Labor says oil price hikes dissipate wage increases

Labor group Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) yesterday said the continued increase in fuel prices will water down the value of the salary adjustments recently approved by the regional wage boards.

In a statement, TUCP president Raymond Mendoza said the oil price increases are unacceptable as they eat away the benefits of the salary adjustments to be implemented in 14 regions.

“The buying power of the current wage adjustments are being dissipated by the series of previous and present extraordinary increases in prices of fuel, basic commodities, and cost of services,” said Mendoza.

“These will have no impact in lifting the lives of workers from worsening poverty caused by the pandemic crisis,” he added.

Mendoza pointed how the fuel price increases will trigger upward adjustments in the prices of basic commodities and the cost of services.

“Because of extraordinary inflation, the series of wage increase orders issued by the wage boards failed to restore the purchasing power of wages,” said Mendoza.

In recent weeks, 14 regional wage boards have issued wage orders granting minimum wage rate adjustments.

The 14 wage orders are to take effect starting this month, according to the Department of Labor and Employment. - By Gerard Naval

DOLE looks into PHL’s return to national minimum wage

Workers assemble a car in a factory in Santa Rosa, Laguna, in this BusinessMirror file photo.

Efforts to revert to setting a national minimum wage are now in the initial stage, as the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) said a review of existing wage policy of the Philippines is ongoing.

Labor Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III formally announced last week that the study is now under way as lawmakers have included it in their legislative agenda.

“Once there is a bill in Congress [about it], they will be asking the wage boards. That is why we should be ready with this,” Bello told reporters in an interview.

DOLE’s National Wages Productivity Commission (NWPC) said the review is in compliance with the request of the Senate.

“It is the Senate which requested the Secretary [of Labor] to commission a third party expert to review the existing policy,” NWPC Executive Director Maria Criselda R. Sy told the BusinessMirror in an interview.
‘Transparent’

She said a local expert and specialist from the International Labor Organization (ILO) will be tasked to come out with the “inception report” that will detail how the review of wage setting mechanism will be conducted. The inception report is expected to be completed this year.

“We have to make sure it will be as open [to the stakeholders] as possible,” Sy said.

As for the role of the DOLE in the study, she said it will be to provide “technical inputs” in the undertaking based from its 30 years of implementation of the Republic Act (RA) 6727 or the Wage Rationalization Act.

Implemented in 1989, RA 6727 allowed Congress to delegate its powers to adjust minimum-wage rates to the regional wage boards.

Labor Undersecretary Ciriaco A. Lagunzad III said among the issues to be tackled by the experts are the statistical indicators that should be used in the new alternative minimum-wage setting system.

“We would like to be more accurate with our indicators and statistics, which serve as basis for wage increases,” Lagunzad said.

The former executive director of NWPC also noted this will allow them to anticipate potential impact of wage increase to ensure it will be absorb by the economy without leading to job displacement and inflation.
Consultation

Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) Spokesman Alan Tanjusay said the NWPC already met with the TUCP last week to lay the groundwork for the study.

“They accepted our proposal and they said they asked a third party to study it. We already committed to join in its discussions,” Tanjusay said.

He said they will be submitting to NWPC their position paper on matter in the coming days.

To recall, TUCP together with other members of the labor coalition and Nagkaisa, as well as militant labor group Kilusang Mayo Uno have been pushing for the abolition of the regional-based minimum-wage setting scheme.

Leaders of the said labor groups said the system has been unfair especially for workers in the provinces since they get lower minimum wages than those in Metro Manila. - By
Samuel P. Medenilla

TUCP wants uniform minimum wage across PHL

Philstar file photo

The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) is urging President Rodrigo Duterte to abolish regional wage boards and instead create a singular wage-fixing body to determine a uniform minimum wage rate nationwide.

In a statement, TUCP President Raymond Mendoza said there is an "urgent need" for Duterte to start abolishing the differentiated provincial rates.

Under the TUCP proposal, the current structure will be replaced with a singular tripartite wage setting body that would determine a uniform minimum wage nationwide based on several criteria.

"The wage board is key in achieving equality and social justice for workers," said Mendoza. "Its mandate is to ensure that our economic growth also benefits the workers."

"However, our economy is growing and business enterprises have been prospering but the workers who helped built the wealth remain impoverished," he added.

