MANILA – The Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP) said the proposed PHP150 legislated daily pay increase will only widen the wage gap between the formal and informal sectors.
During the Laging Handa public briefing Wednesday, ECOP president Sergio Ortiz-Luis said only 16 percent of the employed Filipinos will only benefit from the proposed wage hike, which is pending in the Senate.
“If we will have the legislated wage increase, only 16 percent of the 50 million workers will benefit. And who are those 84 percent? These are the farmers, fisherfolk, market vendors, those in the small industries, tricycle drivers, jeepney drivers —they do not have employers. If you will hike the wages, who will increase the wages of the 84 percent?” Ortiz-Luis said in Filipino.
He added wage hikes could trigger higher prices of commodities, which those in the informal sector would not afford.
“Does the government have other programs for the 84 percent who will not have wage increase? If the government will pay for the PHP150 for the 42 million workers, that’s in trillion (pesos), and our budget could not afford that,” he said.
Ortiz-Luis said even without the legislated wage increase, employers, especially large companies, have been generous in giving benefits to their workers. (PNA)
