Monday, March 06, 2017
By ERWIN P. NICAVERA
A LOCAL business group said the new wage rate in Western Visayas and Negros Occidental lacks "classification" thus, it depresses the local money in circulation which may pull down economic growth.
Effective March 16, Wage Order No. 23 provides P15 to P25 daily minimum wage increase for workers in the private sector.
Frank Carbon, chief executive officer of Metro Bacolod Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MBCCI), Sunday said the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB)-Western Visayas missed to consider another bracket or category particularly for workers in the non-agriculture, commercial, and industrial sectors.
Carbon pointed out that large scale and multinational companies should be excluded from those employing less or more than 10 employees’ classifications since they have the capacity to pay more.
Large scale firms in the province include those into beverage production and telecommunication, among others, he said.
“Workers of these huge companies should have at least P40 increase bigger than the P15 and P25 to be given by small and medium enterprises," Carbon said, stressing that the new wage scheme is not consistent and reflective to the 10-point development agenda of the Duterte administration specifically job generation and poverty reduction.
On December 15, the RTWPB-Western Visayas approved the increase which was affirmed by the National Wages and Productivity Commission (NWPC) on February 17.
It replaces the previous order providing an increase only of P11.50 per day.
The new daily minimum wage rate in non-agriculture, industrial and commercial establishments employing more than 10 workers is P323.50, with an increase of P25 from the existing rate of P298.50. From P256.50, the new wage for those employing less than 10 workers is P271.50, with an increase of P15.
Workers in the agriculture sector, meanwhile, will receive a daily minimum wage of P281.50 and P271.50 for plantation and non-plantation, respectively, after an increase of P15, from the previous P266.50 and P256.50.
The MBCCI had earlier included in its position the creation of another classification that separates large scale companies from those employing 10 workers and above.
RTWPB-Western Visayas, however, proceeded with the new wage order which was published last March 1.
Carbon, also the regional governor of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Negros Island Region (NIR) and Western Visayas, said the new wage scheme will not significantly help create more production and demand, sales, taxes and employment as it depresses money in circulation.
He added that in the last five years, billion-peso investments entered the province especially Bacolod City, but the wage increase was minimal and stagnant.
“This is because what we created was low skill, low paying jobs only thus, there was no remarkable improvement in the living standard of the Negrenses," Carbon said.
As this developed, the MBCCI is urging large-scale businesses operating in the province to provide at least P40 daily increase to their workers regardless of the new wage order.
Carbon said they will send an appeal to these companies, some of which are also chamber-members, to implement a salary scheme that will benefit the workers at the same time contribute to economic development.
“We will also ask them to increase their spending for corporate social responsibility activities to help marginalized and underprivileged communities," he added.