The minimum daily wage in Metro Manila was adjusted upward to P537 in November 2018, but wages in other provinces currently fall below this.

Currently, there are a total of 17 wage boards across the country mandated to set a minimum wage, all of which were created through Republic Act 6727 or the Wage Rationalization Act.

In its proposal, however, the TUCP said there is a need to first increase all wages across the country by P100 in efforts to lift employees above the poverty threshold.

“Before overhauling the wage fixing mechanism, President Duterte must order all 17 regional wage boards across the country to immediately review and adjust their issued wage orders to a uniform daily P100 wage hike as stated by [Labor] Secretary [Silvestre] Bello as the amount the board should have granted to lift workers out of poverty,” said Mendoza.

"Prices of commodities and costs of services are the same in all parts of the country. Aside from that, the job function and tasks of a waiter or a clerk in Visayas and Mindanao are the same job function and tasks in Luzon but why are their wages different?” he added. —Jon Viktor D. Cabuenas/KBK, GMA News

Labor group calls on Duterte to abolish all wage boards

Business World file photo

The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) is urging President Duterte to abolish all wage boards in the country and replace it with a singular wage-fixing body that will determine a uniform minimum wage rate nationwide.

TUCP President Raymond Mendoza also said there is now an “urgent need” for the President to begin the process of abolishing the differentiated provincial rates by overhauling the 30-year-old current wage setting structure because “the current minimum wage setting mechanism only favors those businesses and no longer balances the interest of workers.”

“The wage board is key in achieving equality and social justice for workers. Its mandate is to ensure that our economic growth also benefits the workers. However, our economy is growing and business enterprises have been prospering but the workers who helped built that wealth remains impoverished,” Mendoza said in a statement on Sunday.

The 17 wage boards across the country were created in 1989 through Republic Act 6727 also known as Wage Rationalization Act. Its mandate is to set minimum wage that protects workers’ welfare and promote enterprise and workers productivity.

Despite the wage increase orders issued last year, workers’ minimum wages across all sectors nationwide still failed to reach even half of the P1,400 daily standard amount set by the National Economic and Development Authority for a family of five to live a comfortable life, the group said.

According to TUCP, the average minimum wage was raised to P374 a day by the end of 2018, from P340 during the first quarter of the same year.

The TUCP even noted that Labor Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III admitted last week that the Metro Manila wage board should have granted a P100 daily wage hike to enable workers cope with rising inflation rather than a mere P25 daily wage increase on its wage order issued on November last year.

“We have reached a point where even the secretary of labor openly admitted the discrepancy. This is an affirmation of the TUCP observation that wage boards have become obsolete and irrelevant to equate in the balance of labor and capital the interest of workers in these generation where there are no more boundaries,” Mendoza said.

Also, before the abolition of wage boards, the group noted that there should be a review of the wage increase orders issued last year.

“Before overhauling the wage fixing mechanism, President Duterte must order all 17 regional wage boards across the country to immediately review and adjust their issued wage orders to a uniform daily P100 wage hike as stated by Secretary Bello as the amount the board should have granted to lift workers out of poverty,” Mendoza said. - Bernadette D. Nicolas

Minimum wage leaves labor groups unsatisfied

Manila Times file photo

Three decades have passed since Republic Act (RA) 6727 or the “Wage Rationalization Act” was enacted in 1989, which turned out to lack teeth.

The measure paved the way for the creation of the National Wages and Productivity Commission (NWPC) and the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB) in every region of the country.

However, there has never been an instance when petitions for wage increase from labor workers in the private sector were granted or even close to the demand of the toiling class.

The last time workers got significant wage increase was also in 1989, when then president Corazon Aquino granted a P25 daily across-the-board wage increase nationwide.

Section 2 of RA 6727 states: “It is hereby declared the policy of the State to rationalize the fixing of minimum wages and to promote productivity-improvement and gain-sharing measures to ensure a decent standard of living for the workers and their families; to guarantee the rights of labor to its just share in the fruits of production; to enhance employment generation in the countryside through industry dispersal; and to allow business and industry reasonable returns on investment, expansion and growth.”

The wage adjustments by the National Capital Region (NCR)-RTWPB, however, were anything but rational, as in 2016, it granted only P10 out of the original petition of P154; in 2017, it gave P21 out of P184; and in 2018, it approved P25 out of labor’s petition of P334.

