Wednesday, January 24, 2007 Biz groups ask: Reconsider
THE Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB) 7 wants Congress to consult local wage boards before approving a bill that seeks to grant a P125 across-the-board wage increase to workers nationwide.
RTWPB 7 board secretary Exequiel Sarcauga said that while they are not against raising workers’ pay, they are opposed to a legislated wage increase because of the peculiarities of every region.
He added that it would have been ideal if the Senate invited RTWPB officials to make inputs before finalizing the bill.
The RTWPB 7’s position is contained in a Jan. 19 resolution that has been sent to Sen. Jose “Jinggoy” Estrada, chairman of the Senate labor committee.
The resolution was signed by Department of Labor and Employment (Dole) 7 Director Elias Cayanong, Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) 7 Director Asteria Caberte, management representative Hidelito Pascual and labor representative Marianito Ventura.
Robert Go, past president of the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI), said a P125 across-the-board wage increase amounts to economic suicide.
“It will not do any good for the poor. It’s actually killing them in fact. The Philippine economy will spiral downwards,” Go said.
Go warned the legislators that the country will have a galloping inflation and industries will all close.
“There will be massive joblessness, tremendous unemployment and horrendous poverty all over the country. It will be Armageddon for business and apocalypse for the economy,” he said.
He said that most locators at the Mactan Economic Zone have built factories in China because of cheaper labor and electricity and cost of operation there.
“Given a reason for huge disparity (in wages compared with other nations), they (locators) will close shop and say bye-bye,” Go said.
He added that 70 percent of the labor force work for small and medium enterprises and cannot compete with imported products, especially with the tariff reduction agreement during the recent Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit in Cebu. (EOB)
