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PRESIDENT Arroyo has ordered the regional tripartite
wage and productivity boards nationwide to convene in
the light of high oil and food prices that have shrunk
the purchasing power of workers in the country. The call
drew a warning against inflation and other economic
implications from the central planning agency, the
National Economic and Development Authority (Neda).
The
President made the call during her visit to the Yazaki
Torres Manufacturing Inc. facility in Calamba, Laguna,
with Trade Secretary Peter Favila and Labor Secretary
Marianito Roque.
“Because
of the increasing cost in the price of fuel and rice,
we’re calling for a meeting of the regional wage boards
all over the country so that every [regional board] can
discuss how [they] can help the workers cope with the
rising world price of oil and rice,” she said.
The
moderate Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP)
is seeking a P60 across-the-board wage hike while the
militant Kilusang Mayo Uno is demanding a P125 wage
hike.
In the
face of rising commodity prices, however, minimum-wage
earners should not expect wages to increase in the same
level it did last year, according to the National
Economic and Development Authority (Neda).
Neda
National Planning and Policy Staff (NPPS) officer in
charge Myrna Asuncion said that if an increase is
granted by the wage board, Metro Manila workers may not
see a repeat of last year’s P12-wage increase, which
came with a P50 cost-of-living allowance (Cola).
“It will
be more difficult to increase wages this year since this
will also increase the impact on prices, particularly on
food,” Asuncion said.
The Neda
official explained that last year, it was easier to
implement an increase in wages since inflation was still
low and the government took several steps to help keep
inflation in check, such as the setting up of bagsakan
centers and special lanes at the Northern Luzon
Expressway (Nlex).
However,
Asuncion said that with higher wages and high food
prices driving inflation to shoot up to 6.4 percent in
March this year, there is a higher chance that
businesses will be forced to lay off employees and even
close down.
The
Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) is set to
file a petition before the Regional Tripartite Wages and
Productivity Board (RTWPB) Tuesday seeking an P80
across-the-board wage increase for workers in Metro
Manila.
Calling
the need to increase Metro Manila workers’ wages
“immediate,” TUCP spokesman Alex Aguilar noted that
current salary rates in the National Capital Region
cannot keep pace with the slew of price increases of
basic commodities.
The
extraordinary increases in basic goods and the projected
inflation until the end of the year were reasons enough
for workers to seek the wage hike, he added.
Metro
Manila workers were not the first to file for wage
increase this year. On Monday, the TUCP filed a P150
wage increase petition before the RTWPB in
Central Visayas.
“We are
seeking a higher salary increase for workers in Central
Visayas because for the past years, the wage boards have
been granting the least pay hike (there) compared to
other regions,” Aguilar noted.
The TUCP
will file similar petitions in all regional wage boards
in the country this month.
Earlier,
the National Wages and Productivity Commission [NWPC]
said it is assessing the current economic situation to
determine if raising wages is possible.
Oil
firms have increased the prices of petroleum products
seven times within this year.
Meanwhile, militant labor groups such as the Alliance of
Progressive Labor (APL) and the Kilusang Mayo Uno are
still pressing for a P125 legislated wage hike and tax
exemption for workers amid the increase in the prices of
basic goods.
“Under
the current situation, workers need both the wage hike
and the tax exemption,” said Josua Mata, APL’s
secretary-general.
At the
Neda, Asuncion said the planning agency is open to
increasing employees’ wages as long as the increase will
be within the bounds of sound macroeconomic policies.
Studying
the impact of an increase in wages will be crucial since
any wage hike will also result in the increase in
salaries of all employees, she added.
“Yes, as
long as we can maintain the level of employment and the
[number of] businesses. As long as the increase will not
cause a reduction in employment, a wage hike is doable,”
Asuncion
said.
However,
the Employers’ Confederation of the Philippines said
implementing an P80 salary adjustment would lead to mass
retrenchment, or worse, shutdowns owing to staggering
labor costs.
In Metro
Manila, the minimum wage has been adjusted 15 times
since 1989, with increases ranging from a low of P12 to
a high of P26.50.
The
President said her visit to the Yazaki-Torres facility
is part of her pre-Labor Day activities, and also
presents an opportunity for her to introduce the new
labor chief to workers and investors alike.
“Since
Labor Day is coming we’re visiting factories to
personally attend to the working conditions of labor,”
she said.
She
“encourages wage and nonwage benefits” like health
facilities and day-care centers in the workplace.
Prior to
her speech, the President and some Cabinet officials met
with top executives of Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Mitsubishi
and Ford Philippines.
Meanwhile, Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye reiterated that
Labor Day will be celebrated on May 1, and will not be
covered by the administration’s practice of holiday
economics, or moving the celebration of nonworking
holidays to the nearest Monday.
In a
separate development, the Teachers Dignity Coalition (TDC)
challenged President Arroyo to certify as urgent the
bills seeking to upgrade the salary of public school
teachers.
“Teachers have long been waiting for the government’s
rectification of its error committed almost 20 years
ago.” said Benjo Basas, a Caloocan City teacher and
TDC’s national chairman.
The
group claimed that Congress erred when it pegged the
teachers’ entry level position at Salary Grade 10 under
Republic Act 6758, or the Salary Standardization Law of
1989.
“After
Congress itself admitted the mistake in 1991, there was
no sincere move from the government to rectify such
error,” Basas added.
Basas
noted that public school teachers and other government
employees have suffered from a wage freeze from the year
2001 and had only a 10- percent pay increase July last
year, which he said was “not enough to cover the more
than 50-percent drop of the real value” of their salary
from that time. (With Cai Ordinario) |