Since January 2018, the NWPC has issued wage orders adjusting the minimum wage rates in 16 regional wage boards across the country, except for Caraga Region (Region 13) which remained at P311 minimum wage a day.

The Metro Manila wage board was the most recent regional wage board that adjusted the wage rate from P512 to P537, raising the average daily nominal minimum wage rates in 17 regions nationwide from P200 a day in September 2018 to P232 a day as of Nov. 11, 2018.

The Associated Labor Unions-Trade Congress of the Philippines (ALU-TUCP), the country’s biggest labor group, said that workers were dissatisfied with the wage increase given the high inflation rate.

Citing as an example the wage increase in Metro Manila, ALU-TUCP spokesman Alan Tanjusay said the buying equivalent of P25 is only P17.50 per day these days because of rising prices of commodities and costs of services.

“On the average, wage boards acted only on the capacity of employers and businesses to afford the wage increases by adjusting the nominal minimum wage rates by P32 to P36 a day nationwide. This is too small for workers who help business and economy grow,” he said.

Tanjusay added the nationwide average daily minimum wage of P232 was inadequate for millions of poorly paid entry-level, rank-and-file and contractualized minimum-wage workers nationwide in agriculture, services and manufacturing sectors. ALU-TUCP said these types of workers with labor-intensive jobs need at least P800 to P850 a day in order to live above the poverty threshold.

Louie Corral, ALU-TUCP vice president, warned government and employers that hunger and poverty would only escalate, causing more instability from the labor front.
“Unfortunately, with this wage order instead of a realistic intervention to workers’ plight, the P25 will only prolong the instability, Corral said.

The group said it would file another wage hike petition this month.

Many factors

For her part, NWPC Executive Director Ma. Criselda Sy said that their wage hike decision was backed up by simulation on the impact of the proposed increase on existing economic indicators like inflation, with results showing that a higher wage hike would further increase the inflation rate, which would cause a second round of inflationary effect.

She cited as example the wage hike in 1993 wherein the computed erosion in the purchasing power of workers was at P44.27, but the approved wage increase was only P17 because the wage board took into consideration the other factors in the socio-economic environment that the economy was not growing at that time.

“The difficult task for the board is to come up with amount that essentially would balance the competing interests of our stakeholders and the primary consideration there is if the economy can absorb the increases that will be ordered by the regional board,” she said. - By WILLIAM DEPASUPIL, TMT

ALU-TUCP says NCR wage positions far apart

THE leading mainstream labor organization said negotiating positions on the minimum wage increase in Metro Manila remain far apart ahead of the wage board’s upcoming decision for the region.

In a phone interview with BusinessWorld, Associated Labor Unions — Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (ALU-TUCP) Spokesperson Alan A. Tanjusay said that the biggest labor coalition in the country is skeptical that the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board for the National Capital Region (RTWPB-NCR) will grant a wage adjustment that will satisfy workers.

ALU-TUCP sought a wage hike of P334, based on its estimate of a living wage for a worker in the region beyond the current pay scale of P512 a day.

Mr. Tanjusay added that ALU-TUCP upgraded its initial counter-offer of P80, as reported earlier this month, to P100 when the NCR wage board had a private meeting on Friday after a public hearing. He described the new P100 offer as “take it or leave it.”

“Anything less than P100, the ALU-TUCP will boycott the proceedings.”

Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECoP) Acting President Sergio R. Ortiz-Luis, Jr. said that his organization will honor any “reasonable” outcome of the wage decision.

“We will respect and comply with their decision given that they make a reasonable one,” he said in a phone interview with BusinessWorld.

ECoP was present during the management consultation and public hearing held by the NCR wage board last week. The employers have been warning that an excessive increase in the minimum wage will have adverse effects not only on business but also employment.

Last week, ECoP Governor Antonio H. Abad, Jr. called on the wage board during its meeting with management to not use inflation as the only basis for raising wages because inflation fluctuates while wages are not subject to reduction.

Mr. Ortiz-Luis said he expects the RTWPB-NCR to make a rational decision.

“I believe the board won’t decide on political and emotional driven motives,” he said.

On Sunday, Presidential Spokesperson Salvador S. Panelo said that he also believes the NCR wage board will make a reasonable decision.

Mr. Tanjusay noted that Mr. Panelo failed to spell out what he considers reasonable.

