Regional wage boards have adopted a cautious stance over the issue of a possible new round of wage increases, even as the country posted an improved economic growth rate amid the pandemic, according to the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE)
In his speech during the 2022 National Productivity Conference last Thursday, Labor and Employment Secretary Bienvenido E. Laguesma said many establishments have yet to fully recover from the business disruptions caused by the pandemic.
“We will continue to use the existing tripartite wage mechanisms to help address the situation and we will do so prudently taking into account the need to balance the interest and need of workers and employers, especially at this time when our economic recovery is still at the early stages,” Laguesma said.
The DOLE chief issued the statement after state statisticians reported last Thursday the country’s economy grew by 7.6 percent in the third quarter of the year from 7.5 percent in the preceding quarter.
High inflation
The acceleration of inflation to 7.7 percent last month from 6.9 percent in September prompted demand for a pay hike to allow them to cope with higher prices of goods and services.
Citing data from the National Wages and Productivity Commission (NWPC), IBON Foundation reported that high inflation has brought down the “real” value of the P570 minimum wage in the National Capital Region (NCR) to just P494 last month.
Laguesma said they are aware of the current plight of workers, but instead of minimum wage adjustments, he proposed workers and employers should instead push for voluntary enterprise-based wage hikes.
“It is important to stress that the best mode of improving terms and conditions of employment in a sustainable and responsive manner remains that which is founded on voluntary agreements between workers and employers at the enterprise level,” the labor chief said.
“For this to realistically happen, labor and enterprise productivity must continuously rise,” he added.