TWO of the country's biggest labor organizations, the Nagkakaisa Labor Coalition (Nagkaisa) and the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP), on Wednesday called on policymakers and businesses to recognize that investing in workers through higher wages yields significant long-term benefits.
"The positive effects cascade throughout the economy, generating a multiplier effect that contributes to overall prosperity," said Nagkaisa chairman Sonny Matula.
He debunked a statement by business groups that only a minority will benefit from the proposed P150 across-the-board legislative wage increase.
The business' arguments, he pointed out, failed to consider the broader economic effects and undermines the crucial role of fair wages in driving sustainable growth.
He added that contrary to the business sector's claims, raising wages will have a significant positive impact on the economy and the majority of workers.
He explained that ensuring fair wages for a significant portion of the workforce can create a positive ripple effect that stimulates economic activity, increases consumer spending power, and fosters social progress.
In addition, the economic benefits of wage increase can help address the persistent issue of malnutrition in the Philippines, which Unicef said has severe effects on children, including stunted growth.
Nagkaisa maintained that the first key advantage of higher wages is that workers have more money at their disposal, and with increased purchasing power, workers are empowered to spend on essential goods and services, thereby driving consumer demand.
Secondly, the group stressed that higher wages can foster employee loyalty and motivation.
"When workers are fairly compensated for their efforts, they feel valued and are more likely to be engaged and productive in their roles. This improved productivity can enhance business efficiency and output, further bolstering economic growth," it pointed out.
Likewise, it said a workforce with higher wages projects stability and helps attract investments.
For its part, the TUCP said that it is unfortunate that both employers and economic managers are now ganging up in an "overkill" on the poor workers' calls to bring up measly real wages to at least be within the poverty threshold.
Employers and economic managers had claimed that should a wage increase be granted, it would result in widespread closure of medium, small and micro enterprises (MSMEs), which comprise 98 percent of businesses in the country.
But on the contrary, TUCP Vice President Luis Corral said that it is precisely the high prices of food and services, rent, and electricity that are now forcing workers to call on Congress to address their desperate situation.
"The TUCP calls on our economic managers to work triply hard to address the soaring prices of basic goods and services, and their impact in further depressing already-low wages. The call for wage increase months ago should have been a wake-up call to the economic managers to save the rapidly deteriorating situation of a majority of the working poor," added Corral.
Trade unions blast govt
On the other hand, the All Philippine Trade Unions (APTU) has slammed the government for not taking seriously the recommendations of the International Labor Organization-High Level Tripartite Mission (ILO-HLTM) to get to the bottom of the killings of trade unionists and blatant violations of workers' right to unionize.
APTU, which is composed of the Federation of Free Workers (FFW), Kilusang Mayo Uno, Sentro ng mga Nagkakaisa at Progresibong Manggagawa, Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP), The Nagkaisa! Labor Coalition and Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino, among others, has endorsed the joint workers' report to the ILO-HLTM.
The APTU representatives during Wednesday's Pandesal Forum of the Kamuning Bakery and Café in Quezon City castigated the government for allegedly continuing to leave workers out of the inter-agency committee under Executive Order 23, which was supposed to strengthen coordination and expedite the investigation, prosecution and resolution of cases for violations of the right to organize.
"Nothing about us. The workers had been left out of the new body despite being its main proponent," they said.
"Besides, as a member of the ILO and a signatory of the ILO Convention 144, the government is duty-bound to include workers and employers as their social partners in critical bodies such as this," they stressed.
Aside from violating the "spirit of the ILO-HLTM to address violations of freedom of association in a tripartite manner," EO 23's inter-agency committee also falls short of the workers' demand, APTU said.
"What we have been asking for since January when the ILO-HLTM arrived, is a presidential commission that would oversee the full realization of all the recommendations of the ILO, including the urgent need to look into the killings of 69 trade unionists from 2016 to April this year," they said.
"Also, regarding the hundreds of direct attacks on the right to freedom of association such as red-tagging that have led to abductions, enforced disappearances, forced disaffiliation and trumped-up charges against trade union leaders and organizers," the trade unions further said.
In January, the ILO-HLTM asked for a joint tripartite report on the progress made on their recommendations by the next International Labor Conference (ILC) starting on June 5, according to APTU.
"Barely two weeks before the deadline set by the ILO-HLTM to report on the progress on the recommendations, the government has nothing concrete to show at the ILO's ILC in June, except the killing of another trade unionist, Alex Dolorosa of the BPO Industry Employees Network," the group said.
At the forum, Julius Cainglet of the FFW and Mark Villena of the TUCP said that the government is in danger of being called out again by the ILC for being in the list of the worst cases of violators of freedom of association and other trade union rights.
"It is also set to be included in the International Trade Union Confederation's Top 10 Worst Places for Workers to live in. All these would have dire effects on our economy," the APTU representatives said.
"Being labeled once again as one of the Top 10 Worst Countries for workers could also cancel all the efforts of the current administration to woo investors into the country," they warned.- By William B. Depasupil and Arlie O. Calalo