“Mr. Panelo did not define, did not qualify what an acceptable wage order is,” the ALU-TUCP spokesperson said.

“We know that the Board is dominated by government and the employers and they always connive to outvote the labor representatives and members of the board to (arrive at) a meager wage increase. It is in the interest of businesses to keep wages to the barest minimum regardless of workers’ worsening condition,” Mr. Tanjusay said in a message to BusinessWorld on Monday. — Gillian M. Cortez

Workers' daily minimum buying power reduced to P200 per day

The Associated Labor Unions-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines said Saturday the buying power of workers' standard minimum in the private sector nationwide fell to P200 a day.

Citing the group's monitoring and evaluation of the inflation versus the daily minimum wage, ALU-TUCP spokesperson Alan Tanjusay said the average total daily minimum wage nationwide fell today to P200 a day effective this week from P208.83 in June 2018.

In June 2018, the total average of different daily minimum wage rates across the country was P335 and its equivalent buying power is P208.83, according to the labor group.

“What can workers buy for him and for his family nowadays with the value of his minimum pay of P200 a day?” Tanjusay said in a statement.

"Without a serious government social safety program in place and a significant wage increase to address the worsening economic depression, a decreasing buying power of wage bears harmful effect to workers’ health and capacity to produce quality goods and services needed by employers and business owners to thrive," he added.

According to the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA), the amount needed by a family of five in order to live decently is P44,000 a month or P1,400 a day.

The segment of work force already affected by the crisis are those entry-level, rank-and-file, contractual, short-term, and end-of-contract employees receiving minimum pay working in manufacturing and services sector, the labor group said.

However, the most heavily affected segment of the labor force by high inflation and decreasing purchasing power are those 11 million unemployed and those 15.6 million workers working in the informal economy.

“The unemployed obviously are scraping what’s left at rock bottom and very susceptible to any means to survive. While workers in the informal economy —since they have no fixed income —are also very insecure,” Tanjusay said.

With this, the labor group expects a lower output contribution to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) by workers affected by shrinking value of their pay and continuously rising prices.

The shrinking value of their salary, ALU-TUCP said, impacted the workers health and their productivity particularly their capacity to produce quality goods and services needed by employers and business owners to prosper.

“With the poor workers option to buy quality and nutritious food for him and for his family has been decreasing, expect an unhappy and less productive employees in the weeks ahead. Take note that these very vulnerable segment of workers are already have no security of tenure, no fixed income, inadequate social protection benefits and confronted by difficult and stressful external forces,” Tanjusay said.

TUCP Party-list Rep. Raymond Mendoza has filed a bill in the House of the Representatives seeking a P320 a day across-the-board wage increase for workers in manufacturing, agriculture and service sectors.

The ALU-TUCP has also sought government for a P500 monthly grocery subsidy for minimum wage earners to help them cope with rising inflation and eroding wages.

The group also has petitioned the 17 regional wage boards nationwide to increase workers’ pay by P320 a day.

However, only nine regional wage boards have made wage adjustments since May this year ranging from P10 to P56 a day on installment basis, it said. —Ted Cordero/LBG, GMA News

Metro Manila minimum wage earners to get P21 more starting October 5

Non-agricultural workers will now receive P512 per day while agriculture and service workers will get P475 per day

MINIMUM WAGE. The additional P21 minimum wage will be given starting October 5, 2017. File photo by AFP

MANILA, Philippines – Starting Thursday, October 5, minimum wage earners in Metro Manila will receive an additional P21 in their daily basic wage.

The Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board-National Capital Region granted the increase on September 14 through Wage Order NCR-21. The order was published in the Philippine Star on September 20.

Non-agricultural workers will now have a daily minimum wage of P512 from their previous pay of P491. Agriculture, retail, and service establishments with at most 15 workers and manufacturing businesses with less than 10 workers should pay their employees a minimum rate of P475.

The Wage Board clarified that domestic workers, persons "in the personal service of another," and employees of registered Barangay Micro Business Enterprises (BMBEs) are not covered by the order.

Household workers in Metro Manila and first class municipalities should receive a salary of at least P2,000 under Republic Act 10361 or the Batas Kasambahay Act.

Meanwhile, those paid on a per task basis are also entitled to the new rate for every 8-hour work per day.

The approved wage rate is way below the amounts proposed by the labor unions that petitioned for a hike last June.

