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  1. Join Date
    Apr 2008
    Posts
    195
    #1
    MANILA, Philippines—Two business groups Tuesday expressed support for President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s order to the regional tripartite wage boards to convene and determine by how much to increase the minimum wages of workers in the private sector to help them cope with the rising costs of food and fuel.
    Alberto A. Lim, Makati Business Club executive director, said a wage hike was “something we may support” considering that inflation was rising.
    “A wage hike would be justified and it’s time,” Lim said, but he suggested that it may be better to let the markets stabilize first.
    “It’s panic time and some of the demands may be emotional,” he said.
    Sergio Ortiz-Luis Jr., president of the Employers’ Confederation of the Philippines (Ecop), said the group would comply with whatever the boards decide. A wage board is composed of representatives of employers, workers and the government.
    Although amenable to the wage boards convening this early, the Federation of Philippine Industries (FPI) said raising wages at this time would be bad policy because prices may dip sooner or later.
    “It will be difficult to set wages based on forecast,” FPI president Jesus Arranza said. “If prices stabilize to previous levels, you cannot take back the increase in workers’ pay.”
    Non-wage benefits
    The FPI president said it may be better for companies to consider giving out temporary non-wage benefits like rice and transport subsidies.
    “Companies should think about it because workers really need some help,” he said. “Meantime, the economic managers may have to study the situation and see how long it may prevail.”
    Arranza acknowledged that the prices of some basic goods were rising. “However, we believe that the uptrend in prices is temporary,” he said.
    TUCP seeks P80 increase in Metro
    A moderate labor group Tuesday filed a petition asking the National Capital Region (NCR) Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board to increase the minimum wages in Metro Manila by P80.
    The counterpart of the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) in Cebu filed a P150-wage increase in the wage board in Central Visayas, while a petition for a P50-wage increase was filed in Western Visayas.
    Meeting in Malacañang
    The TUCP-proposed wage hike was discussed at a meeting between the TUCP and Federation of Free Workers (FFW) and employers in Malacañang Tuesday. The meeting was presided over by Ms Arroyo.
    At the meeting, Ecop and the Department of Labor and Employment agreed in principle with the TUCP and FFW on the need to adjust wages due to the “extraordinary circumstances” brought about by the skyrocketing fuel and rice prices.
    Luis-Ortiz said Ms Arroyo would certify as urgent a bill in Congress seeking an income tax exemption for minimum wage earners.
    The TUCP said the P80 increase was needed by all employees and workers in Metro Manila.
    Not only for minimum earners
    “The increase should be felt not only by workers receiving the minimum wage but also those getting higher than the minimum wage, all of whom are equally disadvantaged by the price-wage development,” TUCP president Democrito Mendoza said in an interview.
    The TUCP president said that of the P80 proposed wage hike, P46 was necessitated by the price increases while the P34 was due to Metro Manila’s economic development.
    The existing minimum wage in the metropolis is P362 a day, the highest among the regions. The National Wages and Productivity Commission (NWPC) placed the living wage last month for a family of six in Metro Manila at P858 a day.
    Legislated wage increase
    A group of agriculture workers said it preferred a wage increase through legislation.
    Instead of coursing the wage hike through the various regional wage boards, the government should support the P125-across-the-board wage increase being pushed by certain lawmakers in Congress, said the Unyon ng Manggagawa sa Agrikultura (UMA).
    “The regional wage boards are forever white elephants to workers and chiefly serve the best interests of capital. The passage of the P125-wage hike bill is very material, very urgent and the most politically, legally and morally correct way of addressing the pressing need of the working class of this country,” UMA national chair Rene Galang said in a statement.
    Escudero bats for P125-wage hike
    Sen. Francis Escudero called on Ms Arroyo to endorse the legislated wage hike.
    Escudero said it was clear that the current minimum wage was not enough to cope with the surge in the prices of basic commodities and services, especially in the past few months.
    The regional wage boards have proven to be “useless” in setting the minimum pay scale as “they have to wait [for] instructions from the President before acting on workers’ need for higher pay,” the senator said.
    Congress better arena
    The Partido ng Manggagawa, through its chair Renato Magtubo, also supported a wage increase through Congress.
    “We prefer a legislated wage hike not because Congress is pro-labor. Congress is simply a better arena of struggle since the traditional politicians are vulnerable to popular pressure, unlike the wage boards whose tripartite composition is so designed that the unholy alliance between the representatives of employers and government will always outvote their labor counterparts,” Magtubo said.
    Rafael Mariano, chair of the farmers group Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas, said the P125-wage hike bill, if passed, would “somehow” alleviate the suffering of workers and farmers due to the skyrocketing prices of basic commodities like rice.
    “It is very sad and ironic that we farmers and farm workers are the ones feeding the nation but we could not even afford the product of our own labor. For example, the farmgate price of a kilogram of palay (unhusked rice) is from P15 to P17 now, but the price of a kilo of rice is P30 at the minimum,” he said in a statement.
    Peso lost P2
    Mariano said farm workers only get P50 to P150 for a whole day’s work, much lower than the minimum wage in Metro Manila and the living wage that the NWPC said a family of six would need to survive in the metropolis.
    UMA’s Galang said the real value of workers’ wages had seriously been eroded. He cited the study by Ibon Foundation that found that the purchasing power of the peso in Metro Manila had fallen to 70 centavos from 72 centavos between April 2006 and April 2007.
    “This means that a worker lost P2 of actual buying power for every P100 he or she earned. This is despite the fact that workers’ productivity increased from P9,265 to P9,560 per month from April 2006 to April 2007,” Galang said.
    New wage commission
    The Partido ng Manggagawa said it would propose to Congress the enactment of a law setting up a new National Wage Commission, which would determine by how much wages should be increased nationwide using the cost of living as basis.
    “The regional boards are governed by 10-point criteria in fixing wages; among these is the capacity to pay of the capitalists that it always considers paramount. Instead, the National Wage Commission will have a sole criterion—to set and adjust wages so that the amount is commensurate with the daily cost of living,” Magtubo said.
    By Michael Lim Ubac, Ronnel Domingo
    Philippine Daily Inquirer
    First Posted 00:51:00 04/16/2008


