi ng P136 across-the-board increase sa minimum wage sa NCR
Aired on March 6, 2015 in Saksi - GMA Network's late-night newscast hosted by Arnold Clavio and Pia Arcangel. It airs Mondays to Fridays at 11:30 PM (PHL Time) on GMA-7.
Decision on Metro Manila minimum wage out early-April
THE STATE BODY that sets the daily minimum wage in the country’s capital is expected to decide by the first week of next month if an increase from the current P429-466 is warranted.
The Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board of the National Capital Region (RTWPB-NCR) held a public hearing on Friday -- the last of four consultations since January -- for all parties with interest in two petitions to raise the daily floor wage.
The Labor department’s National Wages and Productivity Commission requires regional boards to come up with a wage order within 30 days from the last public hearing.
Alberto R. Quimpo, RTWPB-NCR board member representing employers, said the first board meeting to discuss results of public consultations has been set tentatively on March 16.
RTWPB-NCR has received two petitions since November last year which will be used among bases for the seven-member body to come up with a decision, board chairman Alex V. Avila said in an interview at the sidelines of the public hearing in Pasay City. “[T]he board will deliberate on the petitions. We will consider all the position papers, the petitions, and the outputs of these three consultations and the public hearing,” Mr. Avila said.
The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines-Nagkaisa (TUCP) faction has asked for a P136 across-the-board wage hike, while another group, the Association of Minimum Wage Earners and Advocates (AMWEA), sought a P734 increase to be implemented in five equal tranches.
Both groups cited increasing utility rates and fare hikes for Metro Manila’s railway systems that took effect Jan. 4.
During the public hearing on Friday, TUCP Spokesman Alan A. Tanjusay added that the looming increase in tuition fees would be an added burden to workers. “The real value of P466 is P356.64… because of inflation,” Mr. Tanjusay said. “We need the P136 to restore the purchasing power of workers in NCR.”
AMWEA representative Margarita A. Greofaldio told the board in Filipino: “The board should provide a realistic wage… We all know the current minimum wage is not enough to live decently, much less for a family.”
She also asked the wage board to show computations leading to its decision “so it will not appear that what they approved was arbitrary.”
Speaking on behalf of employers, Mr. Quimpo opposed both petitions, saying in an interview: “It cannot be... it’s impossible”, even as he clarified that the Employers Confederation of the Philippines has yet to make a formal stand.
Ma. Elena G. Francisco, legal counsel of the Philippine Constructors’ Association, warned of capital flight and massive retrenchment should labor costs shoot up.
“We should instead look at how to increase employment opportunities for majority of workers (not just minimum wage earners),” Ms. Francisco said in Filipino.
“Not all employers are profitable enough to pay higher salaries. There are also small- and medium-scale enterprises that could close up shop if labor cost rises too much,” she explained.
“Others can afford to pull out their businesses, so we will see capital flight. If these investors, who employ many, flee to other economies where labor is more friendly, what will happen to us? Our economy will suffer,” she continued.
“So, let us weigh all considerations.”
Metro Manila’s minimum wage was last adjusted in September 2013, involving a P10 hike in basic pay after two TUCP factions filed for increases of P83 and P85. Other regions followed suit in adjusting floor wages. - By Melissa Luz T. Lopez BusinessWorld
Palace warns vs ‘opportunists’ who may sow dissent
Watch out for “opportunist groups.”
Malacañang aired this warning as it called on groups planning a justice march for the martyred 44 commandos of the Philippine National Police-Special Action Force (PNP-SAF) this Sunday to remain vigilant against the possible infiltration by a desperate few instigating a military-backed uprising against President Aquino.
Presidential Communications Operations Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said the government upholds the people’s freedom of expression but would not tolerate any action that violates the Constitution.
“While we join the commemoration of the heroism of the PNP-SAF44, it is important to be vigilant and watchful of groups that want to take advantage of the grief and use the opportunity to pursue their dubious goal,” Coloma said in a press briefing.
“Let’s observe that in the past days, there have been calls for the resignation of the President coupled with coup threats and other destabilization efforts. These opportunist groups have even used the 29th anniversary of the EDSA People Power Revolution as an occasion to call on the public to wield people power against the government,” he added.
The Philippine National Police Academy Alumni Association, Inc. (PNPAAAI) had earlier announced plans to hold a “March for Justice for SAF 44” on March 8. The organizers have already issued guidelines to keep the nationwide activity non-partisan and focus on the demand for justice for the slain troopers.
During the EDSA anniversary rites, President Aquino lashed out at desperate groups riding on the Mamasapano incident to derail the peace process.
He lamented that these groups merely criticize the government but do not present alternative solutions to the problem.
Coloma said these groups do not want peace because they will benefit from chaos and violence.
“The government appeals anew for calm and reason.”
‘DAY OF HEALING’
At the Lower House, a group of lawmakers filed House Resolution No. 1952 seeking to declare March 6, 2015, a National Day of Healing for Unity and All-Out-Peace, All-Out-Justice in commemoration of the 40th day of the Mamasapano massacre.
Led by former Justice Secretary and 1-BAP partylist Rep. Silvestre Bello III, the group asked the 290-man Lower Chamber “to lead this nation’s call for calm and sobriety amidst these troubled times, and in unity with the independent efforts of our peace-loving citizens’ peace advocacies and to commemorate the thousands of lives lost from decades of armed conflict in Mindanao.”
