House leaders to balance interests of laborers, employers on wage issue
By Jodeal Cadacio
Reporter

NOTWITHSTANDING the strong objection posed by businessmen to the proposed legislated wage increase, House leaders assured the country’s labor sector on Tuesday that Congress will balance the interests of both the labor and employers’ sectors without compromising the need for increasing the worker’s take-home pay.
       Nationalist People’s Coalition Reps. Roseller Barinaga of Zamboanga del Norte and Jesli Lapus of Tarlac gave this assurance in response to the dire warning issued by the Employers’ Confederation of the Philippines (Ecop) that a legislated wage hike is counterproductive as it would force many businesses to close shop.
       Barinaga and Lapus, chairmen of the House Committee on Labor and Employment and of Ways and Means, respectively, said the House will draw up a formula that would balance the interests of laborers and their employers in light of the economic difficulties that faze the country.
       Barinaga said the House remained committed to approving the proposed legislated wage hike, but the amount could be lower than the proposed P125. To compensate this, the House would grant bigger tax benefits as contained in the bill being pushed by the Lapus panel.
       The House has approved on third and final reading the proposed income tax relief package approved by the Ways and Means panel, which exempts mininum wage earners from paying any income tax.
       The measure seeks to create a “zero-tax” category, wherein workers earning not more than P55,000 a year would pay zero income tax. The bill also increases by 50 percent the additional personal exemption, which effectively exempts a worker earning P85,000 a year from paying any income tax.
       “This will serve as the government’s contribution to the wage-hike issue,” Barinaga said.
       He said that as a compromise, the House is willing to lower the amount of legislated wage hike to accommodate the employers.
       Barinaga said that businessmen in turn should give their part of the bargain and sympathize with the hard-pressed workers.
       “Mass layoffs and business closures are always being used as scare tactics every time the wage-hike issue is up, but we never see these grim scenarios happening in the past,” Barinaga said.
       He brushed aside the Ecop’s warning and assured the workers that the House will push on with the proposed wage hike.
       For his part, Lapus said the proposed tax relief package, approved Monday night by the House, will compensate labor in the face of Congress’ failure to enact the full P125 wage hike.