IF discussions on the wage hike were not done in May, workers would have benefited more and even would have had a shot at increasing wages to as much as P50 per day.

A government official admitted to the BusinessMirror that the discussion on the wage issue was premature and was only brought about by panic due to high rice prices.

“It was too early [discussions on wages]. If they just allowed us to have the discussions in August, which is the time when wage hikes are done, the workers would have benefited more,” the official said.

The official, who asked not to be named, explained that if the August round of negotiations were done, more factors other than rice prices would have been factored in and workers would have been able to have a better chance of haggling for a higher pay increase.

Some of these factors include the latest transport hike and possible increases in inflation that could be a better leverage in the negotiations that would have been done more in the favor of workers.

“It’s turning out that this P20 wage hike is more advantageous for employers because negotiations were premature. Timing is really very important,” the official said.

Unfortunately, the official said that with the P20 wage hike, there is no more chance for workers to bargain again for a higher pay, unless a severe and untoward event in the succeeding quarters warrants another discussion this year.

Meanwhile, University of the Philippines economist Benjamin Diokno agreed with the government official and said that with higher transport fares, the government should revisit the wage increase.

Diokno added that with oil prices now at around $127 per barrel and no prospects of going down, there is even more reason for the government to rethink the wage hike.

He added that, in fact, the government should not even be involved in wage setting, all the more reason why the wage increase must be revisited.

“I don’t think the government should be in the business of setting wages. The role of the government is [to] create the environment for strong growth that would create jobs and invest in human capital,” Diokno said.

“Government representative in wage board didn’t negotiate in good faith. Proposed wage increase has to be revisited,” he added.

On the other hand, economist and chairman of the nongovernmental organization Minimal Government Bienvenido Oplas Jr. said that while the wage hike could help consumers get “immediate relief” from high commodity prices, the best solution for minimum-wage earners is still an income-tax reprieve.

Oplas said while Congress has yet to pass the exemption of minimum-wage earners from paying tax, a tax reprieve may be done through an executive order (EO) issued by the President.

Through the EO, Malacañang can suspend the income-tax payment of minimum-wage earners for around four to five months, removing significant pressure on their shrinking budgets.

“Malacañang only wants employers to bear the costs of relieving the minimum-wage workers but it doesn’t want to take its share of small revenue loss,” Oplas said.

Earlier, National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) Acting Director General Augusto Santos said the separate boards of the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) and the Social Security System (SSS) are studying the possibility of condoning loan penalties.

The condonation of fees would mean that around 1.4 million GSIS members and 27.75 million SSS members will be spared from loan surcharges, Santos said.

If the GSIS and SSS will approve the condonation of penalties or the surcharges paid by members for unpaid loans, no matter how small the amount is, will be a significant help especially for minimum-wage earners who are already having a difficult time making ends meet.

Apart from these measures, the government is also open to support a decrease in corporate income tax to 25 percent from 35 percent. This measure is still pending in Congress.

Further, the law exempting minimum-wage earners from paying their income tax, which would play significant roles in helping Filipinos cope with high prices, has already been approved for third hearing in Congress.

IF discussions on the wage hike were not done in May, workers would have benefited more and even would have had a shot at increasing wages to as much as P50 per day.

THE private sector is pushing for the establishment of a “clear-cut” and “coherent” policy on rice hoarding to make it more attractive for companies to import rice into the Philippines.

A government think tank pushed for the crafting of “temporary measures” and the development of the local automotive parts industry to enable the auto industry to cope with the impending full liberalization under the Asean Free Trade Area (Afta) by 2010.

DAVAO CITY—A Makati-based Filipino mining company has asked the government to support its move in rescinding the joint venture to mine nickel in southern Davao Oriental, citing alleged lack of interest in its foreign partner to place the project in priority.

SEVERAL nongovernment organizations and multinational corporations (MNCs) belonging to the Coalition for Agricultural Development (Cfad) urged the United States government to help developing countries cope with a global food crisis by setting aside $600 million for the US Agency for International Development’s (USAID) agricultural development program for fiscal year (FY) 2009.

THE Philippine air panel was granted two more passenger flight entitlements to Vancouver in Canada, members of the panel said Monday.

TAIWANESE experts urged the Philippine government to start investing more in research so it could exploit the vast potential of its duck industry, both for egg-laying and meat purposes.