THE Senate Committee on Labor, Employment and Human Resources has approved in principle the proposed measure of Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri for a P150 salary increase for all the workers in the private sector across the country.
The committee conducted a hearing on Wednesday, May 10, 2023, for various bills regarding a proposed minimum wage increase, Zubiri's Senate Bill No. 2022, or the Across-the-board Wage Increase Act.
A technical working group was formed to discuss a proposed graduated wage increase scheme for MSMEs micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
"We expect that the Committee Report will come out in about two weeks, and we hope to pass the bill before we adjourn in June," said Zubiri.
The Senate president noted that the last legislated minimum wage increase was in 1989, at P89, before the passage of the Republic Act 6727, which created the Regional Wage Boards.
"Ang nakita po natin, with due respect sa ating Regional Wage Boards, napakababa po ng mga increase nila at napakatagal bago nila aksyunan ang problema ng pagtaas ng bilihin, at ang sigaw ng tao para sa disente man lang na sahod. Kapag umaaksyon naman sila, napakababa ng increase, between P5 to P16 lang," he said.
(What we have observed, with due respect to our Regional Wage Boards, is that their salary increases are very low and it takes them a long time to address the problem of rising prices and the people's call for a decent wage. And when they do take action, the increase is very low, between P5 to P16 only.)
Amid concerns that a wage increase would drive away foreign investments, he cited minimum wage figures in the neighboring countries in the region, such as Indonesia whose minimum wage is equivalent to P842.00 per day; Malaysia's is P854.00 a day; and Singapore's is P2,486.00 a day.
He said only Vietnam has a lower minimum wage, equivalent to P511 a day, but Zubiri emphasized that the cost of living under the Communist Party of Vietnam is more affordable compared to the Philippines.
"Wala po silang kaltas sa Pag-IBIG, sa PhilHealth, sa SSS. Dito, ang naiiwan sa ating mga kababayan mula P570 ay P525 na take- home. pang-Metro Manila lang yan. Hindi pa natin pinag-uusapan sa Bukidnon, sa Mindanao,” said Zubiri.
(They don't have any deductions for Pag-IBIG, PhilHealth, or SSS. Here, what's left for our fellow citizens from P570 is only P525 as take-home pay. That's just for Metro Manila. We haven't even discussed Bukidnon or Mindanao yet.)
In Northern Mindanao, the minimum wage is P390 for non- agricultural, and P378 for agricultural.
The Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao has the lowest wages in the country at P316 for non-agricultural and P306 for agricultural.
Zubiri sought the help of the businesses, saying that many of them have already recouped from the pandemic and are back to making pre-pandemic income.
"I would like to remind everybody that we already reached a 7.6 percent GDP (gross domestic product) growth rate, one of our highest since 1976," he said.
"Pero ang inflation rate natin at the start of the year was 8.7 percent. Bumaba lang po ng 6.6 percent, pero hindi po bumaba diyan ang presyo ng pagkain, kuryente at tubig. Ang bumaba diyan ay presyo ng iba't ibang industrial products gaya ng cabilla at semento. Hindi naman yan makakain ng mamamayang Pilipino,” he added.
(But our inflation rate at the start of the year was 8.7 percent. It only decreased by 6.6 percent, but the prices of food, electricity, and water did not decrease. The prices of various industrial products such as steel bars and cement decreased. The Filipino people cannot eat those products.) (SunStar Philippines)