    I dont think yung increase namin sa company namin is enough to compensate sa laki ng tinaas ng bilihin natin. But with their suggestion to exempt minimum wage earner sa tax, I guess okay to. Kasi sa liit na lang ng kita nila, magkano na lang ang iniuuwi nila sa family nila. I was once a minimum wage earner nung first time ko magkatrabaho, and I must say, kulang ang sahod ko to even support myself. Sana nga magpush through to.



  2. Join Date
    Jul 2006
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    3,601
    #2
    I think we all wish it were much higher, but I agree sana this also pushes through. Here in the US the minimum wage has also increased but like the situation there it's still not enough.

  3. Join Date
    Apr 2008
    Posts
    195
    #3
    Quote Originally Posted by mbeige View Post
    I think we all wish it were much higher, but I agree sana this also pushes through. Here in the US the minimum wage has also increased but like the situation there it's still not enough.
    I see, right now, our company gave us increase which is only cause higher tax for us and less netpay

  4. Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Posts
    710
    #4
    the gov't should increase tax exemptions to lessen tax burden...i-adjust din nila ang taxable income bracketing, obsolete na yun e...also let there be an across-the-board increase for ALL income earners, kasi kung minimum wage earners lang, i-shoulder na naman yan ng higher income earners e pare-pareho lang naman tayo naghihirap...how about diverting CDF or pork barrels ng congress & the OP to subsidize the increasing costs of important commodities?...

  5. Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Posts
    14,181
    #5
    This is bad for everyone, this is what we call in economics as "INFLATIONARY SPIRAL". The laborers might think that they got what they want but eventually higher wages will also equate to even higher prices in the end. Remember wages are part of company's expenses and if the company can;t cut cost elsewhere or they can't bear the expenses they have no recourse but to do 2 things, its either they lay off some workers (or outsource) to cut cost and to keep their prices the same to remain competitive among consumers or kung wala na talaga raise the price of their goods and pass the cost to the consumer which are the laborers So in the end wa-effect din yan.... Ang solusyon, tighter money and find ways to increase supply of the commodities in question. Cutting taxes, and tarrifs are good ways to increase supply thus relieving price pressures.

  6. Join Date
    Nov 2005
    Posts
    45,927
    #6
    yes spiralling inflation...

    pag tinaas ang sahod, ipapasa ng mga employers sa consumers ang cost...

    mas magiging mahal ang bilihin...

    tumaas nga ang sahod, mas tumaas naman ang bilihin...

    wala rin...

  7. Join Date
    May 2006
    Posts
    4,116
    #7
    ^^^ imo, tama sana na maintain ang sahod pero ang problema... ilang beses na bang tumaas ang bilihin na di tumataas ang sahod? dapat talaga forfeit muna yung pork barrel lahat ng tongressman at senador para pang abono pansamantala

  8. Join Date
    Apr 2007
    Posts
    2,452
    #8
    Quote Originally Posted by tidus1203 View Post
    This is bad for everyone, this is what we call in economics as "INFLATIONARY SPIRAL". The laborers might think that they got what they want but eventually higher wages will also equate to even higher prices in the end. Remember wages are part of company's expenses and if the company can;t cut cost elsewhere or they can't bear the expenses they have no recourse but to do 2 things, its either they lay off some workers (or outsource) to cut cost and to keep their prices the same to remain competitive among consumers or kung wala na talaga raise the price of their goods and pass the cost to the consumer which are the laborers So in the end wa-effect din yan.... Ang solusyon, tighter money and find ways to increase supply of the commodities in question. Cutting taxes, and tarrifs are good ways to increase supply thus relieving price pressures.
    i agree, bro. . .but i doubt that the present administration will opt to the ideal way of alleviating the present crisis. . .with darth pandak's present level of popularity (or unpopularity), they will resort to the pragmatic and a more popular alternative with the hope of silencing the masses for now. . .but in her mind, "bahala na kayong mag-suffer ng consequences in the future!". . .

  9. Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Posts
    14,181
    #9
    Yes politics is always all about bandages and short term solutions.... In the end, we are going to have to live on higher prices and suffer inflationary spiral. This could really weaken our currency and it will not be good for overall economic growth.

  10. Join Date
    Jan 2003
    Posts
    2,979
    #10
    the ordinary masa wouldnt understand......

    ang alam nila eh taon-taon, nakikita nila na may bagong mamahaling sasakyan, bagong bahay, bagong factory etc ang kanilang mga amo pero yun sweldo nila eh ilan taon na hindi tumataas.....

    i just hope na magawan ng paraan ang problema ngayon dahil kung hindi eh malamang magkagulo na dito. at kapag nagkagulo lahat tayo apektado.....

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Business backs pay hike Workers seek P50 to P150 increase