The Associated Labor Unions (ALU) sought a P184 increase, while the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) asked for a P259 increase and the Association of Minimum Wage Earners and Advocates (AMWEA) wanted the minimum wage to be raised to P1,200 in 4 tranches.

Labor unions argued that the purchasing power of the P491 daily wage has slid to P354.51 based on government figures. (READ: Labor union to wage board, employers: Try living on P357 a day)

They are still calling on President Rodrigo Duterte to grant the P500 subsidy for workers similar to the conditional cash grant under the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program.

Meanwhile, leftist union Kilusang Mayo Uno renewed its call to establish a national minimum wage of P750 instead of individual rates per region. – Rappler.com Patty Pasion @pattypasion

Daily wage in MM now at P512

AFP / File photo

The Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board announced a P21 daily wage increase on top of the existing P491 daily minimum wage for more than six-million minimum-waged workers in 17 cities and municipalities in Metro Manila.

The minimum wage in Metro Manila will become P512 effective next month (October).

Wage hike petitioner Associated Labor Unions-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (ALU-TUCP) filed a P184 wage increase petition last June 6 on top of the existing P491 to enable workers and their families cope with rising prices of goods and services.

“The daily wage rate should be P675 for workers in the National Capital region,” ALU-TUCP spokesperson Alan Tanjusay said.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas and the National Wage and Productivity Commission earlier reported that the purchasing power of P491 has eroded to P354.51 by July 2017, an erosion of 27.79 percent.

Tanjusay said the P21 increase remains inadequate to meet the needs of minimum-waged workers to escape poverty.

“The P21 increase in daily wage remains insufficient for families to cope with rising prices of goods and increasing costs of goods. P21 is only 4.27 percent of the current P491. So it obviously did not lift workers out of poverty. Workers who helped built a high economic growth of 6.9 percent average Gross Domestic Product do not deserve this very small amount,” Tanjusay said.

“We have no other choice but to come and ask President Duterte to grant our long-standing request to him to provide a P500 monthly CCT-like cash voucher subsidy to minimum-waged workers who helped build our high economic growth,” Tanjusay said.

The proposal was submitted to Duterte on April 2017. Funded by the Office of the President, the cash voucher will be used by minimum-waged earners to purchase rice, groceries, and medicines. - by Vito Barcelo

Cebu: Labor groups express dismay at P13 increase

THE P13 adjustment in the minimum wage approved by the regional wage board for minimum wage earners in Metro Cebu is not enough, according to labor groups.

“We are dismayed by the increase. It is too far from our demand,” said Dennis Derige, spokesperson for Partido ng Manggawa (PM) in Cebu.

He said that the increase is not enough to provide for a worker’s daily subsistence.
Art Barrit of the Associated Labor Union-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (ALU-TUCP) expressed a similar sentiment, saying ALU-TUCP anticipated a higher wage hike.

Proposal

“We did not expect that amount. We were expecting more than P50," Barrit told Sun.Star Cebu in an interview yesterday.

He laments that despite the figures they had shown during the deliberation, the wage board has not bothered to consider their proposal.

Last July, the group filed a petition before the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB) 7 for a P92 increase in the daily minimum wage.

Barrit said that the RTWPB “always” ruled in favor of the management sector.
Barrit said they are prepared to file a motion for reconsideration before the National Wages and Productivity Council (NWPC) in Manila.

Cities

Labor groups also pointed out that the P13 increase only applies to the cities of Carcar, Danao, Cebu, Mandaue, Lapu-Lapu, and the town of Cordova.

Derige said that PM is asking Congress to abolish the RTWPB and replace it with the National Living Wage Commission.

Joe Tomungha, labor sector representative in the RTWPB, said that he thought of resigning from the post last year but decided not to because the move would impair the sector’s representation in the wage board.
Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) 7 Exequiel Sarcauga said in an interview that he respects the opinion of the labor groups.

Sarcauga said that a regionalized wage classification was set in place because of regional disparity in standard of living and economic profile.

He said that the wage adjustment only covered Metro Cebu, the center of economic activity in Cebu.

He said that to address the issue, the rest of Cebu should be opened to investments.

He said that if the RTWPB is abolished, the DOLE will comply with the order. - By EARL JON M. RALLOSPublished in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on September 12, 2015.