“This unfortunate incident has likewise caused a national divide threatening to polarize the country and its peace-loving people, with some sections issuing condemnation, hasty judgment and espousing bloody retaliation and all-out war,” the three-page resolution said.
Joining Bello in filing the resolution are AKBAYAN partylist Rep. Ibarra Gutierrez III, Quezon City Rep. Jose Christopher Belmonte, Zambales Rep. Cheryl Deloso-Montalla, Gabriela Rep. Luz Ilagan, Sorsogon Rep. Deogracias Ramos Jr., Camarines Sur Rep. Maria Leonor Gerona Robredo, AMIN party-list Rep. Sitti Djalia Turabin-Hataman, TUCP party-list Rep. Raymond Democrito Mendoza, and Lanao del Sur Rep. Pangalian Balindong.
The lawmakers cited that civil society groups, peace movements and communites across the country have started to unify in a gathering of peace advocates calling for “All-Out-Peace, All-Out-Justice,” which will culminate on the 40th day of the tragic Mamasapano anti-terror raid last Jan. 25.
“In order to maintain calm and sobriety in these tension-filled times and arrive at an objective and impartial result to the ongoing investigation on the Mamasapano incident, there is an imperative and urgent need to pause and re-assess our common aspirations to bring peaceful solutions to our nation’s problems,” the group said. -by Genalyn D. Kabiling & Charissa M. Luci , Manila Bulletin
Malacañang aired this warning as it called on groups planning a justice march for the martyred 44 commandos of the Philippine National Police-Special Action Force (PNP-SAF) this Sunday to remain vigilant against the possible infiltration by a desperate few instigating a military-backed uprising against President Aquino.
Presidential Communications Operations Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said the government upholds the people’s freedom of expression but would not tolerate any action that violates the Constitution.
“While we join the commemoration of the heroism of the PNP-SAF44, it is important to be vigilant and watchful of groups that want to take advantage of the grief and use the opportunity to pursue their dubious goal,” Coloma said in a press briefing.
“Let’s observe that in the past days, there have been calls for the resignation of the President coupled with coup threats and other destabilization efforts. These opportunist groups have even used the 29th anniversary of the EDSA People Power Revolution as an occasion to call on the public to wield people power against the government,” he added.
The Philippine National Police Academy Alumni Association, Inc. (PNPAAAI) had earlier announced plans to hold a “March for Justice for SAF 44” on March 8. The organizers have already issued guidelines to keep the nationwide activity non-partisan and focus on the demand for justice for the slain troopers.
During the EDSA anniversary rites, President Aquino lashed out at desperate groups riding on the Mamasapano incident to derail the peace process.
He lamented that these groups merely criticize the government but do not present alternative solutions to the problem.
Coloma said these groups do not want peace because they will benefit from chaos and violence.
“The government appeals anew for calm and reason.”
‘DAY OF HEALING’
At the Lower House, a group of lawmakers filed House Resolution No. 1952 seeking to declare March 6, 2015, a National Day of Healing for Unity and All-Out-Peace, All-Out-Justice in commemoration of the 40th day of the Mamasapano massacre.
Led by former Justice Secretary and 1-BAP partylist Rep. Silvestre Bello III, the group asked the 290-man Lower Chamber “to lead this nation’s call for calm and sobriety amidst these troubled times, and in unity with the independent efforts of our peace-loving citizens’ peace advocacies and to commemorate the thousands of lives lost from decades of armed conflict in Mindanao.”
“This unfortunate incident has likewise caused a national divide threatening to polarize the country and its peace-loving people, with some sections issuing condemnation, hasty judgment and espousing bloody retaliation and all-out war,” the three-page resolution said.
Joining Bello in filing the resolution are AKBAYAN partylist Rep. Ibarra Gutierrez III, Quezon City Rep. Jose Christopher Belmonte, Zambales Rep. Cheryl Deloso-Montalla, Gabriela Rep. Luz Ilagan, Sorsogon Rep. Deogracias Ramos Jr., Camarines Sur Rep. Maria Leonor Gerona Robredo, AMIN party-list Rep. Sitti Djalia Turabin-Hataman, TUCP party-list Rep. Raymond Democrito Mendoza, and Lanao del Sur Rep. Pangalian Balindong.
The lawmakers cited that civil society groups, peace movements and communites across the country have started to unify in a gathering of peace advocates calling for “All-Out-Peace, All-Out-Justice,” which will culminate on the 40th day of the tragic Mamasapano anti-terror raid last Jan. 25.
“In order to maintain calm and sobriety in these tension-filled times and arrive at an objective and impartial result to the ongoing investigation on the Mamasapano incident, there is an imperative and urgent need to pause and re-assess our common aspirations to bring peaceful solutions to our nation’s problems,” the group said. -by Genalyn D. Kabiling & Charissa M. Luci , Manila Bulletin
No wage hike in MM till end of moratorium
This was underscored by Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Abigail Valte as the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) filed a petition for a P136 wage increase for workers in the National Capital Region (NCR).
“Metro Manila is covered by NCR (National Capital Region) and because it’s only March, the last increase was given sometime in May. Necessarily, any figure that they propose would have to be scrutinized by Regional Tripartite Wage and Productivity Board,” Valte said.
“Normally, mga late May yung naalala ko nung huli so you would have to wait for the RTWPBs to convene,” she added.
The first public hearing on the wage petition filed by TUCP was held yesterday.
The TUCP is asking for an additional P136 to the current minimum wage in the metropolis on top of the current P466 minimum wage. - by Madel Sabater - Namit , Manila Bulletin
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