EMPLOYERS said a national minimum wage would reduce investment in less urbanized regions and accelerate the trend of workers migrating to cities.
Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP) Acting President Sergio R. Ortiz-Luis, Jr. said in an interview with BusinessWorld last week that a national minimum wage would be bad for competitiveness in many regions.
“Wages should not be the same. Wages (encourage) investment in some regions. If the incentives are the same, people will gravitate to cities,” he said.
He added that businesses will prefer to invest in more developed areas, and this trend will “deprive workers and their employment in other places, especially in provinces.”
The Wage rationalization Act or Republic Act 6727 states that the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB) representing each region has the responsibility to determine wage orders in their respective areas. As of this year, 16 wage boards have issued wage orders for 2018, setting minimum wages between P256 and P537.
Caraga in Eastern Mindanao has yet to have a new wage order despite the lapse of one year since its last wage order on Dec. 8. It is currently in the process of consultation prior to issuing a wage order.
In May, the Makabayan bloc of the House of Representatives filed House Bill No. 7787 or the National Minimum Wage Act that called for a P750 minimum wage for all regions.
The National Wages and Productivity Commission (NWPC) said it will review the current minimum wage setting starting next year.
In an interview with BusinessWorld last week, NWPC Director Maria Criselda R. Sy said that the commission was asked by Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III to analyze the wage fixing system.
“The Secretary had instructions to review the minimum wage determination process in the Philippines,” she said.
Ms. Sy added that the commission is also tasked to commission a third-party study on the urgings of legislators.
“There was a suggestion in the budget hearing of the senate for the DoLE to consider a third-party study or analysis of the minimum wage determination process in the Philippines because there’s this clamor for a national minimum wage,” she said.
Ms. Sy added that NWPC and DoLE don’t have the power to amend the current minimum wage setting system since changes require legislation. — Gillian M. Cortez