P89 wage increase in Northern Mindanao pushed

CAGAYAN DE ORO. In an ongoing construction along the Cagayan de Oro riverbank, Johnny measures these steel bars. On Friday, the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board-Northern Mindanao held a public consultation on the P89 wage hike pushed for by the workers in the region. (Harold Jess Siason, Liceo intern)

CAGAYAN DE ORO -- Workers in Northern Mindanao are pushing for the P89 wage increase in the region to cope with the soaring prices of basic commodities.

On Friday, April 17, the Department of Labor and Employment (Dole) regional office, through the Regional Tripartite Wage and Productivity Board (RTWPB), and the National Economic Development Agency (Neda) and Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) conducted a public hearing to provide stakeholders a platform to discuss the impact of the daily minimum wage increase petition.



With the petition, the daily minimum wage will be P395 from the current P306.

High economic growth

During the public hearing, Neda-Northern Mindanao Director Leon Dacanay Jr. updated the audience of the economy in the region since 2013. He emphasized that Northern Mindanao has maintained its P250 billion economic growth and its Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP) of P55.06 billion, which remains to be the highest among Mindanao regions.

Dacanay, who is also the vice chairperson of RTWPB-Northern Mindanao, said the value of rice production increased to 8.79 percent or 3.9 billion metric tons, resulting in the stabilization of the rice prices in the middle of 2014.

Dacanay cited that in the coconut industry, the nut production in the region has increased to 1.18 percent or P1.8 billion from 2013 to 2014, while the copra production remained stagnant with 0.03 percent or P438,852. The overall production of major crops like vegetables, fruits and root crops rose to 4.4 percent or 7.8 million metric tons last year.

But Dacanay said that despite the high economic growth, the magnitude of poor people continues to rise although the employment rate is relatively stable.

"Inflation rate continues to fall since the decline of the world oil prices that started in the middle of last year. However, the purchasing power of the peso declined by 3.6 centavos as of February 2015 from June 2013," he said.

Soaring prices of basic commodities

In the public hearing, the Associated Labor Union–Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (ALU-TUCP) presented its petition for the P89 increase and the reason why it should be granted to the workers.

According to Nicandro Borja, regional vice president of ALU-TUCP, 42 percent of a worker’s daily wage goes to food.
The 42 percent of the minimum daily wage in the city is P128.52. "And when you subtract that amount to P306, the amount left for the worker would only be P177.56 per day," Borja said.

With the continuing rise of the prices of basic commodities every day, workers are left destitute with what they can take home to their families given their minimum starvation “dying wage,” he said.

He added the daily minimum wage is insufficient especially that workers spend the expenses on the transport fare and meal plus the payment of electric and water bills.

If a worker has children who are students, their budget would be divided to the tuition, as well as the “baon” or allowance of the children, he said.

Aside from those expenses, a worker also spends for clothing, medicines and/or vitamins and and [of course] recreation, he added.
“And if their family does not have a house, they would [again] slash out their budget to paying the monthly rent,” he said.

No dramatic surge of prices on basic commodities

But the DTI said there is no dramatic incident where the price of the basic commodities has increased.

Lawyer Fel Lester Brillantes, DTI-Northern Mindanao chief of Consumer Welfare Division (CID), said that in the comparative price monitoring report from the second quarter of 2014 to the first quarter of this year, the products monitored like canned goods, instant noodles, iodized rock salt, flour and processed canned pork have maintained their suggested retail price (SRP).

The DTI considers a red flag when the increase of prices is more than 10 percent.

Brillantes said not all products are monitored by DTI because there are other implementing agencies like the Department of Agriculture (DA), which monitors prices of agriculture produce.

“In the case of the daily minimum wage of 306 pesos, investors may look at this as preference in choosing where to invest. And that is our advantage,” Dacanay said.

He added that the capacity of the region to give a wage increase depends to more than 95 percent of small and medium enterprises, which need to be taken into consideration.

Cagayan de Oro Chamber of Commerce president Cerael Donggay said the P89 minimum wage increase is too much.

“The increase should not be too drastic to prevent an adverse effect to the business sector. Maybe a P4 increase will do,” Donggay said. (Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro)

West Visayas workers get P11.50 pay hike per day

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

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)

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

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.

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

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

P15 umento sa minimum wage sa Metro Manila, ikinadismaya ng TUCP (video)

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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