The
labor group Partido Manggagawa (PM) countered employers’ doomsday scenarios for
the economy once a legislated wage hike is passed. “A P100 wage hike will be a
blessing not a catastrophe for the economy. For the past two years, minimum
wages were raised in all regions, except BARMM for this round, and yet
inflation and unemployment went on a decline. The economy benefited and did not
suffer from salary increases,” argued Rene Magtubo, PM national chair.
The
group welcomes the proposed P100 increase in minimum wages nationwide which the
Senate will deliberate on third reading on Monday. “We would have wanted it to
be higher and across-the-board but still an additional P100 in workers’ pockets
will be an immediate relief as the cost of living is around P1,200 a day,”
Magtubo stated.
PM
is calling on the House of Representatives Labor Committee to deliberate on the
pending wage bills. “As surveys have repeatedly shown, Filipinos want solutions
to high prices and low wages, not amendments to the Constitution. Let’s get to
work,” Magtubo demanded.
He
added that “ECOP head Sergio Ortiz-Luis is singing an old tune. They cried the
same dire predictions in 2022 and again in 2023 when organized labor demanded
wage hikes. Inflation in 2022 was 5.8% but now it is down to 2.8%. Similarly,
unemployment has decreased from 5.4% in 2022 to 3.1% as of December last year.”
“In
Metro Manila, the
minimum wage hike in 2022 and 2023 was P33 and P40, respectively, or P73 in
total. Firms did not shutter and MSMEs did not go under. Where is the
catastrophe? On the contrary, the economy has gained from wage hikes as the
increased purchasing power meant greater demand and bigger production for firms
in industry and services,” Magtubo explained.
He continued that “As theory and studies show, a moderate salary raise need not lead to inflation or retrenchment as employers can just absorb the higher labor costs by reducing their profit. So, we call on Sergio Ortiz-Luis, share the wealth with the workers who created it in the first place.”
February 16, 2024
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