SENATE President Juan Miguel Zubiri yesterday appealed to the country’s business corporations to support the “one-time, big time” legislative wage increase of P150 a day across the board for all regions in a bid to give workers a decent living wage.
Zubiri said the country’s workers have been hit hard by the rising inflation rate, which hit an all-time high of 8.7 percent at the start of the year. He said the daily minimum wage in Metro Manila of P517 and only around P300 daily in some parts of the country is not enough for workers to have a decent life.
While wage increases are left to the discretion of the Regional Wage Boards, Zubiri said it is slow to act on the plight of workers.
He said most business corporations in the country have recovered from the effects of lockdowns due to the pandemic, adding it is high time they “shared” their earnings to workers.
Zubiri said if the legislative wage hike of P150 a day or roughly P3,000 a month is not given, he fears “there will be a diaspora of Filipino workers” to other parts of the world where wages are at an average of P60,000 a month for workers who tend farm animals.
“So, what will happen to our country? Non-skilled workers will remain. So, call center agents will be gone, nurses will be gone, doctors will be gone…We cannot compete (with what other countries have to offer), unfortunately. So, what I am driving at is we share a little of what we have to our workers,” Zubiri said at the Kapihan sa Manila Bay media forum.
Zubiri said the country’s corporations can surely give the P150 a day wage increase, adding the amount will not leave a dent on their earnings.
“That’s why I am appealing to businessmen, I am appealing to the top 400 corporations which are owned by billionaires. You won’t become poor; you will remain billionaires and millionaires. Let us give our workers a chance to have a decent life here in our country so that every OFWs dream of coming home will be fulfilled,” he added.
Zubiri has filed Senate Bill No. 2022 or the Across the Board Wage Increase Act of 2023 which seeks to raise wages in the private sector across all regions by P150. There are 20 other similar proposed measures filed in the Senate.
Sen. Jose “Jinggoy” Estrada, Committee on Labor, Employment, and Human Resources Development chairman; said all the proposed legislations filed by his colleagues with regard to wage increases will be tackled on May 10.
Zubiri said similar proposed measures were also filed at the House of Representatives.
Zubiri said they will tackle how to adjust the wages of workers in micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) so as not to have a negative impact on its owners.
“We will see if we can have a graduated wage increase for MSMEs so that the livelihood of small businesses and livelihood of MSMEs will not be affected. An almost P3,000 (a month wage increase) for their workers is really big. So, we can do a graduated increase depending on the total income generated by the corporation)” he said.
Zubiri said there have been several legislative wage increases implemented from 1951 to 1989, the last being on July 1, 1989 at P89 “before we passed the creation of the Regional Wage Boards.” All the other increases were only from P7 to P15 a day.
Labor Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma yesterday came to the defense of Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Boards (RTWPBs) facing criticisms of inaction towards pending wage petitions amid the soaring prices of basic commodities and services.
Laguesma said he does not agree with claims that regional wage boards are slow in processing the wage petitions filed by workers.
“You cannot say that (it is slow). It is always relative when you talk about whether it is quick or slow. It is dependent on who is looking,” said Laguesma.
Laguesma issued the statement after regional wage boards were accused by labor groups of being slow in handling pending wage petitions.
Based on the latest data, there are eight wage petitions filed and pending in four regional wage boards.
According to NCR wage board chairperson Sarah Mirasol, they are set to act on the wage petitions in Metro Manila this month.
Laguesma reiterated that he does not want to interfere in the processing of regional wage boards since it is the latter’s mandate to set minimum wage rates.
“I respect the established process of the regional wage boards. I don’t want to preempt their actions since they are the ones hearing the petition,” he said.
What is important, he stressed, is that the interests of both employers and employees are considered by the RTWPBs.
“We must always consider balancing the needs of workers as well as the capacity of businesses to give additional salaries to their workers,” said Laguesma. — With Gerard Naval
