SIMPLIFY REQUIREMENTS FOR GETTING WAGE-HIKE EXEMPTION, GOVT TOLD

THE Employers Confederation of the Philippines (Ecop) urged the government to streamline the requirements for securing exemptions from the minimum wage increase.

Ecop President Sergio Ortiz-luis Jr. noted that micro enterprises may not be able to comply with the government’s “numerous” requirements in applying for an exemption from the wage order.

“In the past, the exemption is only good for one year. Also, there are numerous requirements. You have to prove that you’re in distress and some of them [micro enterprises] are understaffed. They have to get an accountant or a lawyer. So some of them might not even bother,” Ortiz-luis said at the “Laging Handa” briefing on Tuesday.

Ortiz-luis has expressed concern that micro business enterprises that were badly hit by the pandemic may have difficulties complying with the latest wage order.

“Many of the small enterprises are what you call marginally operating and some are complaining that the wage order came at a bad time,” he said in a mix of English and Filipino.

On the wage increase’s impact on inflation, Ateneo Eagle Watch Senior Fellow Leonardo A. Lanzona Jr. told the Businessmirror that the country could again see inflation reach double digits due to the combination of higher wages and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) decision to allow price increases for 82 basic commodities. Contrary to what Lanzona said, however, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick T. Chua said earlier that increase in wages would only lead to a 0.15-percentage point impact on inflation.

Meanwhile, Lanzona also told the Businessmirror on Tuesday that the wage adjustment could lead to layoffs, particularly among Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMES).

Lanzona said MSMES may not have enough financial capacity, especially amid the pandemic, to provide their employees the increase in wages and trigger layoffs.

“The wage may not increase inflation but more importantly cause an even higher unemployment. Firms may lay off workers rather than raise prices of their products,” Lanzona said.

Lanzona also stressed that the government should be responsible for raising the welfare of workers.

On Saturday, the Businessmirror reported that around 1.4 million workers are expected to benefit from the new round of wage hikes approved by the regional wage boards in the National Capital Region (NCR) and Western Visayas.

In a statement on Saturday, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) said the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board-ncr (RTWPB-NCR) issued Wage Order No. NCR-23 granting a P33 minimum wage hike in Metro Manila.

Once it takes effect after its publication, the wage order will bring the daily minimum wage rate for non-agriculture workers to P570 and for agriculture workers to P533.